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The year 2023 has been a year of major advancements in the world on environmental and social levels. Here is a small selection of notable successes:
Serious or deadly diseases eliminated in several countries
Nations have overcome various serious and deadly diseases in 2023. In what has been hailed as a "monumental achievement," Bangladesh became the first country to eliminate visceral leishmaniasis—a deadly disease caused by a parasite—as a public health issue.
Iraq, which has become the 17th country to eliminate trachoma, the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world, has also achieved a public health victory.
Another piece of good news is that Belize was finally declared malaria-free in July by the World Health Organization. This happened as countries approved a new malaria vaccine that is supposed to offer up to 80% protection against the disease. Experts say this could save thousands of lives each year, many of them children.
Ecuador has voted to stop oil extraction in the Amazon.
In a historic referendum that pitted the population against major oil companies, Ecuadorians voted in August in favor of halting drilling in a protected region of the Amazon.
Approximately 60% of voters said "no" to oil exploration in the Yasuní National Park, which is home to isolated indigenous communities. The territory spans 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) and contains Ecuador's largest crude oil reserves.
The indigenous leader Nemonte Nenquimo hailed the victory. "Even if the big oil companies and politicians think they can decide our lives, we can defeat them by uniting," she said.
Reversal in the Amazon: 55.8% less deforestation in 1 year
The Amazon breathed a little easier in 2023 after years of rampant deforestation. An analysis conducted by Amazon Conservation, a non-profit organization that monitors the rainforest in nine countries, indicates that deforestation rates are down by 55.8% compared to last year.
This follows efforts to put an end to the loss of trees, particularly in Brazil, where President Lula has strengthened the enforcement of environmental regulations and has become stricter regarding illegal mining. Rômulo Batista, a spokesperson for Greenpeace Brazil, described this trend as "good news."
Saved animal species
The list of endangered species continued to grow in 2023, but some creatures have made a comeback. One of them was the scimitar-horned oryx, which until 2023 was listed as "extinct in the wild," but has been successfully reintroduced in Chad with the help of captive animals.
The golden lion tamarin of Brazil has also been saved from extinction. This rare monkey, found only in the state of Rio de Janeiro, was poached to the brink of extinction. Today, there are more of them leaping through the Atlantic rainforest than at any other time in the past half-century, thanks to conservation efforts.
Other notable successes include: the return of blue whales to the waters off the Seychelles; the growing population of golden eagles in Scotland; the return of the Takahē, a flightless bird, in New Zealand; the increasing populations of tigers in India and Nepal; the reintroduction of Przewalski's horses in Spain; the return of the bittern in England; and the once barren Caribbean island that has come back to life.
The movement for Indigenous land rights has progressed.
More than 100 million hectares of land in 39 countries have been returned to indigenous communities over the past five years, according to the latest report "Who Owns the World's Land?" ?
Compiled by the Rights and Resources Initiative, it attributes the progress to the strategy of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and the Land Rights Now campaign.
However, there is still much to be done. Indigenous communities face numerous threats to their ancestral lands, particularly in Brazil, where Congress is attempting to strip indigenous peoples of their land rights.
The return of rail is accelerating in Europe
With great fanfare, some key railway lines were launched in Europe this year, as environmentally conscious travelers took the train in ever-increasing numbers.
A new sleeper train between Brussels and Berlin departed for the first time at night in October (it will extend to Prague starting in 2024). And in December, a new Paris-Berlin sleeper train line was launched, providing an essential overnight connection between the two capitals.
The EU has liberalized its railway network to promote competition, lower fares, and attract more travelers away from air travel.
Scientists have created an alternative to palm oil.
Food experts have concocted a substitute for one of the most controversial ingredients in the world: palm oil. Developed from flax and rapeseed, its manufacturers claim it can be produced locally on a large scale, thereby avoiding deforestation and habitat loss associated with palm oil production in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.
Scientists from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland, have already patented the substance – PALM-AT – and are in talks with potential industrial partners.
Catriona Liddle, director of the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation, told Positive News: "Palm oil itself is somewhat of a magic ingredient – it's a shame that it is unhealthy and bad for the environment. We have replaced it with something significantly healthier using clean label ingredients available in the UK and Europe."
The right to repair has become widespread in France for household appliances, clothing, and shoes.
France sets an example for the entire world in terms of the circular economy. Indeed, the state supports the repair of defective devices:
- The amount of the bonus for five commonly used appliances (washing machine, dishwasher, dryer, vacuum cleaner, and television) will be doubled in 2024.
- There will be an increase of 5 euros for more than twenty products.
- The list of eligible equipment has increased from 49 to 73 products, with 24 new additions in 2024.
- Customers can now benefit from a 25-euro deduction on their bill in case of accidental damage, such as a broken mobile phone screen.
- The threshold for triggering the laptop repair bonus will be modified starting January 1, 2024. The repair bill will need to be at least €150.
- Remote repairs carried out by an authorized repairer will be covered starting from February 1, 2024.
- The bonus will be increased by 20% when parts from the circular economy (PIEC) are used.
Furthermore, the state now offers incentives for shoe and clothing repairs:
- You will receive a bonus of €8 for attaching a metal plate to your shoes.
- €8 bonus for sewing or gluing work on your shoes ;
- €7 bonus for changing the heel cap of the shoes (the heel cap, the last layer of the heel block directly in contact with the ground, serves as protection against premature wear of this part of the shoes) ;
- €7 bonus for patching a hole, snag, or tear on a garment ;
- A bonus of €10 is provided for changing a simple lining on a garment, and €25 for a complex lining.
