Saving Forests in Peru
In the Amazonian high forest, the Oxapampa-Asháninka-Yánesha area in Peru is the home of the indigenous Yánesha and Asháninka. Both cultures had been working against the threat of deforestation to implement sustainable development until UNESCO lent a helping hand by naming the region a biosphere reserve. With the addition of [ … ]
Partnership in Action
U.S. Navy participates in cooperation mission in the Caribbean and Central America
African Union Day of Peace
African leaders declared 2010 the Year of Peace and Security in Africa, culminating with a celebration on September 21 as part of the International Day of Peace. Established by a U.N. resolution in 1982, the Day of Peace provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to perform acts of [ … ]
New Horizons in Haiti
The U.S. Southern Command-sponsored humanitarian and civic assistance exercise New Horizons was conducted in Haiti during a four-month stint which ended in September 2010
Aid Through Text Messages
Kenyan citizen journalists developed Ushahidi, a website to map violence during election time based on reports submitted via the Web and mobile phones. Ushahidi, which means “testimony” in Swahili, has also been used to map xenophobic attacks in South Africa in 2008; monitor elections in Burundi, India, Mexico and Sudan; [ … ]
Central America Is Mine-Free
Antipersonnel mines are a thing of the past in Central America as Nicaragua became the last country in the region to complete a de-mining process 20 years in the making. At the start of the program in 1990, half a million Nicaraguans were registered as living near a minefield, according [ … ]
Fighting Piracy
A helicopter from the Japanese Self- Defense Force hovers above a coast guard boat off the coast. The exercise occurred near the Kure Naval Base in Hiroshima during an antipiracy drill in 2009. To continue its fight against piracy, Japan is opening its first overseas base in Djibouti, a small [ … ]
Ecuador and U.S. Fight Drug Trade
Ecuador and the United States renewed their strategic partnership this year with a ceremony inaugurating the Andean nation’s newly renovated counternarcotics training center. In addition to renovations to the center, the U.S. government’s Narcotics Assistance Section provided $1.7 million worth of automobiles, motorcycles, radios and detection equipment to Col. Joel [ … ]
Training Together
Afghan Army Soldiers conduct a joint patrol with Canadian Soldiers in the Panjwayi district, southwest of Kandahar, in June 2010. Canadian troops are taking part in the efforts of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force to increase the capabilities of the Afghan Army. Building a credible Afghan Army is one of [ … ]
Cities Unite Against Crime
Mayors from across Latin America and the Caribbean are part of a new Cities Alliance for Citizen Security that combines best practices for violence and crime prevention. Bogotá Mayor Samuel Moreno and the Inter-American Development Bank hosted an event in the Colombian capital this year to form the group to [ … ]
The Fight Against Human Trafficking
Mexico has become the first country to launch a national version of the United Nations-led Blue Heart campaign against human trafficking. As part of Mexico’s launch in April 2010, more than a dozen iconic buildings were lit up in blue across the capital, Mexico City.
Securing Caribbean Nations
The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, or CBSI, launched in May 2010 seeks to strengthen Caribbean-U.S. security ties and reduce spill- over violence from successful drug eradication efforts elsewhere in the region. According to the U.S. State Department, CBSI complements the United States’ Mérida Initiative by providing equipment and training to [ … ]