New harvests: Skinny trees in the Amazon, tomatoes instead of rice

1. United States

The rate of violent victimization dropped from 79.8 to 16.5 per 1,000 people age 12 or older between 1993 and 2021. The findings measure rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. Between 2012 and 2021, the violent victimization rate fell by 9.6 cases per 1,000 people, notwithstanding a spike between 2015 and 2018.

The data was published last year by the Bureau of Justice Statistics as part of the Census Bureau’s annual National Crime Victimization Survey.

In 2021, the shares of violent incidents involving white (60%), Black (14%), and Hispanic (17%) victims were comparable to the population percentages of white (61%), Black (12%), and Hispanic (18%) individuals. The rate for individuals in households making less than $25,000 annually was greater than the rate for all other income groups. Early data from the FBI and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates a rise in murder in 2020 and 2021, but it remained below previous highs. And Americans age 65 or older saw the lowest rate of violent crime, excluding simple assault, for any age group.

For the past three decades, Gallup surveys show that a majority of the public perceives that crime is up even when the rate declines. Experts attribute the disconnect and people’s related feelings about safety to factors including media coverage, political rhetoric, and the wide range of information in the data.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, FiveThirtyEight

2. Brazil

In Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, the harvest of eucalypt timber is also funding reforestation. Conservationists generally opt for native trees when reforesting ecosystems. But fast-growing nonnative eucalypts offer an economically promising alternative. The trees grow thin and tall, allowing for native species to flourish in the understory. The sale of timber brings in revenue while creating jobs locally and along the supply chain. In a 2019 study of three sites, eucalypt logging offset between 44% and 75% of restoration and implementation costs.  

“The planting of timber helps both in financing the restoration and in improving environmental quality for natural regeneration, as it provides a much more favorable environment for natural regeneration than ... degraded pasture, for example,” said Fernando Gardon of the Brazilian company Re.green. Their restoration plan combines carbon credits and a future native hardwood harvest in an area of the Amazon rainforest and Atlantic Forest. While native species are better for wildlife, soils, water conservation, and carbon storage, responsible management can also reduce logging pressure on remaining natural woodland.
Sources: Mongabay

3. The Netherlands

The Netherlands acknowledged responsibility for its historical role in the trading of enslaved people. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized in December for violating human dignity “in the most horrific way possible,” in a speech at the National Archives in The Hague. With government support, the Dutch West India Co. became the largest trans-Atlantic slave trader in the 17th century. “Successive Dutch governments after 1863 failed to adequately see and acknowledge that our slavery past continued to have negative effects and still does,” he continued. Schoolchildren have limited exposure to its history.

The prime minister said he experienced a change of thinking by coming to see that enslavement is not entirely a thing of the past. The speech was welcomed by some, although many were disappointed by the lack of concrete plans for making amends or any mention of reparations for Black communities. The Dutch government has established a $212 million fund for education and initiatives to address the legacy of enslavement in the Netherlands and its former colonies.
Sources: CNN, NPR

4. Bangladesh

In response to dry weather, farmers in Bangladesh are planting vegetables instead of rice and earning more. Drought has grown increasingly common in the region of Barind, while groundwater levels are dropping by around 50 centimeters (20 inches) each year as farmers turn to deep wells. In the past decade, more farmers have planted cabbage, gourds, tomatoes, and radishes, which produce higher yields with less water and earn more money than rice. In one district, Rajshahi, the area of land where vegetables are grown has quadrupled in size since 2009. 

The Department of Agricultural Extension in Rajshahi supports farmers who want to make the switch, providing training and free seeds. While the perishability of vegetables poses a challenge, for many farmers the downsides are worth it. “I don’t think about going abroad because I can earn a healthy amount by staying at home,” said Mohammed Ali, a farmer who had previously worked in Saudi Arabia to send money home. “Nothing could be better than earning money and being with family.”
Source: Context

5. France, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, and Guinea

A group of retired soldiers from African colonies, known as tirailleurs, won a long-fought pension battle. Tens of thousands of soldiers were recruited from France’s African colonies to fight for the French army during both world wars and the wars of decolonization in Vietnam and Algeria between 1857 and the 1960s.

To be eligible for French pensions, veterans had to spend six months a year in France, separating them from their communities and loved ones. In a decision confirmed in January, surviving former soldiers will now receive pensions equal to those of their French counterparts regardless of their country of residence.

The move affects 22 survivors, who collect a €950 ($1,030) monthly payment from the French government. Critics say the move came too late for many of the veterans who have already died. “After long years of fighting, we have finally won,” tweeted Aïssata Seck, who campaigns for the soldiers. “The former tirailleurs are going to be able to see out their lives in their countries of origin.” For more, see our longer story on the tirailleurs.
Source: The Associated Press