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Category: Fisheries

  • MIL-OSI Global: Earth’s lungs are choking on plastic and smoke – scientists hope to unblock them

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition

    Martin.Dlugo/Shutterstock

    A graph I saw in high school appeared to show the Earth breathing.

    It was a graph that plotted carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st. CO₂ had risen steadily, and then more rapidly, but it hadn’t gone up in a straight line. Each year it had fallen sharply before rising to a new peak, increasing over time in an upwards zig-zag.

    What explained this annual, temporary fall in CO₂, the gas that is overwhelmingly responsible for climate change? The answer was photosynthesis, my physics teacher explained – the miracle by which plants turn light and CO₂ into food.

    This is how our planet has regulated atmospheric carbon for longer than our species has existed. Fossil fuels are disrupting this equilibrium in several ways.

    This roundup of The Conversation’s climate coverage comes from our award-winning weekly climate action newsletter. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed.

    Spring is dawning in the northern hemisphere, where most of the planet’s green land is situated. Trees are unfurling leaves that will soak up carbon in the air and turn it into new bark, roots and branches. On a global scale, it’s like a gigantic inhalation of carbon. In autumn, when trees shed their leaves, Earth will exhale again.

    The air we all breathe is increasingly polluted by fossil fuels. That includes products of fossil fuels, like plastic, which is now so ubiquitous that research suggests simply breathing can introduce microscopic fragments into your brain.



    Read more:
    Breathing may introduce microplastics to the brain – new study

    Something similar is happening in plants – and it could have global consequences.

    Plants are losing their appetite

    “Microplastics are hindering photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert energy from the sun into the fruit and vegetables we eat,” says Denis J. Murphy, an emeritus professor of biotechnology at the University of South Wales.

    “This threatens massive losses in crop and seafood production over the coming decades that could mean food shortages for hundreds of millions of people.”

    Photosynthetic algae feed the fish that ultimately feed us.
    Sinhyu Photographer/Shutterstock

    These are the conclusions of a recent study by researchers in China, Germany and the US. Murphy wasn’t involved, but his own research with plant cells – which the tiniest microplastics can infiltrate, and damage the organs involved in photosynthesis – has him worried.



    Read more:
    Microplastics: are they poisoning crops and jeopardising food production?

    “Given the potential (albeit speculative) risk to global food production, more priority should be given to rigorous scientific research of microplastics and their effects on both crops and the marine life that supports fish and seafood stocks,” he says.

    Not so long ago, people wondered if our fossil fuel habit might actually benefit plant photosynthesis. After all, plants eat CO₂. Flooding the atmosphere with more of it each year could only whet their appetites, right?

    “The amount of CO₂ used by photosynthesis and stored in vegetation and soils has grown over the past 50 years, and now absorbs at least a quarter of human emissions in an average year,” say ecologists Amanda Cavanagh (University of Essex) and Caitlin Moore (University of Western Australia).

    Most of this extra carbon absorption has come from crops and young trees, the pair say, less from mature forests where a lot of the world’s carbon is stored. Cavanagh and Moore say this carbon pump is slowing down, as the other necessary ingredients for photosynthesis – soil nutrients and water – have fallen or stayed the same.



    Read more:
    Carbon dioxide feeds plants, but are earth’s plants getting full?

    Microplastics could slow the rate at which plants remove carbon further. And then there are the effects of climate change, like drought, fires and floods, which will intensify as long as we continue burning fossil fuels.

    After monitoring forests and shrublands in Australia for 20 years, Moore and a team of six colleagues concluded that these ecosystems are at risk of losing their ability to bounce back, and continue absorbing carbon, after successive climate disasters.



    Read more:
    In 20 years of studying how ecosystems absorb carbon, here’s why we’re worried about a tipping point of collapse

    Hacking photosynthesis

    We may have done plenty to reduce global photosynthesis, but a team of scientists at the University of Oxford and the Fraunhofer Society in Germany is trying to turn things around. How? By hacking plants to help them get more out of the process.

    “You would be forgiven for thinking nature has perfected the art of turning sunlight into sugar,” say Jonathan Menary, Sebastian Fuller and Stefan Schillberg.

    “But that isn’t exactly true. If you struggle with life goals, it might reassure you to know even plants haven’t yet reached their full potential.”

    The team say that plants tend to convert less than 5% of sunlight into new tissue – often as little as 1%. That’s because of a mistake plants regularly make, in which an enzyme involved in photosynthesis latches on to oxygen instead of CO₂.

    “If we could prevent this mistake, it would leave plants more energy for photosynthesis,” they say.



    Read more:
    How scientists are helping plants get the most out of photosynthesis

    Cyanobacteria are Earth’s most ancient photosynthesisers. Menary, Fuller and Schillberg say these microscopic organisms could possess useful genes for better sunlight management that might benefit crops like rice and potato plants. Another technique involves helping plants recover from high light exposure quicker.

    Young potato plants in bloom.
    George Trumpeter/Shutterstock

    More efficient photosynthesis, with the help of gene editing and other tools, is not “a silver bullet”, the team stress. Certainly not while fossil fuels continue to drown our green planet in carbon it cannot metabolise.

    However, this work is likely to prove useful as farmers seek to grow more in an increasingly volatile environment, while sparing enough land for nature.

    “This research is about making sure we can grow enough food to feed ourselves,” the team say.

    – ref. Earth’s lungs are choking on plastic and smoke – scientists hope to unblock them – https://theconversation.com/earths-lungs-are-choking-on-plastic-and-smoke-scientists-hope-to-unblock-them-252549

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Baldwin Raises Concerns About How NOAA Firings Will Impact Great Lakes

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and a group of her colleagues are pressing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for more information about the termination of staff and the potential impact these firings will have on the health and commerce on the Great Lakes, including the countless Wisconsin communities who rely on Lake Michigan and Superior for fresh drinking water and to support their local economies.

    “We write to express our deep concern over the firing of probationary staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the potential impact these firings will have on the Great Lakes,” wrote the Senators in a letter to NOAA’s Vice Admiral Nancy Hann.

    “The Great Lakes are among the United States’ greatest natural treasures, strengthening our economy and attracting millions of visitors each year. The Lakes provide drinking water to over 30 million people, generate clean hydropower, and generate $3.1 trillion in gross domestic product,” the Senators continued. “National and regional NOAA programs help protect these lakes and support our constituents who call the Great Lakes home.

    The Senators pressed Admiral Hann to detail (1) the number of people fired at NOAA during her tenure as Acting Administrator, (2) the number of people fired at each NOAA program serving the Great Lakes, (3) the services that will be terminated as a result, and (4) her plan to preserve these services.

    In addition to Senator Baldwin, the letter was led by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and co-signed by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Gary Peters (D-MI).

    A full version of this letter is available here and below.

    Dear Vice Admiral Nancy Hann:

    We write to express our deep concern over the firing of probationary staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the potential impact these firings will have on the Great Lakes. We request information on these firings—including at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) and any other NOAA installations and programs that serve the Great Lakes area—as well as a concrete plan for re-establishing terminated public services.

    The Great Lakes are among the United States’ greatest natural treasures, strengthening our economy and attracting millions of visitors each year. The Lakes provide drinking water to over 30 million people, generate clean hydropower, and generate $3.1 trillion in gross domestic product.

    National and regional NOAA programs help protect these lakes and support our constituents who call the Great Lakes home. The National Weather Service provides our weather and climate forecasts and warnings. The National Sea Grant Program helps conserve our aquatic resources. The Marine Debris Program prevents microplastics and litter from entering the Great Lakes, protecting our wildlife, natural resources, fishing and boating economy, and nearby residents’ health. The Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research invests in our clean drinking water. And the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) provides critical information for resource use and management decisions, including information on algal blooms and hypoxia, invasive species, ice cover and shipping navigability, and storm surges and coastal flooding.

    We are deeply concerned that the layoffs at NOAA will harm these critical initiatives. The staffing reductions have already required the GLERL, for example, to take an “indefinite hiatus” from its public communications, depriving the public of critical information such as what to do during a flood warning and how to stay safe in the extreme cold. When these communications go dark, the public suffers.

    Therefore, we request the following information by March 28, 2025:

    1. The number of people fired at NOAA during your tenure as Acting Administrator.
    2. The number of people fired at each NOAA program that serves the Great Lakes:
      1. National Weather Service
      2. National Estuarine Research Reserve System
      3. NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries
      4. National Sea Grant Program
      5. NOAA Marine Debris Program
      6. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)
      7. Great Lakes Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET)
      8. Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
      9. Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN)
      10. Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR)
      11. Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS)
      12. Midwestern Regional Climate Center (MRCC)
    3. The services that will be terminated as a result of the firings at each of the above programs.
    4. Your plan to maintain or restore these services.

    Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Grave of lost Scottish soldier of World War One identified in France

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Grave of lost Scottish soldier of World War One identified in France

    The previously unmarked grave of an Edinburgh man of the 1st (Royal) Dragoons has now been identified and marked more than a century after his death.

    Musician Benjamin Kinch of the Household Cavalry (Crown Copyright)

    A rededication service for Lance Corporal (L/Cpl) George Rankeillor was organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the ‘War Detectives’. The service was held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Feuchy Chapel British Cemetery, France, this morning (19 March 2025). 

    JCCC Caseworker, Alexia Clark, said: 

    I am grateful to the researcher who submitted this case. Their work has led us to recognise the final resting place of L/Cpl Rankeillor, to restore his name to him and to allow his family to honour his sacrifice. It has been a privilege for me to have contributed to this case and to have organised the service for the rededication of this grave today. 

    L/Cpl George Rankeillor 17 January 1897 – 11 April 1917 

    George Rankeillor was born in Edinburgh in 1897 to George senior, a rubber worker, and his wife Julia McDonald. He was the second eldest of 10 children. Unfortunately, very little survives to tell us about his young life, or his army service, but we know that he arrived in France as a Private serving with the Royal Dragoons on 5 October 1915. 

    By 1917 George had been promoted to Lance Corporal, and at the beginning of April he was with his unit on the outskirts of Arras. It was bitterly cold, snowing and the war diary records blizzard conditions. During this time, the area came under very heavy shell fire, the Royal Dragoons were relatively lightly affected losing 68 horses and just two men. George was one of the two men killed. 

    In October 1919 two casualties of the 1st (Royal) Dragoons were recovered from unmarked field graves just north of Feuchy Chapel. One was identified as Private (Pte) J. Jordan who had died on 11 April 1917 whilst the other could only be identified as a member of the Royal Dragoons. 

    Recently, following a submission to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, all the records were drawn together for the first time and interrogated as one. This showed that Pte Jordan and the unknown soldier were buried in the same field grave, and therefore most likely died together. With only one man of the Royal Dragoons still missing from this area on this day, it has finally been possible to prove that the unknown soldier is L/Cpl George Rankeillor of the 1st (Royal) Dragoons. 

    The service was supported by the British Embassy and serving soldiers from the Household Cavalry.

    The military party, including a representative of the British Embassy, stand in the cemetery (Crown Copyright)

    Reverend Thomas Sander, Chaplain to the Household Cavalry, who led the service said: 

    It is an honour to officiate at these services of rededication for fallen servicemen who gave their lives in the service of our country. In these services we unite their final resting place with their earthly name and, what was once known only to God, is now known in the sign of all. May their names be held in everlasting remembrance, and may they rest in peace and rise in glory.

    The headstone was replaced by CWGC. Director for the France Area at the CWGC, Jeremy Prince, said: 

    We are honoured to mark the final resting place of Lance Corporal George Rankeillor at our Feuchy Chapel British Cemetery. We are grateful to all those involved in helping to confirm the final resting place of this brave soldier. This rededication ensures his sacrifice is duly recognised, and we will care for his grave, in perpetuity.

    Updates to this page

    Published 19 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Indian National Found Guilty of Possession with Intent to Distribute More than 170 Pounds of MDMA in Eastern Washington

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Spokane, Washington – Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced today that a jury returned a verdict in the federal trial of Jaskaran Singh, age 31, who is a native of Gujarat, India. Singh was found guilty of Possession with Intent to Distribute 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), which is more commonly known as “Ecstasy” or “Molly.” United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice presided over Singh’s trial, which began March 17, 2025. At sentencing, which is set for June 25, 2025, Singh faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years. He may also face removal from the United States.

    The evidence presented at trial established that on April 29, 2023, at approximately 10:00 p.m., three unknown individuals tripped motion sensor cameras in a remote area just south of the U.S.-Canada border, approximately one-half-mile west of the Danville, Washington port of entry. U.S. Border Patrol officials at the Curlew Border Patrol Station saw images of these individuals, who had crossed into the United States from Canada and were carrying backpacks and a suitcase. From the U.S. side of the border, the only route to drive into or out of this area is an unestablished dead end, dirt road known as Fourth of July Creek Road.

    Minutes later, Border Patrol observed a 2014 Honda Odyssey traveling east on Fourth of July Creek Road. Border Patrol Agents responded to the area and stopped Singh, who was driving the rented Honda Odyssey away from the U.S. Canada border.

    From outside the van, Border Patrol agents observed backpacks and suitcase in the rear cargo area of the Odyssey. The backpacks and suitcase were same as those carried across the border by the three individuals, who tripped the motion sensor cameras just a few minutes earlier. Border Patrol Agents obtained authorization to search the van and seized 173.7 pounds of MDMA stored inside the backpacks and suitcase.  Investigators later located a map of the area on Singh’s phone and messages detailing where Singh should go, when he should arrive, and directing him to “leave the back hood open.”

    Testimony at trial established that the three men transported the MDMA from the Canadian side of the border by carrying the backpacks and suitcase through approximately 300 yards of remote wilderness to where Singh had parked the rented Odyssey van.  The three men then returned to the Canadian side of the border, escaping apprehension by law enforcement.

    Just one day before the massive seizure, Singh traveled from Northern California to Washington State. Singh had purchased his ticket just prior to the flight and then rented a car in Seattle, before driving to the remote area where the drugs were smuggled across the U.S.-Canada border.

    “Mr. Singh trafficked more than 170 pounds of illegal drugs across our northern border into the United States,” stated Acting United States Attorney Richard Barker. This seizure, which was one of the largest ever in Eastern Washington, had a street value exceeding $7.8 million. Today’s guilty verdict sends a clear message that those who seek to exploit our nation’s borders by flooding our communities with dangerous controlled substances will be held accountable for their crimes.”

    “The transnational drug trafficking organization for whom Singh worked had identified the ideal, isolated location in rural Washington to smuggle illegal drugs across the northern border,” continued Acting United States Attorney Barker. “Fortunately, our team of experienced Border Patrol agents were ready, and they intercepted this poison before it could harm communities in Eastern Washington.”

    “International drug traffickers like Mr. Singh profit by flooding our country with illicit, dangerous drugs that harm our citizens,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “I am gratified that we, at the Drug Enforcement Administration, can stand with our partners in the U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to hold people like Mr. Singh accountable for their crimes.”

    “Spokane Sector agents are vigilantly safeguarding our borders, swiftly detecting, and interdicting cross-border smuggling activities. This conviction highlights the Spokane Border Patrol Sector’s unwavering commitment to protecting communities from illicit drugs and those who attempt to smuggle them across our borders,” said Jason Liebe, Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the Spokane Sector for the U.S. Border Patrol.

    This case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alison L. Gregoire and Dan Fruchter.

    2:23-cr-00052-TOR

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Microplastics: are they poisoning crops and jeopardising food production?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Denis J. Murphy, Emeritus Professor of Biotechnology, University of South Wales

    Dusan Petkovic/Shutterstock

    Microplastics are hindering photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert energy from the sun into the fruit and vegetables we eat. This threatens massive losses in crop and seafood production over the coming decades that could mean food shortages for hundreds of millions of people.

    So concludes an alarming new study. The authors combined more than 3,000 observations of the effects of microplastics on plants from 157 separate scientific reports, and then extrapolated the results using machine learning, a type of computer model that trains AI to spot patterns in data.

    Microplastic exposure, they found, reduces photosynthesis in land plants and marine and freshwater algae by 7% to 12%. The authors calculated that this could eventually reduce yields of staple crops such as rice, wheat and maize by between 4% and 14%.

    How realistic is this scenario? While the new study does not fully support such dramatic conclusions, it does draw attention to the possible future risks from microplastics.

    The complexities of microplastics

    Plastics are useful and versatile products. But they are also difficult to recycle and during 2025 alone, will probably account for 360 million tonnes of solid waste.

    More insidious are the trillions of tiny fragments these plastic products break up into, now found everywhere from the deep sea to your brain. These microplastics are less than 5mm in size and some of them are as small as 1 micron (micro-metre), meaning that 10,000 of them could easily fit inside an average plant or animal cell.

    More microplastics are formed as larger plastic waste breaks down in the environment.
    Chayanuphol/Shutterstock

    Scientists have estimated that about 11 million tonnes of these microplastics, including 51 trillion individual particles, are released into the ocean each year.

    Researchers increasingly use AI models to analyse complex datasets. The results can often be useful. My colleagues and I used similar methods to analyse massive molecular datasets and determine the chemical composition of palm oil in different regions of the tropics.

    In that case, it was difficult to analyse one group of compounds across a relatively small geographic region. The risks of misleading conclusions are many times greater when trying to analyse microplastics and their different effects globally, as in this new study.

    Indeed, the authors of the new study sought to answer questions that are orders of magnitude more complex, involving vast quantities of microplastics in the entirety of the global biosphere. Other scientists have expressed concern about the limited data used by the current model, that could lead to overspeculation about the possible consequences for food supplies.

    Despite these concerns, the new study is useful for highlighting the growing body of scientific data on the deleterious effects of microplastics, found in ecosystems from the Arctic to the Amazon. Over the past 20 years, evidence of the potential risk of microplastics has steadily accumulated.

    More research is needed

    The main conclusions of the new study are based on extrapolations that may not apply on a global scale. The reality is that there are many thousands of types of microplastics, that differ significantly in their chemical composition, size, environmental distribution and biological effects. The new study did not discriminate between them. This means that it is difficult to study their effects on individual processes within human or plant health.

    Larger microplastics accumulate in the soil while much smaller microplastics can be present in the air and can be directly absorbed into plant cells. In some cases, the smaller microplastics can damage the cellular bodies, called chloroplasts, involved in photosynthesis.

    Previous studies have shown that exposing some algae to microplastics can reduce photosynthesis and increase stress, leading to cell damage similar to the effects of ageing in people. Other studies on crop plants such as tobacco have concluded that the effects of microplastics on photosynthesis vary with the type and dose, exposure duration and plant species. In other words, there is no single approach for comparing the effects on plants as different as a lettuce and an apple tree.

    Plants exposed to microplastics respond in various ways.
    Volodymyr_Shtun/Shutterstock

    Given the potential (albeit speculative) risk to global food production, more priority should be given to rigorous scientific research of microplastics and their effects on both crops and the marine life that supports fish and seafood stocks.

    The World Economic Forum has labelled microplastics as a top ten threat and recommends urgent action. In its latest analysis, it also reported that the average person could ingest between 78,000 and 211,000 of these particles each year. It is estimated that the emission of microplastic particles is likely to more than double in the next 15 years, possibly over 40 million tonnes annually.

    Despite growing concern among scientists and civil society, several of the larger public bodies involved in microplastics research in the US and Europe are considering radical cuts to both environmental research funding and regulatory oversight.

    While poorly understood, the threat of microplastics could rival other serious threats, including climate change and biodiversity loss.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Denis J. Murphy 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. Microplastics: are they poisoning crops and jeopardising food production? – https://theconversation.com/microplastics-are-they-poisoning-crops-and-jeopardising-food-production-252060

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Podcast: Neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff on using AI to set and achieve goals

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Podcast: Neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff on using AI to set and achieve goals

    MOLLY WOOD: Today I’m talking to neuroscientist, educator, and writer Anne-Laure Le Cunff, who created the immensely popular Ness Labs newsletter, which she describes as an exploration of how we can learn how to experiment with ideas, explore creative projects, make better decisions, and reflect on your progress. She is also the author of the new book, Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World. I cannot wait to hear more about this. She joined us to share insights on why goal setting is broken, how we can use experimentation to improve productivity, how our brains process uncertainty, and how AI can help optimize our approach to all of these areas. And now my conversation with Anne-Laure. Welcome.  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: Thanks so much for having me.  

    MOLLY WOOD: So, I want to start with your newsletter and your book. You’ve written a lot about applying lessons from neuroscience and just the basic methodologies of scientific research to productivity and processes and decision making. What would you say are some of the key takeaways? 

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: It took me a long time to formulate it as I am going to give it to you right now. But the main insight that is covered is that we should always default to curiosity, whatever challenge we’re facing, whatever roadblock, whatever area of doubt. If you decide to approach it with curiosity, you’re not only going to find a solution faster, but it’s also probably going to be a lot more fun. 

    MOLLY WOOD: There’s also this phrase that kicks around in your work, mindful productivity. What can you say about that and why it’s so important for business leaders? As opposed to mindless productivity, which I think we can all understand. [Laughter] 

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: A lot of people are a bit confused about this term, mindful productivity. You feel like mindfulness, productivity, like, that doesn’t really go together. The way I explain it is to go back to the definition of mindfulness. Being mindful really just means paying attention without judgment. And that’s what mindful productivity is about. It’s about paying more attention to how you feel, to your output, but also to the experience of producing this output. Paying attention to the way you communicate with others, to the way you manage your time, your energy levels. And then without judgment, a little bit like a scientist, just asking yourself, what can I do better? What can I experiment with? What can I tweak? What can I approach differently? And how can I collaborate with others to be more productive without sacrificing my mental health?  

    MOLLY WOOD: I kind of flippantly said, we can all understand what mindless productivity is, but now I kind of want you to define that too. I think we’re going to understand it better in opposition.  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: Yes, mindless productivity, I think, is best defined by the outcome. What happens when you do that, right? And it’s simply burnout, overwhelm, for a lot of people. And the reason why they don’t notice those early signs is because they are mindlessly grinding and hustling and going through their to-do lists and never paying attention to how they actually feel. The focus in mindless productivity is really just on the output itself, how efficient you are, how quickly you can produce the work, but not on all of the other factors that are incredibly important if you want your work and your pace to be sustainable.  

    MOLLY WOOD: Okay, so then we have these two frameworks, enter AI and a whole new level of conversation about productivity. How do you think AI will help us, or hinder us, in terms of fostering this idea of mindful productivity?  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: That’s what I find fascinating with AI, is that depending on how you use it, it could really support either mindful productivity or mindless productivity. I like ending on a positive note, so let me start with mindless productivity and how, unfortunately, that might be the most tempting approach in terms of using AI. And that’s really just trying to get AI to do your job, whatever it is you’re doing, in a mindless way, trying to use it to replace you. In order to—again, that’s where the focus is, the focus is on output, right? You just want to produce your output, whatever it is, faster. You want to go through your to-do list faster. A mindful way of using AI to be more productive would be to collaborate with AI to figure out which tasks should be the priority, how to do them better, how you could collaborate with others to perform these tasks in ways that might have been difficult for you to imagine because you didn’t have access to all of that information. And so, in a way you can do your work better, not faster necessarily, but better. And I think to me, that’s the mindset shift that people need to have when it comes to AI: not seeing it as a tool to necessarily just be more productive, but just produce better work.  

    MOLLY WOOD: You know, at this moment, we’re talking about this kind of at the individual level. I wonder how this starts to rise up to leadership. How do business leaders foster exactly the kind of work and partnership that you’re talking about?  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: To me, that’s only possible if we remove the sense of shame there is around using AI at the moment. In a lot of organizations, a lot of individuals still have to use AI in secret, where they will perform several tasks and they will manage to finish the presentation, do the three reports, code three applications in one weekend, come back on Monday and say that they did it all on their own, because there is, again, a sense of shame around the fact that you’re not able to do all of these things. And using AI kind of, you know, is sometimes perceived by people who haven’t really used it themselves as a way to take shortcuts. So, to me, in order to harness all of those benefits of AI at a team level, leaders need to make it very clear that it is okay to use AI. And even better than that: it’s encouraged to share with others how you’re using AI so everybody can learn together. And I would go as far as creating spaces for conversations where you ask people on your team, okay, how did you use AI this week? And can you share with the team? What did you learn? Did you discover anything new, anything cool that we could use as well? If you create this culture where AI is smart and a mindful use of AI is celebrated, then you are going to harness all of its benefits. Ultimately, this is a tool that can be used in lots of different ways. And if you want your team to learn faster and better how to use this tool, it’s better if everybody’s learning together rather than hiding the fact that they’re using it.  

    MOLLY WOOD: This also raises this question of this whole idea of, I think, a permission structure and support points to the fact that there is so much uncertainty and fear about this at the leadership level, and then certainly at the employee level. So talk about addressing that uncertainty so that we can create this support and permission.  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: I think it’s useful first to understand why we fear uncertainty in the first place. It makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Our brains were designed to help us survive. And so if you go back thousands of years, the more information you had, the more likely you were to survive. You needed to know who were the players, where the resources were, what was that weird noise in the bushes, right? Today in our world, our brains haven’t evolved that much. We also seek the sense of certainty. We want to feel like we know. We almost feel like we want to be able to predict the future, but obviously we can’t. Today’s world is changing so fast. Technology is evolving incredibly fast as well. Even us as individuals, we are exposed to so much information that we probably change faster also compared to our ancestors in terms of our identities, our values, and our desires. So the way our brain works, which was designed for survival, doesn’t work so well when what you want is not just to survive, but to actually thrive. And so just understanding this and saying, okay, thank you, brain. I know you’re trying to protect me, I understand that, but we’re actually not in great danger right now and we can actually explore and we can experiment. So I think that’s the first step, is just being okay with the fact that this is a natural response from your brain. And it’s okay if you’re feeling a little bit of anxiety when you’re in a situation that you don’t fully understand, which is the case right now in today’s world. And then the second stage is to kind of flip the script here, going back to what uncertainty is, which is a state of unknowing, you don’t have all of the information. That can actually be amazing. That can mean that you have a space for experimentation, you have a sense of possibility. Anything is possible. You can try new things and see what happens. What I recommend is to think about uncertainty like a scientist. When a scientist is faced with something they don’t understand, they don’t freeze. It’s the opposite. They look at it and they say, Huh, what can I learn from this? This is interesting. What kind of experiment could we design around this? And at an organizational level for leaders or individuals, just training yourself to approach uncertainty this way and saying, I don’t quite understand what’s going on here. I clearly don’t have all of the information. Things are changing very fast, but what can I learn? And what are some interesting possibilities that arise from the space of uncertainty?  

    MOLLY WOOD: I mean, I think a lot of leaders are realizing they can use AI as a thought partner to help them with their thinking, right? Like, they can use it to help them evaluate their decision making and their strategies and their priorities. Like, this is metacognition, right?  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: Yeah, I actually write a lot about metacognition in my work, and I think this is a uniquely human skill that can actually be enhanced with AI. So, metacognition sounds like a fancy word, but all it means is thinking about thinking. And the reason why I say it’s a uniquely human skill is that we know that a lot of other animals are able to think, but we probably are the only ones that are able to observe our own thoughts, which is amazing, right? We can ask ourselves, why did I think that? Is that thought more logical than this other thought? What would happen if I shared that thought with another thinking being, and if we found the intersection of those two thoughts together? Those are the kind of things that only humans can do. And AI is amazing in the sense that instead of running around and trying to grab a colleague every time you have an interesting thought and you want to see what they think about it, you can just type it up or record it, record a voice note, and send it to an AI that will reply to you and help you. Basically, they will become this thinking partner for you and practice metacognition together.  

    MOLLY WOOD: You know, AI is getting good at cognitive work, and people are using AI as a thinking partner around ideation and creation. And there is fear and pushback around that. And I wonder, you know, how do we sort of continue to talk about this as an opportunity? 

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: To me, it’s actually really exciting what’s going to become possible with AI helping us with those cognitive tasks. And I think a useful parallel is to think about the discourse we had when the calculators were invented. It is absolutely true that a lot of people are not able anymore to make complex calculations just in their mind, right? You have to take a calculator and you type it up in there and you get the result. But now just look at how the world has evolved. Is that really a bad thing? Is that really something— 

    MOLLY WOOD: Not for me. 

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: Exactly. And I think that’s completely fine. And also, so this has allowed more people to be able to make those calculations because a lot of them would have not been able to make them in the first place. So that has given access to complex calculations to a lot of people who wouldn’t have that access otherwise. And second, it has also allowed us to work on much more complex projects that were enabled by the fact that we had access to those calculators. To me, AI is going to be the same. There are probably a lot of cognitive tasks that we’re not really going to perform anymore. But I think in a few decades, people from the next generations are going to look back on those tasks that we do today and feel like, I can’t believe you were spending all of that time on those tasks. When now we freed up that time and we’re able to actually focus on true human creativity.  

    MOLLY WOOD: I want to go back to the thing that you said about approaching problems like a scientist, because we are so at this stage right now where every day you find out a new thing that you can do—a new option, a new possibility. And that is experimentation and the process of experimentation, which can be anathema sometimes in business because it raises the prospect of failure or wasted time. So talk about the importance of thinking like a scientist at work.  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: I want to first debunk an assumption that people may have when it comes to experimenting at work. When you embrace an experimental mindset, it doesn’t mean that you have to experiment with every single thing all at once, right? There might be areas of the business where things are actually working very well, and more of the same is the right approach. Having an experimental mindset is just about being intentional, about where you keep on doing things in the same way, and where you might benefit from reopening that experimental window and questioning your assumptions and just saying, is the way we’ve been doing things really the only way to do this, and is that the best way? And so what I would recommend in general, as part of a team, is to have a couple of experiments running at all time, but that doesn’t mean everything is an experiment. So, picking a few things where you say, actually, you know what, for the next quarter or the next semester, we’re going to approach this particular area of the business or product development in a slightly different way. And at the end, we’re going to look at the data together and decide whether we want to keep going, whether we want to tweak it, or whether that was actually not working really well for us and that’s it, but now we know. So that’s the first thing, just debunking that assumption. The second one is that when you start experimenting, your very definition of success and failure starts changing. Because when you have a very linear approach to work, and you say, this is the outcome, this is the milestone that we need to get to with this—again, the sense of clarity that, this is where we want to go. We have a clear vision, a clear plan, and we’re going to get there. So there is a very binary definition of success and failure. Either you get there or you don’t. When you experiment instead of trying to climb this ladder and get to that destination, instead the mental model is a growth loop. You are going through cycles of experimentation. That means that you don’t start from a specific milestone or destination. You start from a hypothesis or a research question. You notice something interesting where you’re not quite sure. There is some uncertainty around an area of the business, something that you’re curious about, and you say, what if, what if we did things differently? What if we tried that? And the only objective when you experiment is not to get to a specific destination, it’s to learn more, just like a scientist. They collect the data and they don’t try to get a specific result, they just want to learn more. That’s the mindset shift that you want to have here.  

    MOLLY WOOD: Got it. And just to repeat it, you call it a growth loop, like the idea that the more you repeat that process the bigger your loop gets, the bigger your knowledge set gets. 

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: Exactly. And I compare the mental model really of the ladder and the loop: the ladder with this clear destination where you climb and you try to get there, and the loop that where you keep on growing and you can trust the process. You are going to grow. You are going to expand your expertise and your knowledge, even though you don’t have a clear five-year plan. 

    MOLLY WOOD: Something about the way our brains work that you have talked about is what happens to your brain when you’re learning something new, and this phrase thirst for knowledge that I just want to capture from you because this is fascinating.  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: Yeah, absolutely. They’ve conducted some fascinating research that shows that in primates’ brains, when we feel thirst for water, the exact same networks in our brains light up than when we feel thirst for knowledge. So when we say that we’re curious and we have this thirst for knowledge—the word thirst, there couldn’t be a better word to describe that feeling that we have.  

    MOLLY WOOD: What is one question you wish more people would ask you about neuroscience and its application to work and life? Like, why are we not thinking more about our brains?   

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: Well, you just asked the question I would ask to other people, I think. [Laughter] Why aren’t we thinking more about our brains? I think, actually, this is a great question. I think we should think more about our own thinking. We should spend more time observing our own thoughts, connecting with our emotions, and really turning our attention inwards. 

    MOLLY WOOD: And while we’re talking about our brains, you’ve actually written about this idea that you call the illusion of certainty, which is very compelling and common. What’s going on in our heads that leads to that illusion, and how do we get rid of that?  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: Yes, that connects back to what we discussed earlier about why our brains really try to resolve uncertainty as quickly as possible. And because of that, we will try to hoard information. We will try to get as quickly as possible to the most immediate answer, the one that is going to give us that sense of certainty. But unfortunately, that sense of certainty is very often an illusion, because we went for the most obvious answer because we’re basing our sense of certainty of the fact that we spend three days reading nonstop about all of the news about a topic, which is not really how you build certainty. And so just accepting that being a hundred percent certain about what the future looks like is impossible. That’s impossible. All you can do is make predictions, know that these are just predictions, and then adjust your direction based on those predictions.  

    MOLLY WOOD: You have given an example, again, just in terms of interacting and thinking through issues and processing, if you will, this example of how you have conversations with research papers. Can you tell us more about that?  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: This is one of my favorite features when it comes to using AI. So, in my academic research, I’m supposed to read dozens of research papers every week—that can take a lot of time. And unfortunately, sometimes you get to the end of the paper and you realize that there was nothing relevant or interesting in there that you can use for your work. So what I’m doing now is that I take the paper, I upload it to AI, and then I ask questions. I have a conversation with the paper and I can ask, okay, tell me what research methods were used here, and because the AI knows what I’m working on also, what are points that you think are relevant based on what I’m working on right now? And another one that I find absolutely amazing is asking, what are the limitations that are mentioned in the paper explicitly, and what are limitations that you notice that are not mentioned in the paper explicitly? And in this way, the AI is really helping me having those conversations. I feel like I’m having a coffee chat with the researchers that tell me all of the juicy stuff that they didn’t include in the paper. Because papers are so short, sometimes you don’t have that much space, and I can use those insights to make decisions as to whether I’m going to use this paper in my own research or not. But it’s not only saving me time, it’s making the entire process of finding that information and reading papers a lot more enjoyable.  

    MOLLY WOOD: What’s sort of one question that you wish more people would ask about the potential of AI at work, right? This is like really a mindset question. What should they be asking about how to use this well?  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: If you could focus a hundred percent of your time and energy on the things that are at the intersection of what you’re good at and what the world needs, what would that look like? Because I think that’s what AI can unlock: freeing your time, freeing your energy, freeing your attention from the things that are, that should not be your main area of focus and creating more space for your creativity.  

    MOLLY WOOD: If our listeners could take away one actionable insight from your work, just one, what would you want it to be? 

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: I would like for them to look at the way they’re doing their work at the moment and, or the way they’re living their life in general, and ask themselves, what’s one area where I could be a little bit more experimental?  

    MOLLY WOOD: So we love to ask our guests how they’re using AI in their work and maybe some use cases and techniques that have really been a game changer. Do you have any examples for us?  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: Oh, absolutely. I use AI a lot at work. It’s really a thinking partner. Anytime I’m in doubt, and I would normally grab someone at the coffee machine and just say, hey, can I pick your brain? That’s AI now. I just do that, and I explain I’ve been facing this challenge, I’m feeling a little bit stuck, and do you have any ideas? And usually even when the AI comes back with just a few bullet points, that’s enough sometimes just to give me something to think about and getting unstuck. And very similarly in my personal life as well, I will use it as a tool for brainstorming. I think across the board, really getting unstuck for me is the key phrase in terms of how I use AI at the moment. It makes me think more creatively. It suggests avenues for exploration that I might not have considered in the first place on my own. And it also helps me clarify sometimes my own thoughts, where I can just dump literally anything that’s on my mind and it will come back with a more structured version of what I’ve been thinking about, which is incredibly helpful. 

    MOLLY WOOD: Okay. Fast-forward three to five years. What do you think will be the most profound change in the way we work?  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: I think a lot more people will have the beautiful privilege to be able to explore their creativity and to do work that feels meaningful to them, thanks to AI.  

    MOLLY WOOD: And then, what do you think will be hallmarks of organizations that do this well—frontier organizations that will really pull ahead in this new era?  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: You probably know what I’m going to say, but I’m going to say it anyway, because I think it’s so important, but creating safe spaces where it’s okay to explore your curiosity, where it’s okay to use AI in experimental ways, and where it’s okay to make mistakes and learn in public. To me, those are going to be the hallmarks of any organization that is at the frontier of what’s possible with this new technology.  

    MOLLY WOOD: I mean, it seems easy, but how do you create those spaces? Like, how do you foster creativity and let people feel safe throwing out what might actually be bad ideas?  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: I love that you’re asking this because it’s the same with embracing uncertainty. When you tell people, embrace uncertainty, they tell you, what do you mean? Am I supposed to just relax my shoulders and embrace it? And it’s the same with curiosity, right? How do you actually foster a culture of curiosity and experimentation? And in a very, very practical way, what I would encourage leaders to do is to block some time—you can call it curiosity hour—block some time, put it in your team’s calendar, and say that that’s the hour where every two weeks or three weeks or every month, whatever works for you, everybody is going to share something they experimented with and the results. Did it work? Did it not work? What can we learn together from this? And that’s it. That would be the simplest small steps that they could start taking right now.  

    MOLLY WOOD: And then if I were going to try to tap into my curiosity with an AI thought partner, let’s say I’m stuck. What might I say?   

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: Well, first you can tell the AI, I’m stuck. I think that’s a great place to start. It’s okay to just type I’m stuck. Here’s the issue. Here are some things that I’ve been thinking about, some options, some ideas. None of them feel quite right. What do you think? I’m stuck. Insert problem. What do you think?  

    MOLLY WOOD: Just building off of curiosity one last time, how do you tap into yours? Do you have a favorite method?  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: So I have several methods. The main one for me is to journal. I journal every morning, and sometimes just for five minutes. And part of the prompts that I’m using is, what am I feeling curious about today? And so I always try to have that little connection with my curiosity every day. And then outside of that, I really try to treat my curiosity with a lot of respect, actually. I listen to it. If I feel like I’m curious about a topic, if I’m curious about an idea, a new product, a new technology, even if I feel like right now is not the right time to explore this, that it could distract me from something else, I have a curiosity inbox in my note-taking tool where I will just type that, put it in there, and then I have dedicated time that is a little bit like opening a box of candies where I can pick something and then go and explore. 

    MOLLY WOOD: Thank you so much. Anne-Laure Le Cunff is a neuroscientist, educator, author of the Ness Labs newsletter, which I’m sure you have been convinced to read if you are not already, and also author of the new book, Tiny Experiments. Thank you again so much for the time.  

    ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: This was great. I really loved our conversation. Thank you.  

    MOLLY WOOD: Thank you all for joining us, and keep checking your feeds. We have more fascinating guests on the way with actionable insights that can help leaders develop an AI-first mindset, reorient their business for an era of abundant expertise, and maximize the ROI of AI. If you’ve got a question or a comment, please drop us an email at worklab@microsoft.com, and check out Microsoft’s Work Trend Indexes and the WorkLab digital publication, where you’ll find all our episodes along with thoughtful stories that explore how business leaders are thriving in today’s new world of work. You can find all of that at microsoft.com/worklab. As for this podcast, please, if you don’t mind, rate us, review us, and follow us wherever you listen. It helps us out a ton. The WorkLab podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of work, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own, and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft’s own research or positions. WorkLab is produced by Microsoft with Godfrey Dadich Partners and Reasonable Volume. I’m your host, Molly Wood. Sharon Kallander and Matthew Duncan produced this podcast. Jessica Voelker is the WorkLab editor.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: City Mayor proposes boundary expansion amid council reorganisation plans

    Source: City of Leicester

    LEICESTER City Council will this Friday (21 Mar) submit its interim proposal for the reshaping of local councils across the city, Leicestershire and Rutland.

    The interim submission – which includes outline plans for expanding Leicester’s boundaries – has been put forward in response to the Government’s invitation to councils to explore how local government could be reorganised.

    It proposes the creation of an expanded city council alongside a second, new unitary authority covering the remaining area of Leicestershire and Rutland, both meeting the Government’s target population of 500,000 or more residents.

    Reorganising the ten existing local councils into two unitary authorities of comparable size would deliver more cost-effective public services, streamlined decision making and a path to financial sustainability.

    To achieve this, the city council’s interim submission outlines a sensible expansion to Leicester’s boundary to include adjoining suburbs and space for future housing growth. This could include land currently within the boundaries of Charnwood, Harborough, Oadby and Wigston and Blaby councils. 

    City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “Any realistic option for local government reorganisation in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland must address the historic accident of our city’s boundaries.

    “Leicester is one of the most tightly constrained major cities in the UK. When you compare Leicester to cities like Bradford, Leeds or Sheffield, our population density is huge because our city covers such a relatively small area – less than a fifth of those cities.

    “That’s because, in the 1970s, when the country’s non-metropolitan districts were determined, the boundaries of most other cities were extended while ours have remained largely unchanged since the 1920s.

    “Critically, our almost uniquely constrained boundary means that now – unlike comparable cities – we have no chance of delivering the extra housing that our city so desperately needs within existing confines.

    “The county and district councils all know that the existing city boundary makes no sense and has to change. The Conservative leader of the county council and the Liberal Democrat leader of Rutland joined me in writing to the Minister in January saying those boundaries should be extended.

    “Unfortunately, although understandably, the forthcoming county elections mean they have chosen to withdraw from that initial proposal. I hope that we will be able to return to sensible discussions about where boundary lines should be drawn after the May elections.”

    Expansion of the city’s boundaries is key to unlocking devolution and the transfer of more powers and funding from central government to a new Mayoral Strategic Authority for the area.

    Initial engagement with stakeholders has been positive and further consultation is planned over the coming months as the proposal is developed, ahead of its final submission in November. It will then be up to the Government to determine which proposals are taken forward and to lead on formal consultation.

    The English Devolution White Paper – published in December 2024 – sets out the Government’s intention to end two tier councils, such as in Leicestershire, and create new, larger single tier unitary authorities. This will see an end to small district councils and pave the way for strategic authorities across England which will be given greater powers over issues such as planning and transport.

    Leicester City Council’s interim proposals for local government reorganisation would see the city population grow from 372,000 now to just over 600,000 by 2028. It would also provide more land for new development and help to accommodate the estimated future need for 32,000 new homes, 18,000 new affordable homes and an expansion of existing employment land.

    Leicester City Council’s full interim submission for local government reorganisation is available to view online at www.leicester.gov.uk/keystrategies

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A ‘golden age’ of global free trade is over. Smaller alliances can meet the moment

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Armin Steinbach, Professor of Law and Economics, HEC Paris Business School

    The global trade landscape is shifting, and not in the way free traders had hoped. For decades, the belief that economic openness could foster peace and stability reigned supreme. Trade, it was argued, could transform authoritarian regimes into more peaceful players. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shattered this way of thinking. Rather than mourning the end of a multilateralism based on states’ commitments to jointly agreed trade rules, we should see it as a necessary adjustment to a world where economic security takes precedence over market efficiency, and resilience over cost minimization.

    The World Trade Organization (WTO), which has constrained protectionism since its inception in 1995, is no longer the linchpin of global trade it once was. Multilateral trade talks have stagnated, and the WTO’s dispute settlement system is in paralysis. The US, once a champion of rules-based trade, now finds strategic advantage in a world where power dynamics outweigh legal frameworks. Years of negotiations on agriculture and fisheries subsidies have yielded little progress, underscoring the difficulty of reaching consensus among increasingly divergent national interests.


    A weekly e-mail in English featuring expertise from scholars and researchers. It provides an introduction to the diversity of research coming out of the continent and considers some of the key issues facing European countries. Get the newsletter!

    Consider the Uruguay Round negotiations in the 1990s that led to the establishment of the WTO – a rare moment when 123 countries found common ground on liberalizing trade in goods, services and intellectual property. That success stemmed from a broad agenda that offered enough variety to create win-win scenarios for all. Today, narrow negotiation agendas make compromise far harder to achieve.

    Free trade agreements are emerging less frequently: the average number of new trade agreements per year since 2020 is less than half the average of the previous decade. Meanwhile, protectionist measures have proliferated: there were about five times as many in 2023 as in 2015. Regardless of US President Donald Trump’s tariff frenzy, governments are erecting trade barriers and adopting policies that favour domestic industries, driven by the need to secure critical supply chains.

    The trend is clear: trade liberalization is no longer the top priority for most countries. Instead, security concerns are reshaping trade policy, echoing the arguments of the 18th-century philosopher Adam Smith. In The Wealth of Nations, Smith argued that national defence is more valuable than economic wealth. (“Defence,” he wrote, “is of much more importance than opulence”). This idea feels particularly relevant today. In a world of geopolitical conflict, trade is often yielding to strategic concerns.

    The United Nations, despite its mission to maintain peace, has struggled to prevent conflict. If international law cannot deter aggression, economic policy must step in.

    Security-driven trade

    For the EU, this translates into using its trade policy instruments, especially vis-à-vis China, on the basis of a careful dependency analysis that identifies strategic commodities and products. As the European Commission sets self-sufficiency benchmarks for green technologies following the bloc’s Net-Zero Industry Act, it errs if it sees the substitution of domestic products for imports as the right way to reduce dependencies. In most cases, reducing import concentration will require diversifying suppliers rather than European self-production.

    Security-driven trade requires shifting away from fragile multilateralism toward more selective, regional alliances. These “trade clubs” would align economic interests with shared security priorities. The EU’s strengthening ties with the South American Mercosur states, a group of non-hegemonic countries reliant on open trade, exemplify this approach. Intensifying trade with targeted countries could be the best response to Trump’s tariffs, avoiding the lose-lose outcome of tit-for-tat tariff wars. The goal of autonomy from an unpredictable US offers a good framework for crafting new bilateral relationships.

    Another example is the idea of a “climate club”, which policy-makers have discussed for some time. Climate clubs would consist of countries that agree on joint strategies to reduce carbon emissions while fostering energy security and protecting their economies from competitors without adequate carbon pricing.



    À lire aussi :
    Trump protectionism and tariffs: a threat to globalisation, or to democracy itself?

    The challenge is to distinguish between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” security claims. The latter refer to countries’ growing abuse of the national security card to justify trade policies. WTO dispute settlement panels ruled against the “self-judging” character of national security claims, hence subjecting them to legal scrutiny, but this “rule of law” approach has only heightened rejection of the WTO system on the US side. To limit abuse, the EU should seek alignment with the US on issues of common concern, such as responding to industrial overcapacity or preventing technology leaks. A joint approach could avert nationalist unilateralism.

    A new focus for the WTO

    Some worry this shift away from multilateralism could disadvantage poorer nations, leaving them vulnerable to the whims of powerful ones. However, regional trade alliances can empower smaller states. For example, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) gives African nations collective bargaining power they might lack individually. Since its inception with 22 signatories, AfCFTA has grown to include 48 countries, enhancing the continent’s influence in global trade.

    Abandoning multilateralism doesn’t mean sidelining the WTO entirely. Instead, the WTO can refocus on smaller, “plurilateral” agreements among like-minded countries. This “coalition of the willing” approach has already proven effective in areas like e-commerce and investment facilitation. The WTO can remain a forum for building consensus, but its future lies in fostering flexible partnerships rather than pursuing grand, all-encompassing trade deals. In a fragmented world, these smaller agreements could yield the most meaningful progress. Nascent but promising plurilateral efforts are under way to tackle fossil fuel subsidies and environmentally sustainable plastics trade.

    The golden age of global free trade may be over, but that doesn’t spell disaster. As nations grapple with security challenges, trade policy must evolve to reflect new priorities. Strategic alliances, diversified supply chains and targeted trade agreements will shape the future of global commerce. Rather than lament the decline of multilateralism, we should embrace this shift as a necessary response to a more volatile world. In doing so, we can craft a trade policy that prioritizes resilience and security, safeguarding both economic stability and national interests.

    Armin Steinbach ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

    – ref. A ‘golden age’ of global free trade is over. Smaller alliances can meet the moment – https://theconversation.com/a-golden-age-of-global-free-trade-is-over-smaller-alliances-can-meet-the-moment-251438

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Sanjay Malhotra: Transforming grievance redress – the AI advantage

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    I am delighted to participate in this year’s Annual Conference of the RBI Ombudsmen. The Reserve Bank has been organising this conference on or around the World Consumer Rights Day, that is, 15th March. World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated every year with the aim of raising global awareness about consumer rights and needs. We organise this conference to reflect on our achievements with regard to consumer services and to deliberate on how to improve services and reduce grievances. We need to improve consumer services, not only because it is our duty to do so, but because it is in our selfish interest to do so. In this age of competition, we would not survive long if we do not provide quality service to our consumers.

    We have made tremendous strides in improving consumer services over the years. We have enabled internet banking and mobile banking. Most of the banking services, be it opening a deposit account, or taking a small loan have been digitised, adding to the convenience and speed. We are making record number of digital transactions through UPI and other means of digital payments. Many among the younger generation may have never visited a bank branch. We have even enabled opening of accounts using video KYC.

    While we have enhanced customer experience over the years, the high number of customer grievances continues to be a matter of serious concern. I am told that last year (2023-24), the 95 Scheduled Commercial Banks alone received over 10 million complaints from their customers. If we take into account the complaints received at other RBI-regulated entities (REs), the number would be even higher. One may argue that this amounts to only four complaints per thousand accounts per year as there are about 2.5 billion bank accounts. But, for us, even one complaint is a cause of concern. We have 10 million complaints and with the rapidly growing customer base and expanding suite of products, this may grow, if we do not get our act together.

    Customer satisfaction – a cornerstone for banking and other financial services

    Excellent customer service, in fact excellent customer experience is a sine qua non in any service industry. Our effort should be to enhance the total customer experience. The experience should be such that there is no cause for a grievance that requires a redress. Let me state a fundamental truth: every complaint is a test of trust. When a consumer files a grievance – whether for a disputed transaction, a lapse in service, inappropriate pricing or charges or an unfair practice – it is a signal that our system has fallen short. Left unresolved, such issues can erode consumer confidence and tarnish the entire ecosystem.

    I am reminded of a real story about customer service. Some of you, especially the management graduates, may have heard it but it is so appropriate for today’s theme that it is worth being retold. In the winter of 1975, in a town in Alaska, a man walked into a store and complained to the salesman present that the snow tyres that he bought some time ago were not holding. The salesman was a little puzzled. He said that he could not replace them but will check what he could do and went to the back of the store. Those of you, who have visited departmental stores in the USA, would know that refunds are processed at the back of the store. The salesman came back after some time and handed over some cash as refund and the customer left satisfied. Can anyone guess why this was unique, as no questions asked policy for refunds is fairly common in the USA? It is because the company in question is Nordstrom which does not even sell tyres. It sells apparel and shoes. But, for Nordstrom, customer comes first. Trusting him and winning his trust is more important than anything else.

    Some say that this is not a true story. How is this possible? How could a company offer refund for a product which it never sold? Nordstrom, however, insists that this incident did take place. Nordstrom had acquired three stores from another company that sold miscellaneous articles including tyres. The customer did not realise that the store had changed and walked in with his complaint. The key message is that Nordstrom saw itself being in the business of customer service, and not just selling goods. We too need to realise that we are in the business of providing unalloyed customer service and not just selling banking and other financial services.

    Top management to accord priority to customer service

    I am sure you will all agree that we are indeed in the business of customer service. However, I suspect that we are not spending enough time on customer service and grievance redressal as a result of which not only are there a large number of complaints being received by banks and NBFCs but in the absence of satisfactory resolution, a large number of them are getting escalated to RBI Ombudsmen.

    Let me give you some perspective. The number of complaints received under RBI’s Integrated Ombudsman Scheme increased at a compounded average growth rate of almost 50 per cent per year over last two years to 9.34 lakh in 2023-24. The number of complaints processed at the Office of RBI Ombudsman increased by 25 per cent from about 2,35,000 in 2022-23 to almost 2,94,000 in 2023-24. Not only are large number of complaints getting escalated, a large proportion of them – nearly 57 per cent of the maintainable complaints last year – required mediation or formal intervention by the RBI Ombudsmen. You would all agree that this is a highly unsatisfactory situation and needs our urgent attention.

    I would, therefore, strongly urge all the MD&CEOs, Zonal and Regional Managers and the Branch Managers to spend some time every week, if not every day on grievance redressal. This is a must. All great CEOs find time to do it. We too must keep some time in our diary for improving customer service and grievance redressal.

    Improving customer service systems

    Customer complaints aren’t a nuisance – they are in fact opportunities to improve, innovate, and build trust. Handling them well can define your success. Each unresolved grievance is a missed opportunity for regulated entities to reaffirm customer trust and loyalty. It is also a warning signal as repeat complaints are often signs of systemic flaws. Today, complaints often surface on social media even before reaching official channels, highlighting the need for proactive measures.

    The effort thus should be to not only resolve the complaints but also to ensure that the same type of complaint does not arise again. Many of the complaints like digital transaction disputes, unauthorized charges, or miscommunication frequently recur. These are clearcut symptoms of underlying issues in the overall customer service framework of the regulated entities. A thorough root cause analysis should be performed for each complaint so as to enable remedial action and avoid repetition of same type of complaint.

    In fact, I would go a step further. Best service is not one in which there is no occasion for grievance redressal but one in which there is no occasion for the customer service department to step in. Systems should work seamlessly and conveniently so that customers do not have to call the branch or the customer service centre or talk to anyone in the Bank or NBFC. Systems have to be so user-friendly that customers can rely on self-service rather than being dependent on anyone else.

    Improving internal grievance redressal systems

    While improving systems to reduce grievances is important, setting up a robust grievance redressal system is equally important for all regulated entities. I would urge you all to review the same. While the regulations do not make any prescription for the organisational structure for grievance redressal, my experience suggests that there should be at least two levels for grievance redressal in large REs, with unresolved grievances getting escalated from the lower to the higher level. The highest level should be at a fairly high rank. This to ensure that requests do not get rejected without having been examined by a senior functionary who is empowered to take decisions in consumer interest. This will help reduce grievances getting escalated to the Ombudsman. It must also be ensured that there are sufficient number of grievance redress officers at all levels including in the Internal Ombudsman office.

    I would also like to draw your attention to the misclassification of complaints as requests, queries, and disputes by the regulated entities. This results in the complainants’ grievances remaining unaddressed. Moreover, this is also a gross regulatory violation.

    Major areas of service improvement

    Let me now briefly allude to some of the major areas where we need to improve. These relate to KYC, digital frauds, mis-selling, and aggressive recovery practices.

    As for KYC, we need to ensure that once a customer has submitted documents to a financial institution, we do not insist on obtaining the same documents again. Once the customer has updated his details, for example, his residential address, with one regulated entity of any financial sector regulator, it gets updated in CKYCR and other REs are notified of the updation. PML Rules made by the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance and RBI’s Master Directions on KYC mandate regulated entities to check the CKYCR system before seeking KYC documents for opening an account. However, most banks and NBFCs have not enabled the same in their branches/business outlets, causing avoidable inconvenience to customers. This may be facilitated early. This will be in the interest of all.

    Another important issue connected to customer protection is rising digital frauds. It is a matter of great concern that innocent customers continue to fall prey to scamsters. While this could be attributed to rise in digital transactions and innovative methods adopted by fraudsters, lack of customer awareness is also a major reason for the same. To mitigate this menace, REs not only need to put in place robust internal controls but also enhance digital financial literacy.

    The issues of mis-selling and aggressive recovery practices have been highlighted earlier too. In this context too, I would request you to keep consumer interest supreme.

    Embracing technology – the AI way

    Let me now come to the theme of this year’s conference: AI’s potential to revolutionize grievance redressal. We are entering an exciting era where technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), can drive remarkable improvements in speed, accuracy, and fairness of complaint resolution.

    AI can help categorize incoming complaints by urgency, complexity, or subject area, ensuring minimal delay in reaching the right people or the right team. AI can also help in optimising complaint routing. Further, it can assist in decision-making and reducing processing time.

    Secondly, AI can be used to pinpoint systemic gaps by analysing both structured and unstructured data such as emails, chat logs, and call transcripts. This will aid in identifying training needs and guiding necessary process reforms. Using data from millions of consumer branch visits, call centre logs, mobile apps, and social media, a unified, AI-driven view of all these interactions can help identify common pain points more efficiently. Leveraging data analytics, sentiment analysis, and predictive models, AI can be used to analyse large volumes of data to detect spikes in issues – such as ATM failures or erroneous charges – and alert REs pre-emptively.

    Lastly, in a linguistically diverse country like India, AI-driven chatbots and voice recognition tools can eliminate language barriers by operating in local languages. Moreover, the implementation of conversational AI in chatbots, voicebots, and advanced IVR systems can handle routine queries round the clock, thereby freeing people to focus on cases that require empathy and complex problem-solving.

    In short, integrating AI at every stage – from complaint lodging to closure – can result in a seamless, efficient, and data-driven grievance redressal system. Such a framework not only reduces processing times and addresses repetitive complaints but also fosters equitable outcomes by mitigating human biases. It is time that the banking industry explores and pioneers the integration of technology – including AI – to strengthen the grievance resolution mechanisms and make it best in class across the globe.

    Challenges and guardrails in AI driven grievance redressal system

    While AI presents unparalleled opportunities, we need to be cognizant of the challenges and risks that its adoption poses. There are concerns on data privacy, algorithmic bias and complexity in AI-driven models. As we embrace AI in grievance redressal or any other process, we must also remain mindful of ethical considerations. Human oversight, bias mitigation and data privacy must be integrated into the AI Systems to ensure transparent and consistent outcomes.

    Investing in human resources

    While technology in all its forms is a powerful enabler, I would like to emphasise that it is no substitute for integrity, empathy, and human judgment. In a world increasingly driven by data, algorithms, and automation, it is all too easy to lose sight of the human element. Every transaction represents not just a number in a ledger, but the hard-earned savings of a family, the dreams of a small entrepreneur, or the lifelong savings of a senior citizen. It is, therefore, critical that REs continue to invest in human resources dedicated for customer service and grievance redressal. It is essential to invest in training of staff, especially in behavioural aspects of customer service. Moreover, the staff needs to be empowered to take decisions based on their judgement to redress consumer grievances, enhance customer satisfaction and win consumer trust.

    RBI as a facilitator

    In the end, I would like to assure you that, while we exhort you to provide services efficiently to customers, we in the Reserve Bank shall also provide various services, approvals, clarifications, etc. to the regulated entities in a timely manner. We already have a citizen’s charter. We are in the process of reviewing the charter. We will make the charter comprehensive to include all services that we offer either to the REs or directly to citizens. Moreover, we are reviewing the timelines for each service. It will be our endeavour to provide all approvals, etc. within the timelines. We are also making mandatory the use of PRAVAAH, which is RBI’s secure and centralised web-based portal for any individual or entity to seek authorisation, license or regulatory approval on any reference made to the Reserve Bank in a timely manner. This will help us in expediting the disposal of applications received by the Reserve Bank.

    Conclusion

    We stand at a pivotal juncture as India looks to realise its dream of a more resilient and inclusive Viksit Bharat. With the financial sector touching the lives of almost the entire population, we have a critical role. To succeed in this role, we must continue to enhance customer service and customer protection.

    Thank you !

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Caroline Abel: Women in environment and climate finance

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Minister Rose-Marie Hoareau,
    H.E High Commissioner Mr. Jeffrey Glekin,
    Distinguished Guests,
    Ladies and Gentlemen,

    Good morning,

    It is an honour to be here with you today. Our gathering indicates that the pilot edition of the British High Commission’s Women’s Forum launched last year was a success. I take this opportunity to congratulate you, High Commissioner, and your dedicated team for ensuring that this second edition takes place. This forum serves as a platform for knowledge exchange, policy assessment and a valuable space for women in Seychelles to collaborate and drive impactful change. By incorporating discussions on climate finance and gender inclusivity, we reaffirm our commitment to fostering equitable and sustainable solutions for our nation.

    As we all know, Seychellois women are not only represented in all aspects of life, but are successful in their own rights. When we look at the context of our society, according to official statistics, women in managerial positions make up 42 per cent of the workforce. Those in senior and middle management roles, make up an impressive 40 per cent of the workforce. In the National Assembly, 21 per cent of seats are held by women. This is testament to the strength, capability, and leadership qualities of our Seychellois women. We have to keep encouraging the younger generation to take every opportunity that arises, to break barriers and push towards greater heights. Seychelles might be small in size, but our ambitions are boundless.

    Given Seychelles’ unique characteristics, we are all in one way or another, connected to the environment. It fuels the very foundation of our economy. Tourism and fisheries – our two main economic pillars, thrive because of our natural resources. As we move forward, we must be mindful of our most pressing reality: Climate Change. It is not just a future threat; it is a present challenge, and one that poses long-term sustainability risks to our environment, our economy, and our way of life. We all have a shared responsibility to act on it. We must understand that climate change is not just an environmental issue, but also a social and economic issue. It affects our communities, our industries, and our livelihoods. We see it in the frequency of natural disasters – heavier monsoon rains, floods, landslides, and coastal erosion. These disasters highlight the urgent need for robust climate adaptation measures, sustainable financing, and enhancements in disaster risk management.

    While climate change is indeed a threat, let us not view it only as that. Within the challenges lie opportunities. This is our moment to innovate for a more progressive economy in a way that is sustainable for our planet. This is our opportunity to explore and invest in green and blue business ventures. We have seen a shift internationally, where global environmental policies are reshaping economies. The demand for fossil fuels will most probably decline as more nations commit to their national climate action plans on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and adapting to the impacts of climate change. To echo the words of a colleague from the National Bank of Angola, as said in a monetary policy and climate change workshop held last month, “In order to progress, we must adopt and adapt”.

    As the country implements reform measures under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, we are committed to integrating climate resilience into our financial system. This is a step towards not just economic stability but long-term sustainability. We will discuss further on this programme that is being implemented with the support of the IMF later during the day.

    The journey ahead is not without obstacles, yet we remain optimistic. We are a nation that denotes the very definition of resilience, and I firmly believe that if we all play our part, no matter how small it may seem, together we can accomplish great things.

    As we move forward in today’s discussions, I encourage each of you to contribute, engage, and explore new avenues for climate finance that can create lasting change. Let this be a moment where ideas turn into action, policies into practice, and collaboration into concrete results.

    I look forward to your insights on climate finance throughout the day.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: New Alaska Berry Booklet Features Salmonberries

    Source: US Geological Survey

    New Alaska Berry Booklet Features Salmonberries

    Discover how climate change is affecting salmonberry harvests in the newest addition to the ‘Berry Booklet’ series from the Alaska CASC, featuring local traditions and community adaptation strategies. 

    As warmer temperatures and droughts reshape traditional berry seasons in Alaska, subsistence harvesters are witnessing less-predictable fruiting and harvesting times. The new salmonberry “berry booklet” from the Alaska CASC sheds light on how climate change is impacting harvests and challenging communities that rely on salmonberries for food security and cultural tradition.  

    Salmonberries are so important to the Metlakatla community that their Climate Adaptation Plan prioritizes berry health when making decisions about invasive species control, herbicide use, and even road maintenance. Roadsides are prime gathering locations, offering easy walkable access to berries for families and elders. One of the biggest threats to the availability of salmonberry is changing precipitation, with June water availability (an important period before the plant produces fruit) expected to decrease another 10% over the next 75 years.  

    The booklet also highlights adaptation strategies communities are using, such as identifying resilient patches, pruning plants to increase berry production, sharing seeds, planting food forests, and protecting snowpacks.  

    This newest salmonberry booklet completes a series on Alaska’s five most popular berries – cloudberries, bog blueberries, lowbush cranberries, and crowberries. Each booklet explores how climate change affects harvest timing, plant health, and long-term berry availability while identifying knowledge gaps to guide future research. Developed as part of the “Berry Futures” project funded by the Alaska CASC, the series was shaped by extensive community input from listening sessions with berry harvesters from over 40 Alaskan communities. By combining local observations with scientific studies, the project centers Indigenous Knowledge and lived experiences in understanding and responding to climate impacts.  

    This work is supported by the Alaska CASC Project, “Alaska’s Berry Future: Planning for Changing Resources in an Altered Climate.” 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Only 15 countries have met the latest Paris agreement deadline. Is any nation serious about tackling climate change?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Doug Specht, Reader in Cultural Geography and Communication, University of Westminster

    Svet Foto/Shutterstock

    The latest deadline for countries to submit plans for slashing the greenhouse gas emissions fuelling climate change has passed. Only 15 countries met it – less than 8% of the 194 parties currently signed up to the Paris agreement, which obliges countries to submit new proposals for eliminating emissions every five years.

    Known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, these plans outline how each country intends to help limit average global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, or at most 2°C. This might include cutting emissions by generating more energy from wind and solar, or adapting to a heating world by restoring wetlands as protection against more severe floods and wildfires.

    Each new NDC should outline more stringent emissions cuts than the last. It should also show how each country seeks to mitigate climate change over the following ten years. This system is designed to progressively strengthen (or “ratchet up”) global efforts to combat climate change.

    The February 2025 deadline for submitting NDCs was set nine months before the next UN climate change conference, Cop30 in Belém, Brazil.

    Without a comprehensive set of NDCs for countries to compare themselves against, there will be less pressure on negotiators to raise national ambitions. Assessing how much money certain countries need to decarbonise and adapt to climate change, and how much is available, will also be more difficult.

    While countries can (and some will) continue to submit NDCs, the poor compliance rate so far suggests a lack of urgency that bodes ill for avoiding the worst climate outcomes this century.

    Who submitted?

    The 15 countries that submitted NDCs on time include the United Arab Emirates, the UK, Switzerland, Ecuador and a number of small states, such as Andorra and the Marshall Islands.

    Cop30 host Brazil submitted a pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 59-67% by 2035, compared to 2005 levels. This is up from its previous commitment, a 37% reduction by 2025 and 43% by 2030. Unfortunately, Brazil is not on track to meet its 2025 target and has set a more recent emissions baseline that will make any reductions more modest than they’d otherwise be.

    Japan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% in 2035 and 73% in 2040, compared to 2013 levels. Japan’s previous target was for a 46% reduction by 2030. This demonstrates how the ratchet system is supposed to work.

    The UK’s NDC, which pledges to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035, compared to 1990 levels, was described by independent scientists as “compatible” with limiting global heating to 1.5°C.

    The US submitted a plan to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 61-66% below 2005 levels by 2035. However, this was before Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris agreement (for the second time), so the commitment of one of the world’s largest polluters is in doubt.

    Who didn’t submit?

    Some of the world’s largest emitters failed to submit new NDCs, including China, India and Russia.

    India pledged to reduce its emissions by 35% below 2005 levels by 2030 at the signing of the Paris agreement. All of the country’s subsequent NDCs have been rated as “insufficient” by independent scientists. India’s recent national budget announcement offered scant additional funding for climate mitigation and adaptation measures.

    China also made big promises in 2015 with its aim to lower its CO₂ emissions by 65% by 2030, from a 2005 baseline. However, China has been responsible for over 90% of global CO₂ emissions growth since the Paris agreement was signed. China and the US also suspended formal discussions on climate change in 2022. Increased economic competition between these two nations has resulted in export control restrictions and tariffs which have made green technologies like electric vehicles more expensive, which is certain to slow down the shift from fossil fuels.

    Russia joined the Paris agreement in 2019. Its first NDC was labelled “critically insufficient” by scientists, and its follow-up in 2020 did not include increased targets. Russia is maximising the extraction of resources such as oil, gas and minerals and its 2035 strategy for the Arctic included plans to sink several oil wells on the continental shelf.

    With the USA’s 2025 NDC in limbo, President Trump is eyeing mineral reserves in Ukraine and Greenland, further ramping up oil production and cutting international climate research funding.

    The European Union could have positioned itself as a leader of global climate action, in lieu of US involvement. But the EU, which submits NDCs as a bloc alongside individual country submissions, also failed to submit on time.

    Global shifts

    The failure of most nations to submit new emission plans suggests that the era of cooperation on climate change is over. The largest and most powerful of these nations are growing their military and diplomatic presence around the world, particularly in countries with large reserves of critical minerals for electric vehicles and other technology relevant to decarbonisation. The lack of NDCs from these nations may be less a matter of middling green ambitions, more an attempt to disguise their planned exploitation of other countries’ resources.

    If countries keep failing to submit enhanced NDCs, or even withdraw from their commitments entirely, scientists warn that global heating could reach a catastrophic 4.4°C by 2100. This scenario assumes the continued, unabated use of fossil fuels, with little regard for the climate.

    In a more optimistic scenario, countries could limit warming to around 1.8°C by 2100. This will require global cooperation and significant investment in green technology, and entail a transition to net zero emissions by mid-century. This is a process that must include everyone. Simply having the most powerful nations decarbonise by exploiting and hoarding resources will imperil this critical target.

    The actual outcome will probably fall somewhere between these two scenarios, depending on forthcoming NDCs and how quickly and thoroughly they are implemented. All of the scenarios envisaged by climate scientists will involve warming continuing for decades.

    The effects of this warming will vary, however, based on the path we choose today.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Doug Specht 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. Only 15 countries have met the latest Paris agreement deadline. Is any nation serious about tackling climate change? – https://theconversation.com/only-15-countries-have-met-the-latest-paris-agreement-deadline-is-any-nation-serious-about-tackling-climate-change-250847

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Can animals make art?

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Shawn Simpson, Visiting Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh

    A male satin bowerbird stands before his creation. Ken Griffiths/iStock via Getty Images

    In the forests of eastern Australia, satin bowerbirds create structures known as “bowers.”

    The males gather twigs and place them upright, in two bundles, with a gap in the middle, resulting in what looks like a miniature archway. All around the bower the bird scatters small objects – shells, pieces of plastic, flower petals – which all possess the same property: the color blue.

    Studies suggest that the purpose of the bowers is to impress and attract females. But their beauty and intricacy has left some researchers wondering whether they shouldn’t be considered art.

    Of course, figuring out whether something is a work of art requires answering some tricky philosophical questions. Are animals even capable of creating art? And how can we tell whether something is a work of art rather than just a coincidentally beautiful object? As a philosopher and artist who’s interested in aesthetics and biology, I recently wrote about the evolution of behaviors in animals that could be seen as art.

    A contested concept

    First, it’s important to outline various theories of what makes something a work of art.

    There’s a general agreement that art must have some sort of producer and some possible or intended audience. In this way, it’s similar to other forms of communication.

    But the rest of the picture is unclear, and there’s no universally agreed-upon definition of art. In fact, art has proven so difficult to define that Scottish philosopher W.B. Gallie once suggested it might be an “essentially contested concept” – an idea for which there is no correct definition.

    That being said, some popular views have emerged.

    Leo Tolstoy famously suggested art is a conduit for emotion, writing in 1897 that “one man consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that other people are infected by these feelings and also experience them.”

    Plato and Aristotle emphasized the representational role of art: the idea that a work of art must in some way mimic, depict or “stand in” as a sort of sign for something else.

    Some philosophers believe that creating art requires intention – for example, a sculptor will mold clay with the intention of having it look like Abraham Lincoln. And nonhuman animals, they’ll argue, simply don’t have the right kind of intentions for art-making.

    Art, beauty and sex

    And yet, it’s not clear how much intention really does matter for art.

    Philosopher Brian Skyrms has pointed out that communication arises even in animals that plausibly do not have sophisticated intentions like our own. For example, fireflies signal to mates with flashes, and this seems to be largely an evolved behavior. Communication can even emerge via simple reinforcement learning, as when a dog learns to associate a certain call with dinner.

    These aren’t instances of art. But they reveal how meaningful signs or representations can operate without the need for complex intentions. Given that much art also serves a communicative role, I argue that there’s reason to think that art might be able to come about in less intention-demanding ways too.

    Ornithologist Richard Prum also takes a communicative view of art, but one where art is meant to be evaluated for its beauty. The beauty of a work functions as an indicator of the artist’s reproductive fitness, or their having “good genes” – and this can apply to both humans and animals.

    Charles Darwin, musing about birds in “The Descent of Man,” also thought at least some animals appreciate beauty:

    “When we behold a male bird elaborately displaying his graceful plumes or splendid colours before the female, whilst other birds, not thus decorated, make no such display, it is impossible to doubt that she admires the beauty of her male partner.”

    Some might not like an account like Prum’s, since it seems to allow creations like bowers to count as art. And yet, as philosopher Denis Dutton points out in his 2009 book “The Art Instinct,” mate attraction and fitness broadcasting can be the primary motivation behind many human works of art too: just consider the stereotype of the sex-hungry rock musician.

    Whale ballads and pig paintings

    I think it’s safe to say some animal creations don’t count as art. The webs of most spiders, though intricate and carefully designed, appear to exist for utilitarian purposes and serve no evaluative or communicative function. The same goes for most anthills.

    But what about animal songs?

    The structures of the songs of humpback whales are complex, featuring parts and repeated patterns that researchers often describe as “themes” and “verses.” The songs are long – sometimes up to 30 minutes. Because males perform these songs primarily during mating season, it’s plausible that female whales assess them for their beauty, which serves as a way to gauge the singer’s genetic fitness. Details of songs even vary from whale population to population, often changing over the course of a mating season.

    Then there are animals that have been trained to make art. Pigcasso was a pig in South Africa whose trainer taught her to paint on canvas via reinforcement learning. The trainer would pick out the colors for Pigcasso, and Pigcasso would do the brushing. Was Pigcasso really an artist? Were her paintings works of art?

    Pigcasso was taught to paint by her trainer.
    Kristin Palitza/Picture Alliance via Getty Images

    Pigcasso was plausibly making these paintings for reasons other than her own desire to communicate or make something beautiful; she was motivated, at least in part, by “piggy treats.” The trainer chose the colors. But Pigcasso did, in the end, have some aesthetic freedom: She had control over her brushstrokes.

    Off the coasts of Japan, male white-spotted puffer fish create impressive nests to attract females. The male puffer fish uses his mouth to remove rocks from the sand and his body to wiggle out long, strategically placed grooves. The finished product is a multi-ringed sand mandala about 6 feet in diameter.

    Like the bowers, the nests of the puffer fish are beautiful and involve mate attraction. Yet some researchers argue that since these sorts of works all look roughly the same – have the same shape, use the same materials and so on – they’re more likely the result of evolved, inflexible dispositions than more creative processes.

    Male white-spotted puffer fish create elaborate designs in the sand to attract mates.

    But it’s worth noting that many human works of art bear core similarities as well. Many paintings use flat surfaces, oils or acrylics. Many songs follow the same chord patterns. And would we still consider human sculptures art if we discovered much about the motivation to build them could be explained by evolution? I wager we would.

    Birds bust a move

    Many human cases of art involve more than one person, sometimes even a large group. Think of all the people it takes to make a modern film. Does anything like that happen in animals?

    Consider the blue manakin bird of South America. Male blues will form groups, often of three or more, which then practice an elaborate song-and-dance routine to later perform in front of females. The practice is detailed and dutiful. The groups hone their moves. This involves learning and memorization, not just genetics. Flaws in the performance are challenged and corrected. Sometimes during practices, a juvenile male will even fill in as a mock female.

    Some blue manakins spend years honing their dance moves.

    It’s not The Beatles. But the similarity to music groups seem hard to deny.

    At the same time, it’s worth wondering whether, beyond conveying their eagerness to mate, the birds are trying to “say” or “express” anything more with their performance. And do they know it’s beautiful?

    All this leaves room for doubt about whether animals really make art.

    To me, a key question is whether there’s any animal art that doesn’t have to do with mating, and instead expresses something more complex or sentimental. Without being able to get into the heads of animals, it’s hard to say. But it’s plausible that humans aren’t alone in their artistic pursuits.

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

    – ref. Can animals make art? – https://theconversation.com/can-animals-make-art-248503

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why history instruction is critical for combating online misinformation

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lightning Jay, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Learning and Educational Leadership, Binghamton University, State University of New York

    Students ask questions during a social studies class on American politics. AP Photo/John Minchillo

    Can you tell fact from fiction online? In a digital world, few questions are more important or more challenging.

    For years, some commentators have called for K-12 teachers to take on fake news, media literacy, or online misinformation by doubling down on critical thinking. This push for schools to do a better job preparing young people to differentiate between low- and high-quality information often focuses on social studies classes.

    As an education researcher and former high school history teacher, I know that there’s both good and bad news about combating misinformation in the classroom. History class can cultivate critical thinking – but only if teachers and schools understand what critical thinking really means.

    Not just a ‘skill’

    First, the bad news.

    When people demand that schools teach critical thinking, it’s not always clear what they mean. Some might consider critical thinking a trait or capacity that teachers can encourage, like creativity or grit. They could believe that critical thinking is a mindset: a habit of being curious, skeptical and reflective. Or they might be referring to specific skills – for instance, that students should learn a set of steps to take to assess information online.

    Unfortunately, cognitive science research has shown that critical thinking is not an abstract quality or practice that can be developed on its own. Cognitive scientists see critical thinking as a specific kind of reasoning that involves problem-solving and making sound judgments. It can be learned, but it relies on specific content knowledge and does not necessarily transfer between fields.

    Early studies on chess players and physicists in the 1970s and ’80s helped show how the kind of flexible and reflective cognition often called critical thinking is really a product of expertise. Chess masters, for instance, do not start out with innate talent. In most cases, they gain expertise by hours of thoughtfully playing the game. This deliberate practice helps them recognize patterns and think in novel ways about chess. Chess masters’ critical thinking is a product of learning, not a precursor.

    Nurman Alua of Kazakhstan, left, and Lee Alice of the U.S. during the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 22, 2024.
    AP Photo/Denes Erdos

    Because critical thinking develops in specific contexts, it does not necessarily transfer to other types of problem-solving. For example, chess advocates might hope the game improves players’ intelligence, and studies do suggest learning chess may help elementary students with the kind of pattern recognition they need for early math lessons. However, research has found that being a great chess player does not make people better at other kinds of complex critical thinking.

    Historical thinking

    Since context is key to critical thinking, learning to analyze information about current events likely requires knowledge about politics and history, as well as practice at scrutinizing sources. Fortunately, that is what social studies classes are for.

    Social studies researchers often describe this kind of critical thinking as “historical thinking”: a way to evaluate evidence about the past and assess its reliability. My own research has shown that high school students can make relatively quick progress on some of the surface features of historical thinking, such as learning to check a text’s date and author. But the deep questioning involved in true historical thinking is much harder to learn.

    Social studies classrooms can also build what researchers call “civic online reasoning.” Fact-checking is complex work. It is not enough to tell young people that they should be wary online, or to trust sites that end in “.org” instead of “.com.” Rather than learning general principles about online media, civic online reasoning teaches students specific skills for evaluating information about politics and social issues.

    Still, learning to think like a historian does not necessarily prepare someone to be a skeptical news consumer. Indeed, a recent study found that professional historians performed worse than professional fact-checkers at identifying online misinformation. The misinformation tasks the historians struggled with focused on issues such as bullying or the minimum wage – areas where they possessed little expertise.

    Powerful knowledge

    That’s where background knowledge comes in – and the good news is that social studies can build it. All literacy relies on what readers already know. For people wading through political information and news, knowledge about history and civics is like a key in the ignition for their analytical skills.

    Readers without much historical knowledge may miss clues that something isn’t right – signs that they need to scrutinize the source more closely. Political misinformation often weaponizes historical falsehoods, such as the debunked and recalled Christian nationalist book claiming that Thomas Jefferson did not believe in a separation of church and state, or claims that the nadir of African American life came during Reconstruction, not slavery. Those claims are extreme, but politicians and policymakers repeat them.

    For someone who knows basic facts about American history, those claims won’t sit right. Background knowledge will trigger their skepticism and kick critical thinking into gear.

    A teacher in North Carolina conducts a lesson about the D-Day invasion of Normandy in an Advanced Placement class.
    AP Photo/Gerry Broome

    Past, present, future

    For this reason, the best approach to media literacy will come through teaching that fosters concrete skills alongside historical knowledge. In short, the new knowledge crisis points to the importance of the traditional social studies classroom.

    But it’s a tenuous moment for history education. The Bush- and Obama-era emphasis on math and English testing resulted in decreased instructional time in history classes, particularly in elementary and middle schools. In one 2005 study, 27% of schools reported reducing social studies time in favor of subjects on state exams.

    Now, history teachers are feeling heat from politically motivated culture wars over education that target teaching about racism and LGBTQ+ issues and that ban books from libraries and classrooms. Two-thirds of instructors say that they’ve limited classroom discussions about social and political topics.

    Attempts to limit students’ knowledge about the past imperil their chances of being able to think critically about new information. These attacks are not just assaults on the history of the country; they are attempts to control its future.

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

    – ref. Why history instruction is critical for combating online misinformation – https://theconversation.com/why-history-instruction-is-critical-for-combating-online-misinformation-248528

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Chang Yong Rhee: Sustainability challenges in Korea

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    I. Introduction

    Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, I am Rhee Changyong, Governor of the Bank of Korea.

    It is an honor to join the Global Engagement & Empowerment Forum (GEEF) to discuss building a sustainable future. I sincerely thank Yonsei University President Yun Dongseob, former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and everyone who made this event possible. I am also pleased to reconnect with former World Bank President Jim Yong Kim after my time in Washington, D.C.

    Over the years, the GEEF has brought together global leaders, international organizations, businesses, and stakeholders to explore solutions for achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I hope this forum continues driving practical solutions to today’s sustainability challenges.

    I am here to share Korea’s perspective on these issues. Some people say, “The Governor of the Bank of Korea is overstepping his bounds,” because I speak on social issues beyond monetary policy. Discussing the SDGs today may reinforce that perception. While central bankers debate their role in such discussions, sustainability challenges directly impact our economy and daily lives. For this reason, I cannot remain indifferent-not just as a central bank governor, but also as a citizen.

    Sustainability takes many forms, but today I will focus on two urgent challenges for Korea’s economy. The first is climate change, a global crisis affecting everyone. The second is our declining birth rate and aging population, a challenge that is especially severe in Korea.

    II. Climate Change

    There is global and domestic consensus that human activities drive global warming and reducing carbon emissions is essential. However, Korea faces significant resistance to accelerating carbon reduction due to its heavily export-oriented economy dominated by high-carbon manufacturing industries. Strengthening emission reduction policies and environmental regulations raises concerns about export companies losing competitiveness. Thus, balancing urgent carbon reduction with sustaining industrial competitiveness has become a central issue.

    However, climate change should not be viewed solely from the perspective of export industries. It is a crisis directly affecting our daily lives and quality of life. We are already experiencing more extreme heat waves, frequent flooding, and the gradual disappearance of familiar fruits and vegetables. Our summer rainfalls used to be predictable, but not anymore. If Los Angeles can experience massive wildfires, what is stopping Korea from experiencing similar disasters? Climate change is not distant-it is occurring now, and its impacts are unavoidable.

    Air quality is a clear example. Last week, I visited Cape Town, South Africa, for a BIS meeting. While it was winter in Korea, it was summer there, with warm weather, a refreshing sea breeze, and remarkably clean air. Within days, I realized, “This is truly clean air.” Upon returning to Incheon Airport, I immediately felt a headache-not just from the flood of emails about economic and political concerns, but also from the noticeably poorer air quality. Korea’s air quality has improved recently, but after experiencing cleaner air in Washington, D.C., I can clearly sense the difference. As someone sensitive to lung health after experiencing long COVID, this difference is especially noticeable. Although conditions have improved, fine dust remains a serious issue.

    Statistically, the cost of deteriorating air quality is undeniable. Over the past 15 years, diagnoses of atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis have doubled, and cases of heat exhaustion have quadrupled, now totaling 4,000. Climate change directly threatens our health, making the challenges of protecting public health increasingly severe as temperatures rise and pollution worsens.

    Another example is the increased frequency of sudden downpours, repeatedly flooding Seoul’s Gangnam Station area, one of Korea’s wealthiest neighborhoods, submerging numerous luxury vehicles over the past several years. Beyond property damage, the human toll has been devastating. Just two years ago, 14 people tragically lost their lives when an underpass collapsed after 500mm of rain fell in thirteen days. Observing these intense summer storms reminds me of tropical squalls typically seen in Thailand or South America.

    The Korea Meteorological Administration now classifies rainfall exceeding 50mm per hour or 90mm over three hours as “extreme heavy rain,” conditions responsible for 80% of flood damage. These extreme events have more than doubled since the 1970s. Given these dramatic changes, it is unclear whether our current flood prevention infrastructure-such as dams, embankments, and drainage systems-can handle the intensifying conditions. About 20% of national river embankments are already rated as “inadequate” or “poor,” and projections suggest half of Korea’s dams may fail to prevent flooding by 2040. We must proactively strengthen infrastructure now to withstand growing climate challenges.

    Third, climate change is disrupting our food supply. Last year, I faced criticism from agricultural stakeholders after suggesting apple imports due to soaring prices (Im et al., 2024). Initially, I anticipated resistance primarily from traditional apple-growing regions like Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. However, apple production areas are gradually shifting northward. Apple cultivation in Daegu-Gyeongbuk has decreased by nearly half compared to 30 years ago. Once grown nationwide, except for the southern coast and Jeju Island, projections suggest high-quality apples will only be viable in Gangwon Province’s mountainous areas by the 2030s, due to rapid climate change (Rural Development Administration, 2022). Within a decade, importing apples will likely become a necessity rather than controversial.

    The fishing industry faces similar disruptions. Pollack, once a staple in Korea, has nearly vanished from local waters, with catches below one ton since 2019. Traditional species like croaker and anchovies are declining, while warmer-water species like yellowtail and mackerel are increasing. Korea’s fishing industry must rapidly adapt by modernizing vessels, gear, and aquaculture techniques to match the changing marine ecosystem.

    While countless examples exist, the core message is clear. Climate change is not just a challenge for export industries-it already deeply impacts our daily lives and various domestic sectors. Thus, addressing climate change and reducing carbon emissions is not a matter of choice-it is an urgent necessity.

    Although the government has initiated policy efforts, substantial progress remains necessary. First, Korea’s Green Taxonomy (K-Taxonomy) must align with international standards to clearly define “environmentally friendly” activities, signaling strong support for carbon reduction. Second, carbon pricing must be more realistic. Last April, the global average carbon price was approximately $30 per ton, reaching $60 per ton in the EU, compared to only $6 per ton in Korea. At this price, companies find it more economical to buy emission credits than reduce emissions, undermining carbon reduction targets. Third, structural improvements to Korea’s Emissions Trading System (K-ETS) are needed. Gradually reducing the 90% free allocation rate and tightening the emissions cap will create stronger market incentives for effective emissions trading.

    The Bank of Korea is also increasing its efforts by conducting financial stress tests on climate-related risks. Financial institutions traditionally manage risks like loan defaults and real estate fluctuations, but climate-driven risks introduce unexpected tail risks not yet fully considered. Events like Los Angeles’ wildfires or Australia’s six-month wildfire crisis in 2019 are not distant threats. They serve as warnings for Korea. Severe localized climate damage could cause significant financial losses for households and businesses, destabilizing financial institutions and spreading shocks throughout the economy.

    Thus, the Bank of Korea actively researches climate risks’ impacts on our industries and financial system, conducting stress tests with financial institutions under various scenarios. Next Tuesday, we will present these climate stress test results at a joint conference with the Financial Supervisory Service.

    Bank of Korea employees are also committed to reducing carbon emissions through research (Kim et al., 2024) and daily practices. Believing even small actions matter, we have adopted eco-friendly measures such as using recycled-paper business cards, reducing plastic use, turning off unused lights, and implementing license plate-based driving restrictions.

    III. Ultra Low Fertility and an Aging Population

    Beyond climate change, one of the most pressing sustainability challenges is our demographic crisis-an aging population combined with extremely low fertility rates. Korea’s total fertility rate slightly rose to 0.75 in 2024 from 0.72 in 2023. Although this small uptick is welcome, a fertility rate of 0.75 remains a national emergency. If this trend continues, Korea faces an irreversible population crisis that threatens economic stability and social cohesion.

    Some people suggest that population decline might have benefits, such as reduced pollution, lower energy consumption, and higher GDP per capita, possibly enhancing quality of life. However, this view dangerously oversimplifies the issue. A fertility rate of 0.75 leads not to gradual decline but rapid demographic collapse, undermining economic and social stability. By contrast, the OECD average fertility rate of 1.4 results in a more manageable and sustainable population decline.

    The difference between fertility rates of 0.75 and 1.4 significantly impacts economic growth prospects. At 0.75, Korea’s population would shrink from 51.7 million to 30 million in 50 years, just 58% of today’s figure, declining annually by 1.1%. In contrast, at a rate of 1.4, the population decline is less severe, reaching 43 million-83% of today’s level-with an annual drop of 0.4%. From a purely demographic standpoint, the difference in GDP growth between these two scenarios would amount to 0.4 percentage points annually. But the true cost goes beyond this simple calculation. A declining youth population, crucial for innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic dynamism, would severely undermine Korea’s long-term growth potential. According to a recent Bank of Korea study, Korea’s potential growth rate, currently around 2%, may approach near 0% by the late 2040s (Lee et al., 2024). If the fertility rate remains at 0.75, Korea will inevitably face prolonged negative economic growth after 2050. Conversely, at 1.4, Korea could maintain positive economic growth well into the future.

    Beyond GDP, persistently low fertility will create substantial fiscal strain, increasing the burden on younger generations. As the elderly population surges, spending on pensions, healthcare, and elder care will rise significantly. According to the National Assembly Budget Office (2025), Korea’s national debt-to-GDP ratio, currently 46.9%, is projected to reach 182% within 50 years if fertility remains at 0.75. If fertility improves to 1.4, the ratio would increase more slowly, reaching 163%. The burden on young Koreans will become particularly overwhelming. Currently, four working-age individuals support each elderly person. At a fertility rate of 0.75, this ratio will decline to one-to-one within 50 years. At 1.4, however, it remains more manageable, easing strain on future generations.

    Moreover, economic instability from demographic shifts increases society’s vulnerability to populism. Stagnant growth exacerbates income inequality, deepens generational and class divides, and fuels political polarization. Politicians and governments may resort to populist fiscal policies, such as direct cash handouts and temporary welfare measures, providing short-term relief without addressing underlying issues. Such policies risk creating a cycle of fiscal inefficiency and mounting national debt, exacerbating rather than resolving the core problems.

    To preserve economic sustainability, decisive action must be taken urgently. If Korea’s fertility rate remains critically low without significant expansion of the workforce through foreign labor, the country risks chronic negative growth, soaring debt, and escalating social tensions. Avoiding this scenario requires raising the fertility rate to a more viable level. Completely reversing population decline may be unrealistic since many advanced economies face similar demographic challenges, but Korea cannot afford to remain passive. At a minimum, we must strive to reach the OECD average fertility rate of 1.4.

    Why has Korea’s fertility rate fallen so drastically? The answer lies in structural barriers discouraging young people from marriage and parenthood. Bank of Korea studies indicate young Koreans delay or forgo marriage and childbirth due to intense competition and anxieties over employment, housing, and childcare. Young people today face fierce competition for scarce, high-quality jobs, making career stability difficult. Simultaneously, soaring housing prices make homeownership seem unattainable. Under these pressures, raising children is more than challenging-it is an overwhelming financial and emotional burden.

    A major driver of this crisis is the extreme concentration of population and economic activity in the Seoul metropolitan area. A recent Bank of Korea study analyzing fertility trends in 35 OECD countries identified Korea’s urban concentration as among the highest globally, pinpointing it as a key factor behind the country’s ultra-low fertility (Hwang et al., 2023). Over 50% of Korea’s GDP, population, and jobs are concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area-much higher than 5% in the U.S. and Germany, 10-20% in the U.K. and Italy, 20-30% in France, and 30% in Japan. While Korea’s rapid economic development-the “Miracle on the Han River”-transformed the country into an economic powerhouse, it also centralized infrastructure, talent, and opportunities in Seoul. Consequently, young people continue migrating to the capital for career prospects, draining vitality from regional economies and pushing many toward demographic extinction.

    Korea’s highly competitive university entrance system further reinforces the population concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area. Admission to prestigious universities is considered essential-not only for stable employment but also for social status and marriage prospects. This fuels intense competition for limited spots at elite universities, overwhelmingly located in Seoul. Private education has become critical, prompting families to relocate to Seoul’s affluent areas like Gangnam-gu, known for high-quality private educational infrastructure. Many parents unable to afford homeownership instead rely on costly rental housing to secure educational advantages. This strategy appears justified, as students from Seoul account for 32% of admissions to Seoul National University (SNU), despite representing only 16% of school-age population. More strikingly, students from Gangnam-gu alone constitute 12% of SNU admissions, three times the district’s 4% share of school-age residents (Chung et al., 2024). Relocating to Gangnam-gu is thus seen as essential for top university admission, intensifying Seoul’s population density, raising housing prices, and worsening the fertility crisis.

    Korea’s university admission system is excessively competitive by any standard. Parents sacrifice their quality of life and retirement savings, investing considerable resources to secure their children’s admission to elite universities. Paradoxically, this intense pursuit of academic success imposes a heavy cost on both parents and children. From as early as kindergarten, students experience relentless pressure and burnout, depriving them of childhood joys and a healthy adolescence.

    Korea’s critically low fertility rate (0.75), extreme population concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area, and overheated university competition seem like separate issues but are deeply interconnected. Left unresolved, these challenges-drastic population decline, persistent negative economic growth, escalating social tensions, and diminishing opportunities for youth-will push Korea toward an unsustainable tipping point. Addressing these structural issues simultaneously is challenging, yet the urgency demands bold action. Recognizing this, the Bank of Korea recently proposed two policy suggestions: foster a limited number of regional hub cities and implement a “regional proportional admission system” for universities.

    First, to effectively reduce the extreme population concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area, we must strategically develop a small number of regional hub cities. Over the past two decades, regional development policies have been introduced to address this imbalance. However, due to political challenges and efforts to evenly distribute resources nationwide, these initiatives have been too fragmented to meaningfully curb Seoul’s dominance.

    According to Bank of Korea research, the optimal approach-given Korea’s land area and population-is to concentrate substantial investments in two to six carefully selected regional hub cities. Targeted, large-scale investment in critical infrastructure, such as healthcare, education, and cultural amenities, is essential to providing a quality of life comparable to Seoul, thus effectively attracting and retaining residents (Chung et al., 2023, 2024). Pursuing this focused strategy will rebalance population distribution, revitalize regional economies-including surrounding smaller cities-and achieve sustainable national development.

    In parallel, bold reforms to Korea’s college admissions system are essential. The Bank of Korea has proposed a “regional proportional admission system,” where universities voluntarily allocate admissions based on each region’s proportion of high school seniors (Chung et al., 2024). Despite multiple revisions to university entrance system, excessive competition in university admissions remains unresolved. BOK’s new proposal seeks to enhance universities’ autonomy in admissions while strongly requiring balanced regional representation-a crucial step to address extreme competition. Adopting this system offers several benefits. First, it reduces the disproportionate influence of socioeconomic factors such as parental wealth and private education, thus significantly enhancing social mobility. Second, dispersing admissions competition from Seoul would ease demographic pressures, stabilize housing prices, and improve fertility rates. Third, attracting students from diverse regions promotes mutual understanding, social cohesion, and reduces regional disparities.

    This proposal does not require government intervention or legal amendments, relying instead on the willingness and initiative of leading universities. In Korea, there remains a strong belief that selecting students based solely on academic scores is the fairest, leading resistance to this proposal. Some universities argue they already implement regional proportional admissions for roughly 15% of their freshmen. However, such limited quotas can stigmatize these students and have insufficient impact on demographic or housing pressures in Seoul. To be effective, regional proportional admissions must be applied to most incoming students’ admissions. In many advanced nations, regional diversity in admissions is widely accepted and encouraged. I believe Dr. Jim Yong Kim, joining us today and a former president of Dartmouth College, understands this issue well. He could highlight how Korea’s test score-based admissions approach is an exception globally, and how this reform could realistically occur through proactive leadership at major universities.

    In my view, allowing universities greater flexibility in evaluating applicants-under regional proportional requirements-would better acknowledge and fairly recognize diverse talents. Human talent is far too diverse to be measured by academic tests alone. Yet, Korea’s current admissions system prioritizes a narrow skillset: memorization, quick mathematical calculations, and rapid text summarization under time pressure. These skills, overly rewarded by standardized exams, limit the range of recognized talents. I happen to possess these particular skills and was a major beneficiary of Korea’s college admission system. However, if asked to write a creative essay over a week, I might not have excelled. Today, elite university students often share certain defining characteristics such as a personality that diligently follows instructions without rebellion, a willingness to endure 15 years of repetitive study from kindergarten, an IQ high enough to handle the academic workload, but not so high as to question or challenge its purpose.

    When Korea’s primary goal was catching up with more advanced nations, the current educational system was beneficial in developing individuals who excelled at following orders and carrying out assigned tasks. However, with Korea now at the forefront of global technological competition, we need people unafraid to explore new frontiers, bringing diverse backgrounds and innovative thinking. Additionally, we must foster an environment that encourages collaboration, creativity, and meaningful interaction. It is time for universities to broaden their evaluation criteria and nurture diverse talents by implementing regional proportional admissions.

    The challenges highlighted today-climate change and demographic crisis-pose critical threats and require urgent action. Korea has achieved remarkable economic progress, joining the ranks of advanced nations. Now we must focus on enhancing individual well-being, ensuring prosperity and happiness for all citizens. Through bold decisions, we can develop vibrant, youth-friendly, green regional hubs that combat climate change and support marriage and childbirth. The Bank of Korea remains fully committed to securing a sustainable, prosperous future for upcoming generations.

    Thank you for your time and attention.

    This speech was prepared with the assistance of Sanghun Park and Joonki Min from the Office of Sustainable Growth, and Inro Lee and Inkyung Yoo from the Economic Research Institute.

    References

    Kim J. Y., Ryu G. B., Hwang J. H., Kim H. J., Kim H. N., Lee H. A., and Sim S. B. 2024. “The Impact of Climate Change Risks on the Real Economy: Analysis by Climate Response Scenarios.” BOK Issue Note No. 2024-30, Bank of Korea.

    Rural Development Administration. 2022. “Prediction of Changes in Cultivation Areas for Six Major Fruits Considering Climate Change Scenarios.” Press Release.
    Lim W. J., Lee D. J., Lee Y. S., and Park C. H. 2024. “Characteristics and Implications of Korea’s Price Levels: A Comparison with Major Countries.” BOK Issue Note No. 2024-14, Bank of Korea.

    Chung M. S., Kim E. J., Lee H. S., Hong S. J., and Lee D. R. 2023. “Interregional Population Migration and Regional Economy.” BOK Issue Note No. 2023-29, Bank of Korea.

    Chung M. S., Lee Y. H., Yoo J. S., and Kim E. J. 2024. “Analysis of Regional Economic Growth Factors and Balanced Development Focused on Hub Cities.” BOK Issue Note No. 2024-15, Bank of Korea.

    Chung J. W., Lee D. W., and Kim H. J. 2024. “Adressing Social Issues Steming from Excessive Competition in College Admissions.” BOK Issue Note No. 2024-26, Bank of Korea.

    Hwang I. D., Nam Y. M., Sund W., Shim S. R., Yeom J., Lee B. J., Lee H. R., Chung J. W., Cho T. H., Choi Y. J., Hwang S. W., and Son M. K. 2023. “Lowest-low Fertility and Super-aged Society: Causes and Impacts of the Extreme Population Structure, and Policy Options.” In-Depth Analysis, Korea Economy Outlook, Bank of Korea.

    Lee E. K., Chun D. M., Kim J. W., and Lee D. J. 2024. “Potential Growth Rate of the Korean Economy and Future Outlook.” BOK Issue Note No. 2024-33, Bank of Korea.

    Lim W. J., Lee D. J., Lee Y. S., and Park C. H. 2024. “Characteristics and Implications of Korea’s Price Levels: A Comparison with Major Countries.” BOK Issue Note No. 2024-14, Bank of Korea.

    National Assembly Budget Office. 2025. “2025-2072 NABO Long-Term Fiscal Outlook.”

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Government welcomes agreement on protecting penguin populations

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Wednesday, March 19, 2025

    The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has welcomed the finalisation of a historic settlement agreement — in the form of a court order — securing critical protections for South Africa’s penguin populations. 

    The landmark agreement — reached between the fishing industry and conservation organisations BirdLife South Africa and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) — establishes island closures to safeguard the critically endangered African Penguin, while supporting sustainable fishing practices.

    “Today marks a triumph for conservation and sustainable development. This court-ordered settlement realises the DFFE’s long-standing commitment to protecting our penguins and biodiversity, while ensuring the fishing industry’s viability. 

    “I am immensely proud of the collaborative spirit that has brought us here, a model for how industry and conservation can work hand in hand for the greater good,” Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, said on Tuesday.

    The order, issued by the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, includes the following island closures:

    • Dassen Island: Interim closure as per current permit conditions.
    • Robben Island: A 20km closure, consistent with the Island Closure Experiment.
    • Stony Point: Closure as depicted by the black hatched line in the agreed diagram, applicable to all fishing vessels.
    • Dyer Island: Interim closure as reflected in current permit conditions.
    • St Croix Island: Closure delineated by coordinates (western boundary: 25°45’E; southern boundary: 34°01′ to 25°50’E; southern boundary east: 33°59′ to 25°59’E; eastern boundary to MPA: 25°59’E).
    • Bird Island: A 20km closure radius from the lighthouse, as implemented during the Island Closure Experiment.

    The DFFE said it is committed to overseeing the effective implementation of these closures and will collaborate with stakeholders to monitor their impact on penguin populations. 

    “With this court order, South Africa sets a global standard for environmental stewardship, proving that unity and science-based solutions can secure a thriving future for both nature and livelihoods.

    “We extend our heartfelt thanks to the fishing industry, BirdLife South Africa, SANCCOB, and all involved parties for their dedication to this process,” the department said. –SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: CPI remains unchanged in February

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Consumer price inflation has remained at 3.2% in February – unchanged from January.

    According to Statistics South Africa, the main contributors to the annual inflation rate were: 

    • Housing and utilities (4.4% and contributing 1.0 percentage point);
    • Food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.8% and contributing 0.5 of a percentage point), and
    • Restaurants and accommodation service.

    “Recreation, sport and culture, food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco and communication recorded higher annual inflation rates in February.

    “Inflation cooled for several product categories, most notably, personal care and miscellaneous services, health, restaurants and accommodation, furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance and transport,” Stats SA Director: CPI Operations, Lekau Ranoto, said.

    The annual rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages accelerated to some 2.8% in February from 2.3% in January.

    “Fruit and nuts, vegetables, hot beverages, seafood, meat and cereals recorded higher rates. On the down side, cold beverages milk, dairy and eggs, oils and fats and sugar confectionary and desserts witnessed slower price increases,” she said.

    Ranoto said inflation in maize meal – a staple in South African households – reached a 17-month high, with samp inflation also reaching a 19-month high in February.

    “The rise in prices is driven by inflationary pressure from the farming and manufacturing of maize according to the latest producer price index data. On average, consumer prices for meat stayed the same in February, compared with January, resulting in a monthly change of 0%. The annual rate was also 0%. 

    “While meat remained subdued, inflation for hot beverages continues to accelerate. The annual change in the price index for hot beverages was 14.6% in February, up from 13.7% in January,” Ranoto said.

    Meanwhile, Stats SA has also recorded a 10.5% increase in medical aid premiums this year and health services rose by 6.1%, compared with a 5% rise last year. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Swarbrick pleads for NZ cross-party support for sanctions on Israel

    By Russell Palmer, RNZ News political reporter

    Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says the need for Aotearoa New Zealand to impose sanctions against Israel has grown more urgent after airstrikes on Gaza resumed, killing more than 400 people.

    Swarbrick lodged a member’s bill in December and said that with all opposition parties backing it, the support of just six backbench government MPs would mean it could skip the “biscuit tin” and be brought to Parliament for a first reading.

    “I feel as though every other day there is something else which adds urgency, but yes — I think as a result of the most recent round of atrocities and particularly the public focus, attention, energy and effort that is being that has been put on them, that, yes, parliamentarians desperately need to act.

    Swarbrick claimed there were government MPs who were keen to support her bill, saying it was why her party was publicly pushing the numbers needed to get it across the line.

    “We have the most whipped Parliament in the Western world,” she said. “We would hope that parliamentarians would live up to all of those statements that they make about their values and principles when they do their bright-eyed and bushy-tailed maiden speeches.

    “The time is now, people cannot hide behind party lines anymore.

    “I know for a fact that there are government MPs that are keen to support this kaupapa.”

    Standing order allowance
    Standing Order 288 allows MPs who are not ministers or undersecretaries to indicate their support for a member’s bill.

    If at least 61 MPs get behind it, the legislation skips the “biscuit tin” ballot.

    If answered, Swarbrick’s call would be the first time this process is followed.

    Labour confirmed its support for the bill last week.

    A coalition spokesperson said the government’s policy position on the matter remained unchanged, including in response to Swarbrick’s bill.

    New Zealand has consistently advocated for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

    Swarbrick pointed to New Zealand’s support — alongside 123 other countries — of a UN resolution calling for sanctions against those responsible for Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories, including in relation to settler violence.

    Conditional support
    The government’s support for the resolution was conditional and included several caveats — including that the 12-month timeframe for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories was “unrealistic”, and noted the resolution went beyond what was initially proposed.

    None of the other 123 countries which supported the resolution have yet brought sanctions against Israel.

    “Unfortunately, in the several months following that resolution in September of last year, our government has done nothing to fulfil that commitment,” Swarbrick said.

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ permanent representative to the UN Carolyn Schwalger in September noted that the Resolution imposed no obligations on New Zealand beyond what already existed under international law, but “New Zealand stands ready to implement any measures adopted by the UN Security Council”.

    NZ ambassador to the UN Carolyn Schwalger speaking at the UN General Assembly . . . “New Zealand stands ready to implement any measures adopted by the UN Security Council.” Image: Screenshot/UN General Assembly livestream/RNZ

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in December said the government had a long-standing position of travel bans on extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied territories, and wanted to see a two-state solution developed.

    Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said its military pressure against Hamas was to secure the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack, and “this is just the beginning”.

    Israel continues to deny accusations of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    South African genocide case against Israel
    However, South Africa has taken a case of genocide against Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the trial remains ongoing with 14 countries having confirmed that they are intervening in support of South Africa.

    The attack on Israel in 2023 left 1139 people dead, with about 250 hostages taken.

    UN Secretary General António Guterres said in a tweet he was “outraged” by the Israeli airstrikes.

    “I strongly appeal for the ceasefire to be respected, for unimpeded humanitarian assistance to be re-established and for the remaining hostages to be released unconditionally,” he said.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: WELFARE OF CAPFs PERSONNEL

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:08PM by PIB Delhi

    The details of the various schemes and the initiatives being taken by the Government for the welfare of Central Armed Police Force personnel are annexed.

    • Ayushman CAPF as an initiative was launched on January 23, 2021 for providing cashless and paperless medical treatment at empaneled private and government hospitals across India to the serving personnel of Central Armed Police Forces, Assam Rifles, National Security Guard & National Disaster Response Force and their dependents.
    • 41,79,361 Ayushman CAPF Cards (ID) have been generated.

    ******

    ANNEXURE

    The Government of India has taken several welfare initiatives for the personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and their families. These initiatives encompass financial assistance, educational support, housing, and rehabilitation services.

    • Ayushman CAPF: It is an initiative launched by the Government of India under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) specifically for personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and their families. It provides cashless and paperless medical treatment at empanelled private and government hospitals across India
    • Ex-Gratia Payments: In the unfortunate event of death due to accidents during duty, CAPF personnel’s next of kin receive ₹25 lakh. For deaths resulting from acts of violence by terrorists or during enemy action, the compensation is ₹35 lakh.
    • Accidental death insurance coverage under CAPF salary package scheme: This policy offers financial support to the families of personnel who lose their lives in the line of duty.
    • Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme (PMSS): Launched to encourage higher technical and professional education among the wards and widows of CAPF and Assam Rifles personnel, the scheme offers 2,000 scholarships annually (1,000 for boys and 1,000 for girls). The scholarship amounts are ₹3,000 per month for girls and ₹2,500 per month for boys, disbursed annually as ₹36,000 and ₹30,000, respectively.

    ANNEXURE

    • Contributory Welfare Fund:- Necessary guidelines issued to bring uniformity in payout to the Next of Kins (NoKs) of deceased CAPF personnel from Contributory Welfare Fund.
    • Quota for wards of CAPF:- 26 seats in MBBS & 03 seats in BDS have been reserved for the wards of serving/deceased CAPFs & AR personnel.
    • CAPF e-Awas Portal: A dedicated online platform facilitates the registration and allotment of residential quarters to CAPF personnel. The portal also provides services such as retention and regularization of accommodations.
    • Welfare and Rehabilitation Board (WARB): Established to oversee the welfare and rehabilitation of retired CAPF personnel and their families, including the next of kin of deceased or disabled personnel, WARB operates through State and District Welfare Officers across the country.
    • “CAPF Punarvaas” scheme: – A “CAPF Punarvaas” scheme was launched by linking Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act (PSARA) website with WARB website where the data of retired and willing Ex- CAPF/AR personnel is made available to Private Security Agencies on PSARA website for re-employment in Private Security Agencies.
    • Medical Facilities: Retired personnel and their spouses receive medical facilities from CGHS/CPMF Hospitals or a medical allowance of ₹1000 per month.

    ANNEXURE

    • Risk and Hardship Allowances: Enhancements have been made to the existing risk and hardship allowances for CAPF personnel deployed in Jammu and Kashmir and Left-Wing Extremism affected districts.
    • Kendriya Police Kalyan Bhandar (KPKB): Formerly known as the Central Police Canteen, KPKB provides quality products to CAPF personnel at discounted rates through direct negotiations with suppliers.
    • Liberalized Pension Awards (LPA) and Extraordinary Family Pension (EFP): There are special pension schemes designed for the families of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel who suffer death or disability due to operational hazards, ensuring financial security for their dependents.
    • Bharat Ke Veer: It is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to support the families of deceased Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel. It enables citizens to contribute financially to the families of soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

    This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

    ***

    RK/VV/ASH/RR/PR/PS

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Why a business coach is the profession of the future

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    – The program receives many applications. Unfortunately, sometimes people come who have neither the calling nor the necessary basic competencies. The qualification of a business trainer from the HSE is very attractive to “bloggers”, yogis, personal growth trainers, pseudo-psychologists, for people who consider the profession as a means of deception and profit. We cut them off at the entrance, since sometimes one person can destroy the working climate in the entire group. There are such programs where, first of all, reputation is important, and only then the number. This is our case. In principle, for the training of business trainers, groups cannot be more than 20-25 people. Otherwise, we will lose the quality of training. If more people pass the interview successfully, then we will open two or more streams.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Development of Fisheries in Odisha

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 2:10PM by PIB Delhi

    The Department of Fisheries (DoF), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (MoFAH&D), Government of India is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) for a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 in all States and Union Territories including Odisha. The DoF, MoFAH&D, Government of India under PMMSY has approved the proposals received from the Government of Odisha at a cost of Rs.1264.23 Crore with central share of Rs.510.94 Crore during the last four years and in the current financial year. Out of this, Rs.271.17 crore of central share has been released to the Government of Odisha so far based on the utilization reports submitted by the State Government.

    The ‘National Policy on Marine Fisheries, 2017 notified by the Government of India, provides guiding principles of conservation and optimum utilization of fisheries resources for ensuring sustainability. The DoF, GoI is implementing fishing ban in India’s EEZ along the east and west coast during the major breeding season of the commercial fish species to ensure successful spawning and strong recruitment for sustaining the fisheries. On the east coast, including the coasts of Odisha, the fishing ban is implemented annually from April 15th to June 15th. The Government of Odisha, through the Orissa Marine Fisheries Regulation Act, 1981, also regulates fishing activities in the state’s territorial waters to support the sustainable management of fisheries along the Odisha coast. In addition, the Government of India has prohibited harmful fishing practices, such as pair or bull trawling, and the use of LED or artificial lights for fishing within the EEZ.

    The DoF, GoI has approved 38 units of cold storages and ice plants, 1125 units of fish marketing facilities including fish kiosks, live fish vending centers, insulated vehicles, refrigerated vehicles, three wheelers with ice box and motor cycles with ice box. Two state-of-the-art Wholesale Fish Markets having processing facilities are also approved at Balasore and Khorda districts of Odisha. Activities such as construction of new ponds for brackish water and fresh water aquaculture, recirculatory aquaculture system (RAS), biofloc and reservoir cage culture are also approved under the PMMSY to increase fish production and export from Odisha. Besides, the DoF, GoI has recently notified development of scampi production and processing cluster in Balasore, Bhadrak, and Mayurbhanj districts of Odisha.

    The DoF, GoI under PMMSY has approved proposals of the Government of Odisha for construction of fishing harbor at Astaranga, Puri at a cost of Rs.179.90 crore. Further, the proposal of Paradip Port Trust for modernization and up-gradation of the Paradip fishing harbor at a cost of Rs.108.91 crore has been approved by DoF, GoI with 100% central share under PMMSY.

    This information was given by Union Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri George Kurian, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on 19th March, 2025.

    *****

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Inland fisheries promotion in Kerala

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 2:07PM by PIB Delhi

    The Department of Fisheries, Government of India (DoF, GoI) through its schemes, policies and programs has been taking several initiatives towards holistic development of both marine and inland fisheries sector in all States and Union Territories including Kerala. Promotion of fish production and strengthening of fisheries value chain system have been the core of these initiatives.

    The DoF, GoI is implementing flagship scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana’ (PMMSY) in all the States and Union Territories of India including Kerala for a period of 5(five) years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25. The PMMSY inter-alia aims at harnessing of fisheries potential including inland fisheries in a sustainable manner, enhancing fish production and productivity through expansion, intensification, diversification and productive utilization of land and water, strengthening of value chain, doubling fishers and fish farmers incomes and generation of employment and also ensuring social & economic security for fishers and fish farmers.

    During last four years (2020-21 to 2023-24) and current financial year (2024-25) under PMMSY, the DoF, GoI has accorded approvals to the fisheries developmental proposals of Government of Kerala amounting Rs.1358.10 Crore.  The approved activities inter alia included inland fisheries development activities like assistance towards construction of freshwater finfish hatcheries (05 Nos), new rearing & grow-out ponds for fish culture (89 ha.), fish feed mills (05 Nos), ornamental fish rearing and breeding units (798 Nos), cage culture in reservoirs (750 Nos), high-tech culture systems like Re-circulatory Aquaculture System (646 Nos), Biofloc culture units (850 Nos), pen culture units (31 ha.), integrated development of reservoirs (07 Nos), boats and nets to traditional fishermen (200 Nos), extension and support services under ‘Matsya Seva Kendras’ (10 Nos).

    The approved activity also included cold chain and marketing activities like iceplants/cold storages (16 Nos), fish transportation vehicles (468 Nos), live fish vending centre (77 Nos), value added enterprises (10 Nos), fish retail markets (05 Nos), whole sale fish markets (02 Nos) and also referral lab and disease diagnostic labs (02 Nos) for timely disease diagnostics. Awareness campaigns and capacity building programs have been also taken up in Kerala through National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) in various areas of inland fisheries. Besides, the GoI has also extended facilities of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to the fisheries and fish farmers from FY 2018-19 to meet their working capital requirement in all States/UTs including Kerala.

    Further, Government of Kerala has informed that under the State plan scheme, Janakeeya Matsya Krishi, includes different schemes like diversification of species & aquaculture practices, Kerala reservoir fisheries development programme for effective utilization of potential in reservoirs, ranching, establishment of fish/clam protected areas. It is also informed that hi-tech fish marts in various districts of Kerala are established through Matsyafed wherein the fresh fish are directly procured from fishers/farmers and supplied to consumers. It is further informed that due to changing food habits and enabling convenience, easy to cook/ready to eat kind of value added products like fish curry, fish cutlets, fish pickles are sold through Matsyafed in some districts.

    Government of Kerala has informed that due to these interventions from Centre and State the inland fish production has increased from 2.05 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 to 2.51 lakh tonnes in 2023-24.

    This information was given by Union Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri George Kurian, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on 19th March, 2025.

    *****

    AA

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Fund for fisheries sector in Kerala

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 2:06PM by PIB Delhi

    The Department of Fisheries, Government of India (DoF, GoI) through its schemes, policies and programs has been taking several initiatives towards holistic development of fisheries sector in all States/UTs including Kerala. The major initiatives include Blue Revolution Scheme implemented during 2015-16 to 2019-20, extending Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to fisheries (since 2018-19), creation of Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) (2018-19 to 2025-26) enabling concessional financing in fisheries, flagship scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana’ (PMMSY)’ (2020-21 to 2024-25). Enhancing fish production, strengthening of value chain, employment generation, ensuring safety & security of fisheries and ensuring sustainability of the resources have been the core of these initiatives.

    Under the flagship scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana’ (PMMSY) during last four years (2020-21 to 2023-24) and current financial year (2024-25)  the Department of Fisheries, GoI has accorded approval to the fisheries developmental proposals of Government of Kerala worth Rs.1358.10 Crore with central share of Rs. 574.90 Crore. Central funds of Rs.344.15 Crore has been also released to Kerala during this period.  

    The approved activities included support for fish production oriented activities like establishment of brood bank (01), hatcheries (09 Nos), rearing & grow of ponds (89 ha.), brackish water culture (172 ha.), establishment of ornamental rearing units (798 Nos), cage culture in reservoirs (750 Nos), Re-Circulatory Aquaculture System (RAS) (646 Nos), Biofloc units (850 Nos), integrated development of reservoirs (07 Nos), and deep sea fishing vessels (20 Nos). The approval also included support for infrastructure and cold chain activities including upgradation of fishing harbors (11 Nos), iceplants/cold storages (16 Nos), fish transportation vehicles (468 Nos), live fish vending centres (77 Nos), value added enterprises (10 Nos), fish retail markets (05 Nos), whole sale fish markets (02 Nos) and also referral lab and disease diagnostic labs (02 Nos) for timely disease diagnostics. Further, activities like pen culture in open water bodies (31 ha.), stocking of fish seeds (10 ha.), bivalve cultivation units (1140 Nos), boats & nets to traditional fishermen (200 Nos) are also approved under the PMMSY.

    In addition, under the PMMSY, Integrated Modern Coastal Fishing Villages (09 Nos), Climate Resilient Coastal Villages (06 Nos), Artificial Reefs (42 units), extension support services like Matsya Seva Kendras (10 Nos), Sagar Mitras (222 Nos) are also approved to Kerala. Besides livelihood and nutritional support to 1,79,316 fishers during fishing ban period are also approved to Kerala. Awareness campaigns and capacity building programs have also been taken up in Kerala through National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) in various areas of inland fisheries. Government of Kerala has informed that within the State Plan Scheme, the State has taken up initiatives towards aquaculture, diversification, increasing seed production, conservation & management of resources, regular patrolling, coaching programmes for fishermen students for higher education, interest free loans to fisher women, group insurance scheme including pension schemes.  

    There is no such special scheme announced exclusively for riverine fisheries. However, the schemes implemented by the Department of Fisheries, GoI already comprises of activities for development of riverine fisheries like pen culture, stocking of fish seeds, boats & nets to traditional fishermen, ranching programmes etc. In addition. Government of Kerala has informed that as part of riverine fisheries, embankment and pen culture activities in rivers, canals and other suitable water bodies are taken up. Under the State plan project regarding ‘Integrated Fishery Management in Inland Aquatic Ecosystem’ implemented since FY 2022 ranching of fish & shrimp seeds, establishment of fish/clam protected areas have also been implemented. The Government of Kerala has informed that during last five years, funds amounting to Rs.20.07 crore is allocated for the same wherein, Rs.8.54 crore has been disbursed and Rs.7.24 crore has been utilized.

    This information was given by Union Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri George Kurian, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on 19th March, 2025.

    *****

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Put nation first, remain united, discharge duties honestly & move fearlessly towards set goals: Raksha Mantri’s clarion call at Major Bob Khathing Memorial Event

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has called upon the people to always put the nation first, remain united, discharge the duties with honesty, and move fearlessly towards achieving their goals, which were the core principles of Major Bob Khathing, an extraordinary figure who made invaluable contributions to the North-East region and national security. Raksha Mantri was addressing the fifth edition of Major Bob Khathing Memorial Event jointly organised by the Indian Army, Assam Rifles and United Services Institution of India (USI) at Delhi Cantt on March 19, 2025 to honour the life and legacy of the legendary figure. 

    Paying glowing tributes to Major Bob Khathing, Shri Rajnath Singh asserted that India has been fortunate that it is home to such prominent personalities for whom security, integrity and sovereignty of the nation is paramount. He termed Major Khathing as a great son of India, who left an indelible mark in the history of the country through his bravery in the battlefield and skill in the field of diplomacy. It is the responsibility of the people to adopt the ideals and principles of such great personalities, he said. 

    Raksha Mantri commended Major Khathing’s role in integrating, developing and rebuilding not only Tawang but the entire North-East region. “Major Bob Khathing made a significant contribution in strengthening national unity. The work he carried out for the North-East is similar to what Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel did at the national level,” he said. 

    Raksha Mantri added that Major Bob Khathing efficiently carried out the integration of Tawang into India without firing a single bullet, and the Government, led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, follows the principles of such revolutionaries. “We completely merged Jammu and Kashmir into India by removing the biggest hurdle – Article 370 – without firing a single bullet. The work was carried out peacefully with full security, keeping all the stakeholders in mind,” he said. 

    Shri Rajnath Singh highlighted the administrative proficiency of Major Khathing, especially his contribution in the formation of Sashastra Seema Bal & Nagaland Armed Police and other such reforms. He emphasised that, on similar lines, the Government is focussing on administrative reforms. “Through ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’ and ‘Good Governance’, we have reduced the gap between the people and the government. Through ‘Digital India’ and ‘Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile (JAM) Trinity’, today administration has become more people-oriented,” he said. 

    Raksha Mantri pointed out that the Government’s foreign policy is based on the diplomatic skills of personalities such as Major Khathing. “Today, India is maintaining a balance between its hard power and soft power amidst the prevailing uncertainties in the multipolar world. It is a matter of great pride that India has strengthened its global position. A new, strong and organised India has emerged before the world. There was a time when India was not taken seriously on international forums. But today, when we speak, the world listens. This is inspired by the ideals of Major Khathing,” he said. 

    Shri Rajnath Singh expressed satisfaction over the fact that India is touching greater heights due to the organisational skills imbibed from personalities like Major Khathing. He stressed on the need to remain organised for India to transform into Viksit Bharat by 2047. 

    Raksha Mantri had, in October 2024, virtually inaugurated Major Ralengnao ‘Bob’ Khathing ‘Museum of Valour’ in Tawang. He was scheduled to visit Tawang, but could not due to bad weather. He carried out the inauguration from 4 Corps Headquarters in Tezpur, Assam. Shri Rajnath Singh lauded the will and courage of the residents of the North-East region who continue to contribute to nation building despite living in challenging conditions. 

    Shri Rajnath Singh acknowledged the role of the North East in India’s development journey and voiced the Government’s commitment towards increasing the region’s contribution and its progress. “We have always given priority to the development of the region. Among the infrastructure projects is the Sela Tunnel built at a height of 13,000 feet connecting Tezpur in Assam to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. In addition, the opening of the Arunachal frontier highway will play a big role in enhancing the connectivity of the entire North East region, especially border areas. This approximately 2,000 km long will act as a strategic and economic asset for India,” he said. 

    Raksha Mantri further stated that it is the result of the developmental projects launched by the Government that the North East is rapidly progressing on the path of development and violent incidents have reduced significantly. He referred to the list of ‘52 Places To Visit In 2025’ released by The New York Times, which has placed Assam on the fourth place. 

    During the event, Shri Rajnath Singh visited a specially curated photo gallery showcasing Major Bob Khathing’s remarkable achievements and enduring legacy. He also attended the screening of a film depicting the pivotal moments of Major Khathing’s life and service. 

    The event witnessed the presence of distinguished dignitaries, including Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Pema Khandu, Member of Parliament Shri Alfred Kanngam Arthur, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, Director General Assam Rifles Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera and DG, USI Maj Gen BK Sharma (Retd). 

    A keynote address titled ‘Deciphering Implications of Major Bob Khathing’s Expedition to Tawang’ was delivered by former DG, Assam Rifles Lt Gen PC Nair (Retd). His address provided deep insights into the strategic ramifications of Major Khathing’s expedition and its lasting impact on national security. 

    Shri John Khathing, son of Major Bob Khathing, shared heartfelt reminiscences about his father’s remarkable life and legacy, adding a personal dimension to the commemoration. The event also featured vibrant cultural performances by troupes showcasing the rich and diverse heritage of North-East.

     ***

    VK/Savvy

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Bluefin Tuna Catch and Release Recreational Fishery (CRRF) Statistics published

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    News story

    Bluefin Tuna Catch and Release Recreational Fishery (CRRF) Statistics published

    Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has published Bluefin Tuna Catch and Release Recreational Fishery (CRRF) Statistics 2024.

    Key statistics include:

    • The 2024 Blue Fin Tuna Catch and Release Recreational Fishery ran from 3 August 2024 to 31 December 2024. The 2024 season lasted for 21 weeks and 4 days.
    • Of the 93 permitted vessels, 81 were active at least once during the 2024 season
    • These vessels made 1,014 trips in total. Of those, there were 838 trips (83.0%) where at least one Blue Fin Tuna was caught successfully.
    • In total, 3,359 Blue Fin Tuna were caught throughout the 2024 season, with an average of 3.3 Blue Fin Tuna per trip.
    • The average length of the Blue Fin Tuna caught was 167.7cm, and the average estimated weight was 95.5kg.
    • The majority (98.7%) of Blue Fin Tuna were released in a good to excellent condition. The reported mortality rate before release was 0.21% of all Blue Fin Tuna caught.

    This is an official statistics release.

    Starting in 2024, an English Catch and Release Recreational Fishery (CRRF) for Blue Fin Tuna (BFT) was opened. The fishery allows permitted vessels to use ‘catch and release’ BFT by rod and line for a defined period in English waters. As this fishery operates within English waters, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is responsible for issuing permits for the fishery, as well as monitoring fishing activity to enable sustainable marine activities and support UK economic growth.

    Permit numbers are proportionate to the amount of quota available for incidental BFT mortalities. To receive and maintain their permit, vessel owners are obligated to submit data on their trips and associated catch, which the MMO collects for operational purposes, including monitoring and managing the fishery throughout the season. MMO is also required to submit data to the International Council for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) to fulfil the UK’s reporting obligations as a contracting party. These official statistics contain details on fishing activity from the Blue Fin Tuna CRRF in the 2024 season.

    The 2024 season started on 3 August 2024 and ran through until 31 December 2024, meaning the season was open for 21 weeks and 4 days. This season is the first this CRRF for BFT has been in operation. It follows a three-year scientific research programme from the Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) into BFT in the South West of England.

    You can find more information on the statistics on Gov.uk.

    Contacts:

    Tel: 0300 123 1032
    Email: media@marinemanagement.org.uk

    Updates to this page

    Published 19 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Fishing’s hottest trend to be showcased by experts at North West Angling Fair

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    Fishing’s hottest trend to be showcased by experts at North West Angling Fair

    19 March 2025

    The art of Euro Nymphing is the technique on every fly fisher’s lips these days and it will come to the River Mourne at the end of this month when expert demonstrator Peter Driver makes his first appearance at the North West Angling Fair.

    The ever evolving method of angling nymphs for trout got it’s name from the World and European fly fishing tournaments where it was developed and its efficacy has seen it sweep the globe in recent years.

    Kilkenny based Driver has competed in multiple World and European Fly-Fishing Championships and has a lifetime of experience in all types of fly fishing.

    A qualified casting instructor and fly dresser with the APAGI, he worked for most of his life as a carpenter in his native Wicklow and then with the HSE in a behavioural role when he moved to Kilkenny before deciding to make his hobby his job.

    He teamed up with his cousin Mark to set-up their own Fly Tying and Fly Fishing business, Piscari-Fly on the banks of the River Nore in Thomastown County Kilkenny.

    They impart their knowledge with the public through fly-fishing and fly tying demonstrations and manufacturing and selling their own equipment.

    As well as designing all his own rods. Peter is a developer for the American equipment provider Syndicate.

    The principle difference between euro nymphing and traditional nymphing is that the angler maintains a tight connection between the flies and the rod throughout the drift.

    Heavy weighted flies and light tippet are used to quickly sink flies and a multicoloured floating ‘sighter’ is used as an indicator.

    Peter is expected to draw a large crowd to the banks of the River Mourne in Strabane when he gives his demos at the event on Saturday March 29th and Sunday March 30th.

    “I’ve been taking part in competitions all over the world and picked up a wealth of knowledge, I love doing shows and sharing that information with others,” he said.

    “A lot of competitive anglers would have a reputation for keeping information to themselves but I believe in sharing it and allowing others to benefit.

    “Nymphing is evolving and developing all the time and the most minuscule of adjustments can make a huge difference so I believe the information I share in Strabane will be of value to anglers.

    “I like to look into the psychological theory of fly fishing in my presentations, I believe your approach to it, how you prepare and how you set up your gear can all have an impact on your results.”

    This year’s North West Angling Fair at the Melvin Sports Complex will host some of the UK and Ireland’s leading fly dressers, casters and angling specialists.

    The public will also have the opportunity to source angling merchandise from a wide range of fishing tackle producers, fly tying brands and fishing outfitters in the Melvin’s Main Hall.

    “Angling Fairs are a great opportunity to connect with anglers who are interested in learning more but they are a great chance for the experts to share ideas and learn new things as well,” Peter added.

    “We do a lot of demonstrations online but it is great to get that face to face contact, to meet and connect with people and pass on ideas.

    “It’s also a great chance to get an up close look and feel of the gear the traders have in the exhibition space so I’m really looking forward to it.”

    The North West Angling Fair is organised by Derry City and Strabane District Council with support from the Loughs Agency.

    Peter Driver’s demonstrations are part of a comprehensive line-up for the Fair, to see the full programme visit www.derrystrabane.com/anglingfair and follow Northwestangling on facebook for updates.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Sand-sized fossils hold secrets to the history of climate change

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Yuhao Dai, Research Fellow in Earth Sciences, Australian National University

    N-2-s/Shutterstock

    Between 18,000 and 11,000 years ago, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere suddenly shot up. This caused rapid global warming, the mass melting of glaciers, and the end of the last ice age.

    Much of this sudden influx of atmospheric CO₂ came from the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, highlighting the key role this body of water plays in regulating the global climate.

    However, we have a poor understanding of how and why CO₂ release from this region changed during periods such as the end of the last ice age. But our new study, published in Nature Communications, reveals how much CO₂ was released to the atmosphere from the polar Southern Ocean during this period – and what factors were responsible.

    We reached these conclusions by examining the chemistry of sand-sized fossils, called foraminifera, from the seafloor south of Tasmania.

    Tiny shells preserved in mud

    Foraminifera are tiny single-celled organisms, either floating in the ocean surface or living on the seabed. Most of them build shells made of calcium carbonate to protect themselves. After death, these foraminifera shells are preserved in the mud on the seabed.

    Newer generations of foraminifera shells stack over older ones, like adding new pages to a book. Over time, these foraminifera shells form a book on the seabed that can be dated back to millions of years ago.

    Even more fascinating, trace amounts of elements in the seawater are incorporated into the calcium carbonate shells of foraminifera. In some foraminifera species, the amount of these elements is sensitive to the environment they live in.

    For example, the amount of boron in a species called Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi is sensitive to carbonate ion concentrations, and the amount of cadmium in another species (Hoeglundina elegans) is sensitive to phosphate concentrations.

    By looking at trace elements in these foraminifera shells found in the sequence of mud on the seabed, we can decipher mysteries about the past seawater condition in the book left by foraminifera on the seabed.

    In some species of foraminifera, such as Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi (pictured here), the trace amount of elements found in their shells is sensitive to their environment.
    Le Coze, François/WoRMS, CC BY-SA

    A giant metal straw

    How do scientists do this? First we go out to the ocean to collect mud.

    In this process, a giant metal straw is dropped to the seabed and then raised to our research ships, fully filled with mud. We take these mud samples back to our lab. There, we slice them into pieces and examine them separately.

    This allows us to extract information from each page of the book in chronological order. Foraminifera shells are washed out of the mud, and specific shells are picked out under a microscope, cleaned, and finally analysed for their chemical composition.

    Foraminifera have lived almost everywhere in the ocean for millions of years. Based on their chemical composition, scientists have reconstructed a continuous record of seawater temperature during the past 66 million years in great detail.

    Among a few places in the ocean where you cannot find foraminifera is the polar Southern Ocean. Although some foraminifera live there, seawater in this region is often too corrosive for their shells to preserve on the seabed. The lack of foraminifera in the polar Southern Ocean brings a huge challenge for scientists eager to understand past changes in CO₂ exchanges between the ocean and the atmosphere.

    Among a few places in the ocean where you cannot find foraminifera is the polar Southern Ocean.
    Mathias Berlin/Shutterstock

    From Antarctica to Tasmania

    We decided to tackle the problem using mud on the seabed 3,300 metres below the surface just south of Tasmania.

    Seawater at that depth near Tasmania is ideal for studying the chemistry of the polar Southern Ocean. That’s because seawater from the polar Southern Ocean sinks to the bottom of the ocean, moves northwards, and eventually occupies the seabed south of Tasmania.

    Seawater chemistry – including concentrations of carbon, phosphate and oxygen – does change along its way at the bottom of the ocean.

    These changes are, however, generally proportional to each other. So if all these concentrations are known for seawater at depth near Tasmania, we can work out their concentrations in the polar Southern Ocean.

    Fortunately, there were plenty of foraminifera shells in the mud for all these reconstructions at the site we examined near Tasmania.

    Reconstructing ancient chemical concentrations

    Using the chemistry of foraminifera, we reconstructed changes in concentrations of carbonate ion (which is largely related to carbon), phosphate and oxygen at the bottom of the ocean near Tasmania during the end of the last ice age roughly 20,000–10,000 years ago. This period is known as the last deglaciation.

    Based on these reconstructions, we calculated the amount of CO₂ released from the polar Southern Ocean during the last deglaciation. Some of this CO₂ came from biological processes – changes in the amount of carbon used by microscopic organisms living near the ocean surface. The rest was from physical processes – CO₂ molecules escaping from seawater directly to the air.

    We found that biological processes were more important for CO₂ releases during the earlier stages of the deglaciation, while the physical processes contributed more during the later stages.

    From the polar Southern Ocean, seawater sinks to the bottom of the ocean and moves northwards to reach the seabed south of Tasmania.
    Steve Todd/Shutterstock

    So why is this important?

    Scientists use climate models to predict future climate and to reproduce past atmospheric CO₂ changes.

    Our results provide testing targets for climate models to reproduce.

    Better reproduction of past changes will improve climate model design for predicting future changes.

    This will help us understand how future changes in the polar Southern Ocean can affect atmospheric CO₂, contributing to making effective plans to mitigate CO₂ emissions.

    Yuhao Dai receives funding from the Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative, Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science.

    – ref. Sand-sized fossils hold secrets to the history of climate change – https://theconversation.com/sand-sized-fossils-hold-secrets-to-the-history-of-climate-change-250928

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI China: Taiwan, EU hold 7th Human Rights Consultations, focusing on cooperation and emerging challenges

    Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    March 7, 2025  

    No. 059  

    The 7th Taiwan-EU Human Rights Consultations were held in Taipei on March 5. The meeting was chaired by Minister without Portfolio Lin Ming-hsin, who led a group of representatives from various Taiwan government agencies. On the EU side, the consultations were attended by Nicoletta Pusterla, Deputy Head of the China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Mongolia Division of the European External Action Service, and Domenica Bumma, Policy Officer from the EEAS Human Rights Team. This regular dialogue underscores the long-standing Taiwan-EU exchanges and cooperation on human rights and the two sides’ shared commitment to global human rights development.

     

    The consultations were conducted in an open and constructive manner, with the two sides first exchanging views on recent human rights developments, policy initiatives, actions following Constitutional Court Judgment no. 8 of 2024, and priority action plans. Taiwan shared the progress it has made on multiple national human rights action plans, emphasizing transparency and public participation to ensure an open, inclusive process that effectively responds to societal needs. The participants reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to promoting and defending human rights, democracy, and the rule of law and engaged in in-depth discussions on several key issues.

    With regard to business and human rights, the EU addressed the latest developments concerning the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. Taiwan shared updates to its National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, which stresses a soft-law approach to promoting corporate human rights protection while also exploring potential legislative measures.

     

    Furthermore, a working luncheon was cohosted by Minister Lin Ming-hsin and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs François Chihchung Wu. Discussions during the luncheon extended to digital human rights and human rights education. The EU side spoke about its Artificial Intelligence Act and Digital Services Act, which emphasize the need to balance technological development with human rights and privacy protection. Representatives from the Taiwan side provided an introduction to the draft AI basic act, which highlights risk management and data governance. On human rights education, Taiwan presented efforts it has made in schools and public institutions and proposed exploring the feasibility of establishing a Taiwan-EU human rights education cooperation framework to promote academic and educational exchanges.

     

    The consultations further explored gender equality and the rights of the elderly. The two sides reviewed the achievements under the Taiwan-EU Gender Equality Cooperation and Training Framework, and the Taiwan side proposed launching a second phase, focusing on combating online gender-based violence, protecting the rights of diverse gender communities, and deepening gender equality cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Regarding elderly rights, the two sides shared their policies on long-term care and age-friendly initiatives, discussing ways to safeguard the rights of older adults in an aging society, including economic security, healthcare, and social participation, while exchanging policy experiences.

     

    On migrant workers’ rights, Taiwan outlined measures to protect foreign domestic workers and distant-water fishermen, including setting up direct hiring mechanisms, improving working conditions, and strengthening legal supervision. The two sides also discussed ways to enhance the rights of disadvantaged migrant workers.

     

    The consultations were followed by an exchange between nongovernmental members of the Executive Yuan’s Human Rights Protection and Promotion Task Force and the EU representatives, marking the first time they engaged in dialogue on the challenges and opportunities in human rights policies faced by both sides.

     

    Taiwan and the EU both uphold the core values of democracy, freedom, and human rights. The two sides have laid a strong foundation for cooperation in these areas. The Taiwan government will continue to enhance human rights standards and ensure alignment with international norms, with the Executive Yuan coordinating interagency efforts. Both sides have expressed that they look forward to developing more concrete cooperation initiatives, fostering experience sharing and policy dialogues to further strengthen the Taiwan-EU partnership, jointly advancing global human rights, and benefiting the international community. (E)

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Taiwan, EU hold 7th Human Rights Consultations, focusing on cooperation and emerging challenges

    Source: Republic of China Taiwan 3

    March 7, 2025  
    No. 059  

    The 7th Taiwan-EU Human Rights Consultations were held in Taipei on March 5. The meeting was chaired by Minister without Portfolio Lin Ming-hsin, who led a group of representatives from various Taiwan government agencies. On the EU side, the consultations were attended by Nicoletta Pusterla, Deputy Head of the China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Mongolia Division of the European External Action Service, and Domenica Bumma, Policy Officer from the EEAS Human Rights Team. This regular dialogue underscores the long-standing Taiwan-EU exchanges and cooperation on human rights and the two sides’ shared commitment to global human rights development.
     
    The consultations were conducted in an open and constructive manner, with the two sides first exchanging views on recent human rights developments, policy initiatives, actions following Constitutional Court Judgment no. 8 of 2024, and priority action plans. Taiwan shared the progress it has made on multiple national human rights action plans, emphasizing transparency and public participation to ensure an open, inclusive process that effectively responds to societal needs. The participants reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to promoting and defending human rights, democracy, and the rule of law and engaged in in-depth discussions on several key issues.
    With regard to business and human rights, the EU addressed the latest developments concerning the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. Taiwan shared updates to its National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, which stresses a soft-law approach to promoting corporate human rights protection while also exploring potential legislative measures.
     
    Furthermore, a working luncheon was cohosted by Minister Lin Ming-hsin and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs François Chihchung Wu. Discussions during the luncheon extended to digital human rights and human rights education. The EU side spoke about its Artificial Intelligence Act and Digital Services Act, which emphasize the need to balance technological development with human rights and privacy protection. Representatives from the Taiwan side provided an introduction to the draft AI basic act, which highlights risk management and data governance. On human rights education, Taiwan presented efforts it has made in schools and public institutions and proposed exploring the feasibility of establishing a Taiwan-EU human rights education cooperation framework to promote academic and educational exchanges.
     
    The consultations further explored gender equality and the rights of the elderly. The two sides reviewed the achievements under the Taiwan-EU Gender Equality Cooperation and Training Framework, and the Taiwan side proposed launching a second phase, focusing on combating online gender-based violence, protecting the rights of diverse gender communities, and deepening gender equality cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Regarding elderly rights, the two sides shared their policies on long-term care and age-friendly initiatives, discussing ways to safeguard the rights of older adults in an aging society, including economic security, healthcare, and social participation, while exchanging policy experiences.
     
    On migrant workers’ rights, Taiwan outlined measures to protect foreign domestic workers and distant-water fishermen, including setting up direct hiring mechanisms, improving working conditions, and strengthening legal supervision. The two sides also discussed ways to enhance the rights of disadvantaged migrant workers.
     
    The consultations were followed by an exchange between nongovernmental members of the Executive Yuan’s Human Rights Protection and Promotion Task Force and the EU representatives, marking the first time they engaged in dialogue on the challenges and opportunities in human rights policies faced by both sides.
     
    Taiwan and the EU both uphold the core values of democracy, freedom, and human rights. The two sides have laid a strong foundation for cooperation in these areas. The Taiwan government will continue to enhance human rights standards and ensure alignment with international norms, with the Executive Yuan coordinating interagency efforts. Both sides have expressed that they look forward to developing more concrete cooperation initiatives, fostering experience sharing and policy dialogues to further strengthen the Taiwan-EU partnership, jointly advancing global human rights, and benefiting the international community. (E)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Tse Chin-wan heads to Beijing

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Secretary for Environment & Ecology Tse Chin-wan was due to depart for Beijing this afternoon.

    During his stay in Beijing, Mr Tse will visit the General Administration of Customs to discuss various topics such as safeguarding food supplies to Hong Kong, the facilitation of Hong Kong-manufactured food exports to the Mainland, and overall co-operation on food trade.

    He will also visit the Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs, and exchange views with officials on the sustainable development of agriculture and fisheries, restocking, multi-storey livestock farms and offshore fishing, with a view to enhancing communication and co-operation.

    In addition, Mr Tse will meet representatives from the Ministry of Ecology & Environment and the BRI International Green Development Coalition to exchange views on combating climate change.

    He will also meet representatives from the China Biodiversity Conservation & Green Development Foundation, and the Carbon Neutral Industry Development Innovation Committee, to discuss issues such as green development, ocean governance, and the carbon market.

    Mr Tse will return to Hong Kong on Friday afternoon. During his absence, Under Secretary for Environment & Ecology Diane Wong will be Acting Secretary.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –