Welcome

Hello! Welcome to the Autumn-Winter version of the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC) newsletter and the last of 2020. This newsletter is a great way to stay connected with all the latest news and events related to CHEC. The newsletter will be published quarterly throughout the year and will highlight the latest news, information and events related to CHEC, human ecology and the environment.

In what has been a difficult year for everyone all of us at CHEC wish every person a Merry Christmas and the very best for the New Year. This year has shown, perhaps more than any other in recent years, the importance of looking out for each other, the animals and plants of this world and the ecosystems that engulf the whole planet. CHEC is proud to be advocating for a healthier planet and we continue to lead by example with the projects we run and look forward to continuing our work through 2021.

To continue this work we need and welcome your support. Please consider becoming a member of CHEC today or providing a Christmas or New Years donation directly to us:

In this edition of the newsletter you can find the following:

• The latest CHEC news
• The latest ecological news
• Upcoming Commonwealth events
• Upcoming ecological events
• Getting involved

For further information about CHEC, including our detailed history and overview of current projects, please see our webpage - https://www.checinternational.org/

We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Latest CHEC News

CHEC Has Moved Online - The last few month have seen CHEC close its offices in Putney, London. CHEC is now a virtual organisation and will continue the work it does online.

Annual Report 2019 Published - In September, CHEC published its 2019 Annual Report. It covers the latest from the CHEC journal, updates on our successful bid to the Commonwealth Secretariat, news on the Uganda Bee Project and much much more.

CHEC Celebrates World Mangrove Day on Three Oceans - Details and outcomes from CHEC's mangrove projects around the Commonwealth are shared and revealed coinciding with World Mangrove Day 2020.

Maldives Mangrove Project - In October, CHEC received the final report from its successful Maldives Project. The highly informative report provides details of the project area and the activities undertaken in the mangrove project.

Latest Ecological News

Usually this section details a few stories about recent ecological developments, however, as a end of year treat we will instead use this section to introduce a brand new feature on the CHEC website: Commonwealth Environmental News.

When completed, the Commonwealth Environmental News section found on the CHEC website will have environmental news feeds from every Commonwealth country.

This means that all news that involves the ecological crisis, the environment, pollution, climate change and so on can be found and located in one place.

The feeds update automatically so breaking environmental news stories can be found without having to lift a finger!

The Commonwealth Environmental News feature currently has news feeds for Antigua and Barbados, Australia, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. New country feeds will be added each week.

To access the latest environmental news from around the Commonwealth join the Commonwealth Environmental New Centre here.

Upcoming Commonwealth Events

Impact of COVID-19 on women’s political, electoral and governance participation in Africa and the Caribbean - Thursday 3rd December 11:00-13:00 GMT - This webinar series is part of the Commonwealth Secretariat effort at fostering virtual dialogues on the gendered and shadow impact of COVID-19 on women, through its Inclusive Dialogue and Women’s Political Participation Project.

Indigenous Private Law Conference - Thursday 3rd December 20:00-22:00 GMT - The Journal of Commonwealth Law, in cooperation with the Faculties of Law at the Université de Montréal, the University of Cape Town, and Western University will host a symposium devoted to exploring the issues inherent in Indigenous private law. The conference will offer perspectives from around the Commonwealth from different theoretical frames of reference or methodologies of inquiry.

Covid-19 and Girls’ Access to Education - Thursday 10th December 14:00-16:00 GMT - The Commonwealth Secretariat is hosting a webinar on Covid-19 and girls’ access to education. It will be in the form of a panel discussion with leading experts in the field, including United Nations special procedures, civil society organisations and member states.

Upcoming Ecological Events

COVID 19 and the Environment - Thursday 10th December 14:00-16:00 - From the interactions between ecology and human health to enabling a green recovery, there are many urgent interfaces between COVID19 and the natural environment- some of which will be explored in this 2 hour session!

The Politics of Climate Change - Sunday 13th December 18:30-20:00 GMT - Climate change is generally read about in astronomical numbers: millions of hectares of farmland lost, trillions of dollars of infrastructure destroyed, hundreds of millions of people displaced. The usual response to these numbers is either to imagine a Mad Max-esque descent into barbarism or dismiss the facts with the comforting fairytale that somehow we will “work it out”. Climate Leviathan by Joel Wainwright and Geoff Mann is an attempt to map out how current political trends may evolve in response to climate change. Seeing how the climate crisis will impact on political and economic life is the only way of ensuring we retain our political bearings through the cascade of approaching ecological and social crises. It is also the only chance of generating an effective political strategy to win a world based on human solidarity and freedom.

Class & Climate Change - Tuesday 15th December 19:00-20:30 GMT - The Canny Little Library and Earth First! are organising a discussion group about climate justice. We kick off with the first session the 15th of December for a discussion about class and environmental justice. How do class struggles and environmental struggles intersect? Do workers' interests and environmentalists groups' interests diverge or are alliances possible? What can the role of trade unions be in the transition towards a more equitable and sustainable future? How can workers and environmental justice activists work together in the struggle against coal in the North East? These are some of the questions that we will seek to answer in an informal and self-organised environment.

Recent and Forthcoming Publications

[Book] Douglas, I et al., (2020) - The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology 2nd Edition (Oxon: Routledge)

[Book Chapter] Alvim, R.G. et al., (2020) - Global Social Change: Human Ecology from an Eco-Ethical Perspective in: "Global Changes: Ethics, Politics and Environment in the Contemporary Technological World" Eds. Valera L and Castilla, JC

[Preprint] Hambler, C (2020) - The Human Ecology of Covid-19: A Zinc Link?

[Journal Article] Jansson, J.K. and Hofmockel, K.S. (2020) - Soil Microbiomes and Climate Change Nature Reviews Microbiology. 18, 35-46.

[Letter] - Sippel, S et al., (2020) - Climate Change Now Detectable from Any Single Day of Weather at Global Scale Nature Climate Change. 10, 35-41.

Support CHEC

There are many ways you can support the work that CHEC does. We appreciate all types of support so if you fancy becoming a member, donating or simply following us on social media please do by clicking on the links below.