Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Antwerp Surpasses Rotterdam in Q1 Containers as Ports Fear U.S. Tariffs

In a surprise development, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges surpassed the Port of Rotterdam for container volume during the first quarter of 2025. Traditionally Europe’s second busiest port, Antwerp-Burges highlighted its market share in the Hamburg-Le Havre Range increased to 30.5 percent, and on a global level, the port climbed one position to reach 14 in the ranking of largest ports, but like all its peers, the port is anticipating a tough period in the coming months related to the unrelenting tariff policy of Donald Trump.

Antwerp-Bruges released its first quarter throughput performance highlighting the strength of its container business while reporting an overall decline largely driven by a sharp decrease in bulk volumes. Container throughput however was up 4.6 percent in tonnage and 4.5 percent in TEUs. The ports handled 3,436,000 TEUs. By comparison, the Port of Rotterdam which has long dominated in Europe reported a 2.2 percent increase in TEUs to 3,364,000.

The Belgian port said the growth came amidst the transition to the new alliances among liner companies, industrial actions including a paralyzing port strike, and congestion at other ports, which also contributed to longer container dwell times for Antwerp-Bruges. Rotterdam said its tonnage decreased due to an eight percent decline in loaded exports, a decline in the number of transshipment containers, bad weather in January, and an operational dispute at one of its terminals which resulted in fewer ship visits, delays, and lower productivity.

During the quarter, Antwerp-Bruges handled 67.7 million tonnes of cargo, reporting a four percent overall decline, citing the weak performance in the bulk categories. Liquid cargo recorded the sharpest decline, falling by 19.1 percent impacted by gasoline, naphtha, and LNG. The segment is not only feeling the impact of sanctions against Russia and the struggling European petrochemical sector but has also been hit by changing market conditions in Africa. Belgium’s ban on high-sulfur and benzene fuels exports to Africa is having material negative effects on shipments.

Rotterdam also reported an overall 5.8 percent decline in first quarter throughput. It said the decline was also mostly due to less throughput of crude oil and oil products, iron ore, and coal.

“We are in particularly uncertain times, which makes it difficult to predict what 2025 will bring next. But as in previous crises, our port is showing resilience and operational reliability,” said Jacques Vandermeiren, Port of Antwerp-Bruges CEO. “At the same time, the protectionist measures taken by the United States make it clear that Europe needs to make a stronger commitment to robust economic policies in order to strengthen our industry and anchor its strategic position.”

Historically, the United States has been the second-largest global trading partner of Port of Antwerp-Bruges for over two decades. In 2024, the maritime trade volume accounted for approximately 10 percent of the port's overall cargo traffic. Of this, 11 million tonnes were exported to the U.S., with the port handling over 200,000 cars bound for the U.S. as well as auto and machinery parts (mostly from Germany), chemicals, vehicles, food, plastics, and pharmaceuticals.

Executives at the Port of Rotterdam expressed similar concerns. They noted that import duties imposed by the United States on goods exported from Europe had yet to have an effect on first-quarter throughput but were creating uncertainty.

“The first three months of this year were characterized by a high degree of volatility in world trade as a result of threatened import duties in the United States and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East,” said Boudewijn Siemons, CEO of Port of Rotterdam Authority. “This volatility has led to uncertainty among companies in the areas of trade and investment. We see this reflected in throughput volumes and the willingness to invest. In these uncertain times, it remains as important as ever that, together with national and European governments, the Port of Rotterdam continues to work towards a competitive European investment climate.”

In the Know 68: Joseph Morris, CEO and Port Director for Port Everglades

Port Everglades ranks as the world’s third busiest cruise home port, and it is the main port for petroleum products in South Florida. It's a self-supporting enterprise fund of Broward County, Florida and generates more than $26 billion in economic activity, supporting about 11,000 direct jobs. It's a key hub for the region's shipping needs, and handles about one million TEU worth of containerized cargo a year.

To get all the details about the port's operations and its positive impact, TME founder and editor-in-chief Tony Munoz spoke with port CEO and director Joseph Morris, who has over twenty-five years of experience in the ports sector. For the full conversation, listen in below.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

Gas Leak on a Barge Prompts Community Alerts on Houston Ship Channel

On Tuesday, a gas leak on a barge on the Houston Ship Channel prompted community alerts on the key energy-infrastructure corridor, but local officials say that no air quality threats have been detected and residents have the all-clear.

Operator Kirby Inland Marine told local media that a vapor release occurred aboard a barge at the Targa Resources dock in Galena, Texas. A valve leak released an unspecified quantity of butadiene, a common industrial gas used for making plastics and synthetic rubber (like car tires). 1,3-butadiene is an EPA-listed carcinogen, an inhalation irritant, and highly flammable. Luckily, it breaks down quickly in the atmosphere, limiting the time in which it can have an effect.

The leak occurred because of a broken valve, according to local CW39 Houston. It was contained by late Tuesday, and the barge was towed to a safe location for further evaluation. The Houston Ship Channel has reopened to full service, and the City of Galena Park says that there are no air quality threats to the public.

No injuries were reported from the gas leak.

For a Veterans March on Washington

by Gabe Ignetti / April 22nd, 2025

In May 1932, jobless WWI veterans organized a group called the a march on Washington. 43,000 demonstrators including 17,000 veterans their families, and affiliated groups gathered to demand to demand compensation from the Federal Government for their sacrifices in World War 1. That march and it’s suppression by the military was a key factor in the overturning of a deeply reactionary Republican Administration and the onset of the New Deal.

In this same month of May 2025, plans are being made in Washington for a military parade by Donald Trump for his birthday on June 14, honoring himself. All this is occurring in the face of his planned cut of 72,000 employees in the Veterans Administration to improve “efficiency” on an agency with an already existing reputation for taking forever to process disability claims that are vital to the health of our veterans.

This is also occurring at a time when over 30,000 US war veterans are homeless and when nearly 26% of active-duty service members are considered food insecure, and about 15% rely on food stamps or food banks to help support their families.

It’s well past time that the United States government to put less care about it’s patrons at Lockheed Martin and more care into their soldiers and veterans. It’s time to build for a new Veterans March on Washington on June 14 to counter this military parade honoring this aspiring dictator, and this is the best way to defeat him.

This is not just a moral question alone but a tactical one as well. The crux of Trump or any would-be dictator in history succeeding is based on the support of their rank and file soldiers and these are the same troops that are being grossly underpaid, exploited and expendable in the pursuit of the reckless dreams of our “fearless leader”.

Trump has openly declared that he intends to use military force against political dissent in this nation and the question of whether these same exploited soldiers are ready to pull the trigger is pivotal as to whether he succeeds or fails. They will have to choose on whether or not to stand down and uphold the US Constitution. The stark choice will be to to either resist or to follow the path of least resistance.

All of our efforts against Trump cannot and will not succeed unless and until we put the issues facing our troops and veterans front and center and June 14 is the day to do it.FacebookTwitterReddit Email

Gabe Ignetti is a former Vice-President at Large of the Central Labor Council of th U.S. Virgin Islands. He has served on the board of 350 South Florida and is a retired public school teacher living in Florida. He can be reached at: gabeignetti@yahoo.com. Read other articles by Gabe.

Ending the US Dollar’s Exorbitant Privilege

The Selling of America

by Binoy Kampmark / April 23rd, 2025

Has the love, or even more so the fixation, gone with the US dollar, that all cushioning reserve currency that has shown itself unimpeachable for decades? A curious event teasing and ruffling currency watchers and financiers is becoming a pattern: the US dollar is being sold off, suggesting it has lost its princely shine. To this can also be added the sale of US Treasuries.

Even before the global imposition of Donald Trump’s tariff-driven bonanza and his public bruising of Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, the world’s dominant currency was already being moved on. Since 2014, the Chinese and Russian central banks have tried to move out of US Treasury holdings, preferring the magic of gold. In 2022, the latter went so far as to link its currency, the ruble, to gold.

For all that, something far more dramatic would be needed to upset the status of the dollar, and certainly the authority of its “exorbitant privilege”, to use that apt term coined in the 1960s by the then French Minister of Finance, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. Only “serious economic and financial mismanagement by the United States”, proposed economics professor Barry Eichengreen in 2010, “could precipitate flight from the dollar.”

In the autumn leading to the 2024 presidential election, there was little to suggest any such flight. The dollar had markedly appreciated, boosted by the statistical astrology of US economic growth. This continued after Trump’s victory in November. The promise of a vigorous tariff policy, one potentially inflationary, also charmed investors keen to make greater returns from their dollars, assuming a raise of interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

The tariff policy well and truly arrived on “Liberation Day” (April 2), proving to be erratic, arbitrarily derived and often economically illiterate in application. The precipitated fall of the greenback shocked the currency pundits. “For several years, the market’s been buying this US growth story, the US stock market’s been outperforming other stock markets, and suddenly you had economists thinking tariffs would push the US into recession,” remarks Jane Foley, head of foreign exchange (FX) strategy at Rabobank. Additionally, the tariff regime has encouraged countries with current account surpluses denoted in US assets to consider returning them back to domestic markets, something that will further weaken the dollar.

Trump has also lost patience with Powell, petulantly ventilating on Truth Social that the Federal Reserve chair impose pre-emptive cuts to interest rates, given the White House’s own assessment that the US faces no inflation. There would be, declared Trump in a post, a “SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW.” While Europe continued to lower its rates, Powell had proved himself slow on the draw, “except when it came to the Election period when he lowered in order to help Sleepy Joe Biden, later Kamala, get elected.”

In the angry mist, the President floated the possibility that the central banker might be removed. His “termination” could not “come fast enough.” He also charged his advisors to distribute poisoned packages of speculation as to what he intended to do with the recalcitrant Powell. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett obliged, telling reporters that, “The President and his team will continue to study that matter [of removing Powell].”

Then, in true seesaw fashion, the President claimed the opposite of what he meant, a move that also sent the market into another galloping spree. “I have no intention of firing him,” Trump told reporters on April 22. “I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates.”

In the tumult of it all, investors are scouring other havens, shunning the status quo and traditional sensibility of the dollar. The Japanese yen and Swiss franc are returning to favour. As is the euro. While an economist’s word should never be taken as gospel, chief currency analyst at ForexLive, Adam Button offers his view: “The market wants to invest in the fastest growing places, and the US administration is showing that it is not trying to maximize growth, or they have a different idea about how to get there. And I think that’s rattled the market.”

Curious events are unfolding as a result of Trump’s carnivalesque approach to trade and markets. While the value of the greenback has fallen, the returns from 10-year US government bonds have risen. This is the sort of thing common in new, emerging markets, where capital is susceptible to flight amidst conditions of volatility. In the US, this is the fifth time it has happened in three decades. Even with the rise in bond yields, the dollar’s slide has not been arrested.

For the easily panicked, a particular safe haven – and one already identified by central bankers and investors – is gold. With US government debt no longer attractive for traders, the yellow metal has outperformed most major assets with its giddying rise. Having passed $US3,500-an-ounce on April 22, the favouring of gold is merely one aspect of a market narrative that has turned the Trump Tariff Wall into the Selling of America.

Crystal ball gazing is a mug’s game in economics, but countries wishing to see the defanging of dollar diplomacy and greenback bullying long used by Washington to maintain power will see flashes of opportunity. The dollar’s privilege may no longer be exorbitant.

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Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com. Read other articles by Binoy.

Challenges to Nepal’s Republican Structure from Monarchists and Why?

by Pramesh Pokharel / April 23rd, 2025

On March 28, 2025, pro-republic and pro-monarchy forces organised rival protests in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, to showcase public support for and against the Republic. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, about 4,000 people attended the pro-monarchy rally, while around 35,000 joined the pro-republican protest. This was the second major monarchist demonstration following a bigger rally welcoming the king back from Pokhara on March 9. Pro-monarchy forces have been increasingly active, particularly after the former king Gyanendra Shah’s provocative statement on the eve of Democracy Day (February 19).

Sensing the offense of counterrevolutionary forces, the pro-republican protest, organized under the Socialist Front, an alliance of the four opposition left parties, aimed to counter what they call reactionary and regressive forces. While the republican demonstration remained peaceful, the monarchists turned violent, vandalizing public and private property and attacking security personnel. In the aftermath, two people lost their lives, and several were injured.

The violent pro-monarchy demonstration sparked intense debate. Republicans claim the monarchists attempted to create chaos and exploit the crisis while the government also accused them of inciting violence. The monarchists, however, argue they faced suppression from the police.

Pro-monarchy protestors turn violent in Tinkune and Kathmandu. Source: Online People’s News

Recognising the impact of March 28 protests, inside and outside Nepal, the monarchists are planning nationwide protests and have already formed a joint coordination committee. Meanwhile, after the monarchists vandalised the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) [CPN (US)] headquarters and damaged properties, the Socialist Front has committed to defend the achievements of the peaceful People’s Movement of 2006, which abolished monarchy and paved the way for a socialism-oriented constitution. Uncertainty remains, but two things are evident: Monarchists are uniting and mobilising aggressively, while republican forces remain firm. This could strengthen left unity, though questions persist about division within the largest parties, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) [CPN (UML)]) and Nepali Congress (NC) on republicanism.

NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba may support the Republic, but it is an open secret that many others within his party favour Hindu nationalism and monarchy, and oppose the federal structure of Nepal. There many who question the ruling CPN (UML) asking if its top leadership is pro-monarchy, even while acknowledging that majority oppose the monarchy within the party. The fourth-largest party, the independent Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and Kathmandu’s mayor, rapper Balen Shah, are exploiting the situation to challenge traditional parties and the current political system. There are reports that the monarchists are backed by Indian forces – the ruling regime, the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) active role in Nepal, and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath – who are supporting financially, politically, and even militarily. The republicans struggle in Nepal for defending constitutional democracy will not be that easy.

Mekha Limbu(Nepal), We are on the way to death, 2012.

Historical Context and Dialectics

Nepal’s unpredictable politics cannot be understood without historical, dialectical, and global perspectives. Its geopolitical location, India-China rivalry, Hindu fundamentalism, US influence, and EU interests, the recent populist tendencies, etc. have turned Nepal into a battleground for power struggles. When leftist coalitions emerge to govern the country India in alliance with the US and right-wing forces, works to weaken them. Internal party rifts further destabilize the government. Therefore, it may be seen that all the forces within the nation and outside, will unite to weaken Nepali state and create further crisis.

Political instability has been a great challenge of Nepalese democracy. Nepal’s political instability is evident in its frequent government changes – 32 since multiparty democracy was restored in 1990, and 13 since Nepal became a republic in 2008. The current government that ruling Nepal is the 14th.

On top political instability, the republicans in Nepal underestimated the monarchy’s revival. Even leftist forces overlooked the resurgence of counterrevolutionary elements. Some self-proclaimed theoreticians focused solely on comprador bourgeoisie as the enemy of Nepal’s working class while ignoring conservatives, reactionaries, and fundamentalists. As previously noted, after overthrowing the monarchy, there was no significant effort to transform production relations in Nepal and create alternative cultural structures, leaving ample space for people to aspire for the monarchy’s return.

Mass media and social media blame top leaders Deuba, K. P. Sharma Oli, and Prachanda, who have collectively ruled for decades, for the crises. Deuba has been prime minister six times, Oli four, and Prachanda three. Other former PMs still lead parties and remain active. These aging leaders have dominated Nepal’s politics for 30 years. However, deeper systemic issues are more influential than people or parties.

Socialist Front rallies at Bhrikuti Mandap. Source: Online People’s News

Why Is This Happening in Nepal?

A.) Political Instability and Systemic Crisis

Nepal faces severe political instability, deep inequality, unemployment, slow economic growth, weak industrialisation, mass migration, poverty, food insecurity, and rising debt. Climate crises and disasters add to these challenges. Various forces exploit these crises for their interests. Government changes bring only new rulers, not solutions. People are increasingly frustrated with political parties and the system itself. The 2015 Constitution of Nepal, which established a federal democratic republic, is under threat. Federalism is criticised, republicanism is questioned, and neo-fascism and populism are on the rise. Pro-monarchist forces are capitalising on this turmoil. While most acknowledge Nepal’s problems, reactionary forces blame political parties and the republican system itself. They falsely claim that restoring monarchy, re-establishing a Hindu state, and ending federalism as the solutions. It is prudent to note that many of these groups receive political and financial support from Hindutva-aligned conservatives.

B.) Failure of the Government to Deliver
The current government holds a two-thirds majority, with two parties who have been historically rivals uniting. Its failure to govern effectively is seen as proof that Nepal’s political system itself is failing. This perception fuels calls for alternative governance models, including a return to monarchy.

C.) Corruption, Bad Governance, and Impunity

Recent scandals—such as the Gold Scam, Bhutanese Refugee Scam, and Giri Bandhu Tea Estate Scam—have exposed massive corruption within the state. People now believe that no political leader is clean, as all have been in power at some point. Lack of rule of law, poor governance, and impunity for corrupt leaders have enraged the public. The perception that all top leaders are involved in scandals has made accountability almost impossible.

D.) Public Frustration and Growing Anti-Establishment Sentiment

Government failure, rising unemployment, and foreign labour migration have fuelled widespread frustration. Reactionary and populist forces frame their movements as a revolt against the political establishment. This anti-establishment sentiment explains the rise of figures like Durga Prasai and Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah. Shah’s election was largely due to public anger toward traditional parties. People are increasingly rejecting established political structures, creating space for monarchists and other challengers.

Shashi Bikram Shah(Nepal), Royal Massacre Series, 2001.

E.) Lack of Development Agendas and Weak Leadership

Nepali leaders lack a vision for national development. They show little concern for public suffering, employment opportunities, or economic growth. Instead, they are focused on power, corruption, and alliances with corporate and comprador elites. Leadership incompetence is another major issue. Most leaders have failed to demonstrate effective governance. Though they may be politically experienced, they lack the ability to transform Nepal’s economy and society.

F.) Weakening of the State and Attacks on the Left

There is lot of ideological degeneration in Nepal’s Left movements as they are heavily infiltrated by conservatives. Also, political revisionism has made the Left on the whole indistinguishable from the bourgeois parties. Many leftists have abandoned class struggle, allowing right-wing forces to gain ground. Anti-communist elements are actively working to defame Nepal’s left, weakening national sovereignty and progress. A corrupt judiciary and penetrated bureaucracy further ensure that genuine reformers are isolated or sidelined. Crime networks and muscle power dominate the political scene, making systemic change difficult.

Amid this crisis, pro-monarchy conservatives and reactionaries are exploiting public frustration. While systemic failures are widely acknowledged, these groups falsely present monarchy, Hindu nationalism, and the abolition of federalism as solutions. Many suspect these efforts are backed by right-wing Hindutva groups.

Major political parties’ failure to offer a development agenda has left a vacuum that reactionary forces are filling. The 2015 Constitution, which established Nepal as a federal democratic republic, now faces threats from both political actors and street movements. Federalism is under scrutiny, republicanism is questioned, and neo-fascist and populist movements are growing.

Urgent responses from the government and political parties are necessary. Nepal’s crisis is deeply systemic, with instability and foreign interference fuelling continued failure. Without addressing corruption, delivering reforms, and safeguarding democratic institutions, Nepal risks further regression. The world watches as one of the youngest republics struggles to navigate this precarious moment.

First published at Tricontinental Asia.FacebooTwitterReddit Email

Pramesh Pokharel is a political analyst and part time lecturer of Anthropology at Tribhuvan University. He is a Central Committee Member of CPN (Unified Socialist) and General Secretary of All Nepal Peasants Federation. He is a noted writer and recently, has written two books in Nepali – Socialist Transformation of Agriculture and From Big Bang to Future of Human Evolution. Read other articles by Pramesh.

Israel Stalls and the International Court of Justice Complies

by Rick Sterling / April 23rd, 2025

One year ago, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel had fifteen months to prepare their defense (“counter memorial”) against the charges of genocide filed by South Africa. They were told to present their arguments by 28 July 2025.

That seems like a very long time in a case involving the daily killing of many people, including children. But it was not enough time for Israel, which on 27 March 2025 filed a request to extend the time.

In a very recent decision, the International Court of Justice has obliged and extended the time by six months. Israel can continue killing with impunity, and their defense to the International Court of Justice is not required until 28 January 2026.

There has been very little news of this decision. The ICJ did not issue a press release, despite this being their most sensational case. Accordingly, the decision has not been reported in The New York Times, The Washington Post, or The Guardian. Meanwhile, Israeli media reported, “EXCLUSIVE: Israel secures six month delay in Hague Court proceedings.”

Another important story that has been largely ignored by Western media is regarding the sole Judge who voted in favor of Israel in every single decision so far in this case. That person, Judge Julia Sebutinde, has been revealed to have grossly plagiarized the writings of two ultra-zionists: Douglas Feith and David Brog. Feith is a co-author of the infamous Netanyahu plan, “A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm,” and part of the Bush/Cheney team that campaigned for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Brog is Jewish but helped to found Christians United for Israel. He is currently the head of Miriam Adelson’s “Maccabee Task Force”. Anti-zionist scholar Norman Finkelstein has discovered that 32% of the ICJ judge’s pro-Israel dissenting opinion was plagiarized from Feith, Brog, and others.

As the saying goes, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” And if nobody reports or knows about it, did it really happen? Along with dead Palestinians in Gaza, Israel is trying and perhaps succeeding in killing the International Court of Justice.FacebookTwitterReddit Email

Rick Sterling is an investigative journalist in the SF Bay Area. He can be reached at rsterling1@protonmail.com. Read other articles by Rick.

Not Taking a Position on Gaza IS Taking a Position on Gaza

by Caitlin Johnstone / April 23rd, 2025

It’s not okay to claim ignorance or uncertainty about what’s happening in Gaza in 2025. You’re an adult. You have internet access. If you don’t know, learn. You can’t just go “it too compwicated, me no understandy, googoo gaga.” It’s not cute and it’s not okay. Grow the fuck up.

Not taking a position on Gaza IS taking a position on Gaza. One you’ll have to live with for the rest of your life. One you will be judged by history for. One you will have to explain to your grandkids. Failure to oppose a genocide that your own government is supporting is consenting to the genocidal status quo.

If this is the case with you, then that’s a character flaw, and you need to change it. It’s not okay for you to be that way. Knock that shit off.

*****

Israel is destroying the heavy machinery needed to clear rubble and rescue people trapped under buildings in Gaza.

https://x.com/AssalRad/status/1914818312133087627

Countless people have died slow, agonizing deaths trapped under destroyed buildings since this nightmare began. Have you ever taken the time to deeply contemplate that? What a horrifying way to die that is? Being alive but with your body partially crushed, alone and in agony unable to move in the darkness, surrounded by members of your family who are either dead or similarly trapped, possibly for days until you die of dehydration?

Maybe the worst part would be knowing that you’re surrounded by survivors who would like to get you out of there, but can’t because they don’t have the equipment necessary to move the enormous pieces of rubble overtop of you. Knowing you’re trapped, and you’re never getting out.

This has happened to people countless times since the beginning of this onslaught in 2023. And Israel is going out of its way to make sure even more people die this way.

*****

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has rejected appeals by the World Health Organization to put pressure on Israel to end its starvation blockade on Gaza, saying, “What I would like to suggest is that we work together on putting the pressure where it really belongs — on Hamas.”

https://x.com/USAmbIsrael/status/1914335973237805553

Huckabee is a fanatical Christian Zionist who has said that there is “no such thing as a Palestinian” and that Israel has a right to the entirety of the West Bank.

If you believe your religion tells you to support the butchery and starvation of the people of Gaza, then your religious beliefs are bad, and you should change them. There’s no point in having a religion if it doesn’t even help you understand that genocide is an inexcusable evil.

There’s too much religious tolerance in our society. If you believe your religion tells you to support an active genocide, then everyone should call you an asshole and tell you to get different beliefs.

I actually agree with conservatives who say we need to be less tolerant toward people with unwholesome religious beliefs — I just disagree about whom that intolerance should be directed toward. It’s not Muslims telling me it’s right to support the Gaza holocaust, it’s Christian Zionists and Jewish Zionists. They belong to death cults which tell them that God wants them to support these profoundly evil things. These death cults should not exist, and anyone who belongs to them should leave. It should not be even slightly controversial to say this.

I don’t care what you believe about any deity or deities or how we should live or what happens to us after we die. Believe whatever you want as pertains to you and yours. But if your religious beliefs tell you to support Israel’s daily massacres and mass starvation, then your religious beliefs are bad, and people should not be tolerant toward them.FacebookTwitterReddit Email

Caitlin Johnstone has a reader-supported Newsletter. All her work is free to bootleg and use in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. Her work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece and want to read more you can buy her books. The best way to make sure you see the stuff she publishes is to subscribe to the mailing list on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything she publishes. All works are co-authored with her husband Tim Foley. Read other articles by Caitlin.

Nature accounting in Colombia makes sound economic case for protecting native ecosystems

Stanford University

In brief:

A new “natural capital account” for Colombia’s Upper Sinú Basin calculates the economic value of its natural ecosystems’ erosion control services to the energy and water sectors at $100 million (1.7% of the region’s GDP). An aqueduct under consideration to support increased coastal tourism would increase the value by 12%.
This is one of the first times outside Europe such an account has been created with locally validated models and data following the UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting framework.
This paper’s methodology offers a practical way to develop and apply such accounts regionally, laying the groundwork for compensation programs that protect nature and support livelihoods.

The Sinú River in northwestern Colombia is a kind of bloodstream from which life emanates. Its heart lies within Paramillo National Park, where the river begins, moving through tropical rainforests and tropical dry forests before flowing down to the Caribbean coast of the country – enabling hydropower, agriculture, ranching, and drinking water supplies for cities and tourist destinations.

These benefits are under threat from deforestation and erosion in the Upper Sinú Basin, largely due to cattle ranching, illegal timber harvesting, and agricultural expansion. Loss of forests and vegetation causes sediment to build up in waterways, compromising downstream uses of the water and creating hardships for an already water-stressed region, like higher water fees and more frequent water shutoffs. To address this, the government of Colombia is implementing an ambitious agenda including a variety of climate- and biodiversity-related programs. Such programs include compensating landowners and resource users for restoring forests or for following management practices that maintain nature’s benefits, like keeping soil in place, and out of waterways. In the same context, the government also aims to support nature-oriented tourism along the coast through investments such as a potential new aqueduct, which would increase water availability and security by bringing in water from the Sinú River and reducing pressure on the underground aquifers currently in use in the area.

To better achieve these interconnected goals, the Colombian National Planning Department (DNP) is working with Stanford University’s Natural Capital Project to link upstream watersheds with downstream economic development through natural capital accounting. This approach systematically quantifies natural assets, the benefits they provide to people, and how those benefits change over time, in a way that aligns with other accounting systems used by governments.

“The appeal of a natural capital account is that it’s replicable and can be scaled, showing the status of nature’s benefits to people over time and potentially in response to different actions,” said Lisa Mandle, lead scientist and director of science-software integration at Stanford University’s Natural Capital Project (NatCap) and a lead author on a new paper about this effort, published in Communications Earth & Environment. “But these are relatively new forms of accounts. How to actually do it – and in policy-relevant ways – is still being worked out, and this is one of the first times it has been actually done outside of Europe, for this type of service, with this degree of validation.”

In the paper, a team from NatCap, the Pontifical Javeriana University in Bogotá, Utrecht University, and DNP document their co-development of a novel natural capital assessment and account for the Sinú Basin. The value of the ecosystems’ sediment retention services to the region’s energy and water sectors alone comes to $100 million, equivalent to 1.7% of the region’s GDP. The team also analyzed future scenarios, showing that if the country moves forward with the new aqueduct, it would increase the value of these services by 12% because more people would depend on those services to deliver clean water.

The new natural capital account specifically follows the rigorous United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (UN SEEA EA) framework. About 33 countries have created such UN SEEA EA accounts. This is the first account in Colombia focused on flows of benefits to people, not just the physical extent of an ecosystem. It is also one of the first times local data and information were used to corroborate, or “calibrate,” the results for a sediment retention-focused account (rather than just relying on coarser, more general data). This makes it much more specific to the context and reliable for use in local and regional economic valuation and decision-making.

“The estimation of the biophysical and monetary values of ecosystem benefits in the Sinú Basin allows a direct comparison between the funds devoted to conservation and the economic outputs of these investments,” said Fabián Darío Villalba Pardo, a co-author on the paper from DNP’s Directorate of Environment and Sustainable Development. “This information also allows for comparison between usual investment budgets, for example in hard infrastructure, and the investments in green infrastructure.”

To create the assessment and account, the team talked with local stakeholders about how they currently rely on nature’s benefits (the “demand” for services), combining this with biophysical information about the ecosystems themselves (i.e., the supply). The work also involved calculating potential lost revenues from hydropower operators and water suppliers if ecosystems were not functioning properly in reducing sediment. These values can then inform specific policies and financial compensation for upstream stewardship that preserves them, such as the allocation of water user fees to watershed conservation or the development of government-supported “payment for ecosystem services” compensation programs.

“In many cases, technical methods involve a high level of scientific rigor but lack input from the actual users of ecosystem services. The SEEA framework applied in this project is a significant improvement in this context, and allows for the results to be used in better policies, suited to the specific situation of the municipalities involved,” said Villalba Pardo.

Starting downstream, then moving upstream…

This project emerged from years of collaboration and trust-building between NatCap and the Colombian government. An earlier natural capital assessment on the Gulf of Morrosquillo region, aiming to understand their proposed territorial development plan’s dependencies on nature, showed that the Upper Sinú Basin was key in providing a clean water supply for the municipalities and tourist destinations along the coast. Thus, the team hoped to better understand which areas upstream are most vital to preserving those benefits, as the government increased its investments in tourism and economic growth downstream.

“Ecosystem accounting is about two ends of a long chain,” said Héctor Angarita, senior scientist at NatCap and a lead author of the paper. “You have to calculate and connect both to find the realized, or actual, value: ecosystems are on one side, and people actually using their benefits are on the other.”

The team also peeled back the complex ways the locations of ecosystems and their beneficiaries matter, as do the value of different water-dependent economic sectors. For example, the forests are mainly higher up in the Sinú Basin, and their sediment retention primarily benefits hydropower operators, while savannas are lower in the basin and their retention primarily benefits water utilities. Thus while the two ecosystems retain approximately the same amount of sediment per acre, hydropower is a more lucrative industry, so the monetary value provided by forests is higher than savannas, in this case.

The study also showed that the planned aqueduct would increase the value of the services provided by upstream protected areas and mixed-use agricultural and cattle ranching lands simply because more people downstream would rely on them. So, the long-term success of the infrastructure investment would depend on better management of those areas.

“Starting from this analysis, we are now evaluating how to improve the public investment system in Colombia to incentivize the use of data on natural capital flows and stocks in the formulation of investment projects,” said Villalba Pardo.

Moving forward: financing for protected areas

“This work generated a lot of interest within DNP because it made a clear case for why certain features of the environment, especially protected areas, were so important as management strategies,” said Angarita.

In the next phase of this collaboration, part of a larger project with NatCap, three multilateral development banks, and 16 countries, the Colombia team (including both DNP, the National Department of Statistics, and the Inter-American Development Bank) focused on quantifying the benefits of protected areas in the Northeastern Andes region to priority economic sectors of several municipalities. They intend this to inform either the creation or the improvement of financial mechanisms that can fund nature protection in key areas.

Through this broader 3Ps effort, the Sinú Basin analysis was shared with other teams from Chile and the Philippines, as its methodology and approaches can be adapted to other places looking to create natural capital accounts. In Colombia, the results show clearly that the energy and water sectors have a significant interest in nature preservation and land management practices – in keeping the region’s “bloodstream” and its surrounding systems functioning properly. The analysis also shows how much work is involved in developing a natural capital account.

“The scalability of this approach is definitely challenging, but it is manageable,” said Angarita. “Once you start building this, you can be very modular and advance in pieces. Step-by-step, countries can produce these accounts.”

Additional authors on the paper are: Jaime Moreno (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana), Jesse A. Goldstein (NatCap), Sioux F. Melo L. (Utrecht University), Alejandra Echeverri (who was with NatCap at the time of this work and is now at the University of California, Berkeley), and Nicolás Rojas (who was with Colombia National Planning Department at the time of this work and is now is an advisor at Colombia House of Representatives).

This work was funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

The Natural Capital Project is based out of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and its Woods Institute for the Environment, and the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences’ Department of Biology. It is a global partnership of interdisciplinary researchers, professionals, and leaders: its core partners are the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the University of Minnesota, Natural Capital Insights, The Nature Conservancy, and World Wildlife Fund. NatCap’s work is co-created and implemented through a network of more than 500 collaborators worldwide.

Journal

Communications Earth & Environment

DOI

10.1038/s43247-025-02254-9

Article Title

Natural capital accounting revealsecosystems’ role in water and energysecurity in Colombia’s Sinú Basin

Article Publication Date

21-Apr-2025

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