Saving lives with reduced pollution, fewer pesticides, and less worker exploitation

Forcing employees to work more than eight hours a day is now a labor exploitation crime

Mexico’s human trafficking legislation used to limit cases of labor exploitation to poor conditions, workloads disproportionate to pay, and below-minimum wages. A recent amendment prohibits work that exceeds the legal limit of 48 daytime hours per week.

Pay rates have increased for federally permitted overtime. Penalties for employers include prison sentences of three to 10 years and fines between 5,000 and 15,000 days’ wages. Cases involving Indigenous or Afro Mexican workers have higher penalties.

The changes “not only help to avoid legal sanctions but also promote fair and transparent labor practices,” said consultant Mario Cesar Nuñez.
Sources: Englobally Latinoamérica, Ogletree Deakins

Britain is protecting its underground infrastructure with a new map

Some 2.5 million miles of cables and pipelines run beneath the surface, but their whereabouts are not always well known. Around 60,000 accidental strikes occur each year, costing an estimated $3.1 billion.

The Geospatial Commission began creating a digital map of the underground web in 2019 to minimize accidents and make it easier to plan new infrastructure. The team is collaborating with 186 organizations across England and Wales, including all major energy and water providers, to build the National Underground Asset Register.

Despite some concerns about data sharing and access, this sort of system has proved effective for over five decades in the Netherlands. Britain’s register should be complete by the end of 2025.
Sources: The Economist, Smart Water Magazine

School for South Africa’s 4-year-olds is now mandatory

The nation’s constitution guarantees access to basic education, and 90% of children complete the equivalent of ninth grade. But inequalities persist. Early childhood education is crucial for cognitive and social development; it can help close the gap between children from different economic backgrounds and create a more level playing field for those with disabilities.

“It will ensure young children are better prepared for formal schooling,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa, who signed the amendment into law in September. The legislation also includes provisions to make admissions more equitable, attendance more consistent, and schooling more sensitive to cultural and religious beliefs.

In July, the South African ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council expressed support for a new global treaty to strengthen the right to free preprimary and secondary education.
Sources: Human Rights Watch, South African Government News Agency

Air pollution has fallen by 41% over less than a decade

With air contamination the third-biggest threat to a long life expectancy in the country, China declared a “war against pollution” in 2014. Since then, the government has established new standards for pollutants, launched a nationwide air quality monitoring program, and invested heavily in clean energy.

Although China’s average particulate pollution meets its national standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air, it remains well above the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of 5 micrograms. And postpandemic economic recovery has put pressure on the country’s ability to speed air quality improvements.

“China remains as determined to manage air pollution this year as in the past decade, and overall environmental quality continues moving in the right direction,” said Ruan Qingyuan of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing.
Sources: Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, Dialogue Earth

Restrictions on hazardous pesticides are saving lives

In 2018, pesticides were implicated in a third of suicides in Nepal, where two-thirds of the population works in farming. Regulators banned the sale and import of eight of these chemicals the following year; two more were prohibited last summer. Poisoning fatalities – the vast majority of which involve pesticides – have fallen by 29% since their peak in 2018.

Worldwide, an estimated 140,000 people die every year of self-induced pesticide poisoning. Making it more difficult to access the most dangerous pesticides in moments of crisis has been shown to dramatically reduce suicide rates in countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and South Korea, with little impact on agricultural output. Still, health professionals in Nepal say more mental health services are needed to protect those who are struggling.
Source: Telegraph