Introduction
The United Nations’ recent declaration of 29 June as the International Day of the Tropics (United Nations, 2016) marks a turning point and recognises a profound geopolitical shift in our conception of the world. It engages a lateral view of the world when contemporary geopolitics is usually expressed through dichotomies – North/South; East/West; Developed/Developing; Asia/the rest. This recognition of the Tropics as a zone does not replace these familiar ways of understanding the world, but complements them, adding another axis of understanding.
The recognition of the Tropics as an important zone of the world hasn't happened by chance.
The State of the Tropics project, representing the combined efforts of 11 universities and research institutes around the worldFootnote
1
and many peer reviewers, has revealed a real world that has been largely overlooked.
Why the Tropics?
Understanding the Tropics is essential to understanding the trajectory of the world.
Demographic growth rates in the Tropics are outstripping the rest of the world. Economic development and urbanisation are proceeding at a faster rate than elsewhere. The Tropics is ground zero for climate change impacts. The challenges of and opportunities for development in the Tropics have great and compelling significance for both the Tropics and the rest of the world.
Currently, the Tropics accounts for around 3.1 billion people; more than 42 per cent of the world's population and 55 per cent of the world's children live in the Tropics (Data from United Nations, 2015). Calculations based on median projections of population growth and mortality estimate that by 2050, more than half of the world's population and 67 per cent of the world's children will live in the Tropics (Data from United Nations, 2015).
This demographic dividend means that the world's labour force will increasingly reside in the Tropics. And a growing middle class in countries and territories across the Tropics is driving strong demand for goods and services.
Health outcomes in the Tropics have improved in recent years, with global attention focused on some tropical infectious diseases. That said, great challenges remain with high maternal and infant mortality, too many neglected tropical diseases still taking their toll and the emergence of greater rates of non-communicable diseases, like diabetes, obesity and cardio-vascular disease, as a result of lifestyle changes (State of the Tropics, 2014).
Education rates continue to improve for girls as well as boys, but still lag behind the rest of the world. With more than half of the world's children living in the Tropics in 2016, the global community simply cannot afford – materially or morally – to neglect the growth and development of these children.
The Tropics is the most biologically diverse region on Earth, hosting about 80 per cent of the planet's terrestrial species and over 95 per cent of its corals and mangroves (State of the Tropics, 2014). Many tropical species are thermal specialists; they reside in a narrow temperature band making them vulnerable to even small changes in temperature and habitat availability (Perez et al., Reference Perez, Stroud and Feeley2016). For all major groups assessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and trees, the Tropics has the highest number and proportion of threatened species, particularly in tropical Asia, the Amazon and island nations (State of the Tropics, 2014).
Alongside the region's extraordinary biological diversity, the Tropics hosts most of the world's cultural and linguistic diversity. Most of the world's languages are spoken in a broad area on either side of the Equator – in South-east Asia and the Pacific, India, Africa and South America (Nettle, Reference Nettle1998). This diversity of culture and language is an asset to the Tropics and to the world. The secrets to sustainable development in the Tropics may well be found in the culture and languages of the people who reside there, rather than in policies and solutions imposed from the outside.
The Tropics accounted for 23 per cent of the global economy in 2014. Following the global financial crisis, global economic growth has remained somewhat steady and growth in tropical GDP has remained around 20 per cent higher than the rest of the world (Data from World Bank, 2016).
Urbanisation in the Tropics is proceeding at a faster rate than the rest of the world, with the population of tropical cities increasing by an estimated 80,000 people per day between 2010 and 2014, compared with an increase of around 50,000 people per day in the rest of the world (Data from United Nations, 2014). Over one third of tropical urban dwellers live in slums (Data from United Nations, 2014). These data show that people, infrastructure and environments are under severe pressure in many places across the Tropics. This pressure cannot continue to build with impunity: it needs to be addressed.
Connectivity is proceeding at lightning speed across the Tropics. There are now 90 mobile phone subscriptions for every 100 people in the Tropics, up from around 70 in 2010. Access to the Internet continues to grow with 27 per cent of the population connected in 2014, up from 17 per cent in 2010, with much of this growth due to access to mobile broadband technology (ITU, 2015).
Climate change impacts in the Tropics are likely to be considerable. While climate change effects in the Temperate Zone can be anticipated in part by examining natural systems closer to the Equator, there are no existing analogues for potential changes in the Equatorial region. Tropical Equatorial regions will not only be warmer than they are now, but experience conditions not historically experienced by human communities (Corlett, Reference Corlett2014).
The UN's 2030 Agenda speaks to crucial development issues for the world. It is no coincidence that this Agenda will be largely played out in the Tropics. Common challenges and opportunities mean there is potential for common solutions and approaches, born in and of the Tropics.
The International Day of the Tropics
On 29 June 2014, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi launched the inaugural State of the Tropics Report. Since then, work has continued through the State of the Tropics Project to mark the Tropics, to engage with this increasingly important zone of the world, to understand its trajectory and its effects.
Through this work, through this potent, international university and research alliance, a new global dynamic has been revealed. It is a dynamic of great richness and complexity, of great challenge and hope.
The inaugural International Day of the Tropics was celebrated on 29 June 2016 at an event held at the United Nations in New York. Other celebrations and moments of recognition were manifest around the world. There was strong media and social media attention from across the Tropics. The International Day was mentioned in traditional media in Australia, Brazil, Israel, Indonesia, Sudan and the Maldives among others. The social media campaign, #WeAreTheTropics and #DayofTropics2016 proved to be very successful and included posts from around the tropical world including Australia, the US, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, Costa Rica, Peru, Indonesia and Singapore among others.
The signature UN event was hosted by the Missions of Australia, Fiji and the Maldives. International representatives and experts were invited to provide their perspective on the significance of the Tropics and the unique challenges it faces. Comments from the various panel members highlighted the importance of tropical nations for global sustainable development and reinforced the importance of recognising the Tropics through an International Day. The issues discussed at this event were both compelling and wide-ranging.
The representative from Fiji, His Excellency Peter Thomson (the then United Nations General Assembly President-Elect) highlighted the importance of appropriate technology and infrastructure in the context of climate, extreme events, culture and sustainability. Designs for water and sanitation systems imported from outside the region are often not appropriate for warm, tropical storm prone areas.
His Excellency Ahmed Sareer (Maldives Permanent Representative to the United Nations) suggested that eco-tourism is an important pathway to sustainable development in the Tropics. Sustainable tourism in the Maldives has allowed that nation to leverage their natural assets for sustainable economic growth while conserving unique tropical ecosystems.
Both representatives expressed concern about the impacts of climate change on their respective nations particularly in terms of sea level rise, extreme events and ocean acidification.
Expert panelists were invited to comment on what they felt were the unique challenges and opportunities for the Tropics.
Dr Elizabeth Losos from the Organisation for Tropical Studies and Duke University highlighted the exceptional biodiversity of the Tropics.
‘In the continental US, there are around 700 tree species, yet in only 100 hectares of rainforest in Ecuador, there are twice as many’
Dr Elizabeth Losos
Dr Losos pointed out that interconnectivity is particularly important in the Tropics, if you break one linkage or structure, there can be profound and unexpected effects. To illustrate her point, Dr Losos explained how important tropical forests are for carbon sequestration. However, the ability of rainforests to cool down at night is being diminished and more severe droughts are being experienced. It is possible that tropical forests could turn from carbon sinks to carbon sources, which would have flow-on effects on economic development, food security, migration and international conflict.
Dr Rose Aderolili, Chief Economist from Otino International and former Chief of the Human and Social Development Program for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), provided her observations from a social and economic perspective with a particular focus on Africa.
There can be no doubt that Africa is critical to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, particularly given that most of the population is of working age in an environment where economic growth is more than 6 per cent across most countries. Although significant improvements have been experienced in equity, universal education and sustainability, challenges remain. A young and unskilled population often means that employment, health, education and food security are important issues. The majority of people living in rural areas in Africa still do not have access to reliable electricity – to achieve universal access there will be significant energy demands going forward. Working to secure renewable energy sources will be essential in Africa.
Health underpins social and economic development and is linked to many other aspects of change being experienced across the Tropics. Professor Peter Hotez from the Baylor College of Medicine, an expert in neglected tropical diseases, confirmed that although the Tropics suffers a greater burden of infectious diseases there has been great improvement throughout the Tropics: a 30–40 per cent decline in malaria cases, rising vaccination rates and reductions in numerous other tropical diseases. However, humans are changing the planet; deforestation, climate change, dam construction and mass migration throughout the Tropics have seen the spread of new and reemerging diseases such as Ebola and Zika. Many of these diseases are spreading beyond the Tropics, due to both social and environmental factors.
The national representatives and experts involved in the inaugural International Day of the Tropics event reinforced the idea that a focus on sustainable development across the Tropics is essential for an equitable, prosperous, sustainable and peaceful world.
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Introduction
The United Nations’ recent declaration of 29 June as the International Day of the Tropics (United Nations, 2016) marks a turning point and recognises a profound geopolitical shift in our conception of the world. It engages a lateral view of the world when contemporary geopolitics is usually expressed through dichotomies – North/South; East/West; Developed/Developing; Asia/the rest. This recognition of the Tropics as a zone does not replace these familiar ways of understanding the world, but complements them, adding another axis of understanding.
The recognition of the Tropics as an important zone of the world hasn't happened by chance.
The State of the Tropics project, representing the combined efforts of 11 universities and research institutes around the worldFootnote 1 and many peer reviewers, has revealed a real world that has been largely overlooked.
Why the Tropics?
Understanding the Tropics is essential to understanding the trajectory of the world.
Demographic growth rates in the Tropics are outstripping the rest of the world. Economic development and urbanisation are proceeding at a faster rate than elsewhere. The Tropics is ground zero for climate change impacts. The challenges of and opportunities for development in the Tropics have great and compelling significance for both the Tropics and the rest of the world.
Currently, the Tropics accounts for around 3.1 billion people; more than 42 per cent of the world's population and 55 per cent of the world's children live in the Tropics (Data from United Nations, 2015). Calculations based on median projections of population growth and mortality estimate that by 2050, more than half of the world's population and 67 per cent of the world's children will live in the Tropics (Data from United Nations, 2015).
This demographic dividend means that the world's labour force will increasingly reside in the Tropics. And a growing middle class in countries and territories across the Tropics is driving strong demand for goods and services.
Health outcomes in the Tropics have improved in recent years, with global attention focused on some tropical infectious diseases. That said, great challenges remain with high maternal and infant mortality, too many neglected tropical diseases still taking their toll and the emergence of greater rates of non-communicable diseases, like diabetes, obesity and cardio-vascular disease, as a result of lifestyle changes (State of the Tropics, 2014).
Education rates continue to improve for girls as well as boys, but still lag behind the rest of the world. With more than half of the world's children living in the Tropics in 2016, the global community simply cannot afford – materially or morally – to neglect the growth and development of these children.
The Tropics is the most biologically diverse region on Earth, hosting about 80 per cent of the planet's terrestrial species and over 95 per cent of its corals and mangroves (State of the Tropics, 2014). Many tropical species are thermal specialists; they reside in a narrow temperature band making them vulnerable to even small changes in temperature and habitat availability (Perez et al., Reference Perez, Stroud and Feeley2016). For all major groups assessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and trees, the Tropics has the highest number and proportion of threatened species, particularly in tropical Asia, the Amazon and island nations (State of the Tropics, 2014).
Alongside the region's extraordinary biological diversity, the Tropics hosts most of the world's cultural and linguistic diversity. Most of the world's languages are spoken in a broad area on either side of the Equator – in South-east Asia and the Pacific, India, Africa and South America (Nettle, Reference Nettle1998). This diversity of culture and language is an asset to the Tropics and to the world. The secrets to sustainable development in the Tropics may well be found in the culture and languages of the people who reside there, rather than in policies and solutions imposed from the outside.
The Tropics accounted for 23 per cent of the global economy in 2014. Following the global financial crisis, global economic growth has remained somewhat steady and growth in tropical GDP has remained around 20 per cent higher than the rest of the world (Data from World Bank, 2016).
Urbanisation in the Tropics is proceeding at a faster rate than the rest of the world, with the population of tropical cities increasing by an estimated 80,000 people per day between 2010 and 2014, compared with an increase of around 50,000 people per day in the rest of the world (Data from United Nations, 2014). Over one third of tropical urban dwellers live in slums (Data from United Nations, 2014). These data show that people, infrastructure and environments are under severe pressure in many places across the Tropics. This pressure cannot continue to build with impunity: it needs to be addressed.
Connectivity is proceeding at lightning speed across the Tropics. There are now 90 mobile phone subscriptions for every 100 people in the Tropics, up from around 70 in 2010. Access to the Internet continues to grow with 27 per cent of the population connected in 2014, up from 17 per cent in 2010, with much of this growth due to access to mobile broadband technology (ITU, 2015).
Climate change impacts in the Tropics are likely to be considerable. While climate change effects in the Temperate Zone can be anticipated in part by examining natural systems closer to the Equator, there are no existing analogues for potential changes in the Equatorial region. Tropical Equatorial regions will not only be warmer than they are now, but experience conditions not historically experienced by human communities (Corlett, Reference Corlett2014).
The UN's 2030 Agenda speaks to crucial development issues for the world. It is no coincidence that this Agenda will be largely played out in the Tropics. Common challenges and opportunities mean there is potential for common solutions and approaches, born in and of the Tropics.
The International Day of the Tropics
On 29 June 2014, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi launched the inaugural State of the Tropics Report. Since then, work has continued through the State of the Tropics Project to mark the Tropics, to engage with this increasingly important zone of the world, to understand its trajectory and its effects.
Through this work, through this potent, international university and research alliance, a new global dynamic has been revealed. It is a dynamic of great richness and complexity, of great challenge and hope.
The inaugural International Day of the Tropics was celebrated on 29 June 2016 at an event held at the United Nations in New York. Other celebrations and moments of recognition were manifest around the world. There was strong media and social media attention from across the Tropics. The International Day was mentioned in traditional media in Australia, Brazil, Israel, Indonesia, Sudan and the Maldives among others. The social media campaign, #WeAreTheTropics and #DayofTropics2016 proved to be very successful and included posts from around the tropical world including Australia, the US, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, Costa Rica, Peru, Indonesia and Singapore among others.
The signature UN event was hosted by the Missions of Australia, Fiji and the Maldives. International representatives and experts were invited to provide their perspective on the significance of the Tropics and the unique challenges it faces. Comments from the various panel members highlighted the importance of tropical nations for global sustainable development and reinforced the importance of recognising the Tropics through an International Day. The issues discussed at this event were both compelling and wide-ranging.
The representative from Fiji, His Excellency Peter Thomson (the then United Nations General Assembly President-Elect) highlighted the importance of appropriate technology and infrastructure in the context of climate, extreme events, culture and sustainability. Designs for water and sanitation systems imported from outside the region are often not appropriate for warm, tropical storm prone areas.
His Excellency Ahmed Sareer (Maldives Permanent Representative to the United Nations) suggested that eco-tourism is an important pathway to sustainable development in the Tropics. Sustainable tourism in the Maldives has allowed that nation to leverage their natural assets for sustainable economic growth while conserving unique tropical ecosystems.
Both representatives expressed concern about the impacts of climate change on their respective nations particularly in terms of sea level rise, extreme events and ocean acidification.
Expert panelists were invited to comment on what they felt were the unique challenges and opportunities for the Tropics.
Dr Elizabeth Losos from the Organisation for Tropical Studies and Duke University highlighted the exceptional biodiversity of the Tropics.
‘In the continental US, there are around 700 tree species, yet in only 100 hectares of rainforest in Ecuador, there are twice as many’
Dr Elizabeth Losos
Dr Losos pointed out that interconnectivity is particularly important in the Tropics, if you break one linkage or structure, there can be profound and unexpected effects. To illustrate her point, Dr Losos explained how important tropical forests are for carbon sequestration. However, the ability of rainforests to cool down at night is being diminished and more severe droughts are being experienced. It is possible that tropical forests could turn from carbon sinks to carbon sources, which would have flow-on effects on economic development, food security, migration and international conflict.
Dr Rose Aderolili, Chief Economist from Otino International and former Chief of the Human and Social Development Program for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), provided her observations from a social and economic perspective with a particular focus on Africa.
There can be no doubt that Africa is critical to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, particularly given that most of the population is of working age in an environment where economic growth is more than 6 per cent across most countries. Although significant improvements have been experienced in equity, universal education and sustainability, challenges remain. A young and unskilled population often means that employment, health, education and food security are important issues. The majority of people living in rural areas in Africa still do not have access to reliable electricity – to achieve universal access there will be significant energy demands going forward. Working to secure renewable energy sources will be essential in Africa.
Health underpins social and economic development and is linked to many other aspects of change being experienced across the Tropics. Professor Peter Hotez from the Baylor College of Medicine, an expert in neglected tropical diseases, confirmed that although the Tropics suffers a greater burden of infectious diseases there has been great improvement throughout the Tropics: a 30–40 per cent decline in malaria cases, rising vaccination rates and reductions in numerous other tropical diseases. However, humans are changing the planet; deforestation, climate change, dam construction and mass migration throughout the Tropics have seen the spread of new and reemerging diseases such as Ebola and Zika. Many of these diseases are spreading beyond the Tropics, due to both social and environmental factors.
The national representatives and experts involved in the inaugural International Day of the Tropics event reinforced the idea that a focus on sustainable development across the Tropics is essential for an equitable, prosperous, sustainable and peaceful world.
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to Her Excellency Gillian Bird, Australian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Julian Simpson and Amy Haddad from the Australian Mission to the United Nations and Kenneth Harri from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for their efforts to successfully campaign for a United Nations-endorsed International Day of the Tropics.
Thanks to His Excellency Peter Thomson, His Excellency Ahmed Sareer, Dr Elizabeth Losos, Dr Rose Aderolili and Professor Peter Hotez for contributing their experiences, insight and time to attend and take part in the Side Event at the United Nations.
Thanks also to Vanessa Cannon, Dr Mark Ziembicki and Ann Penny for their assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.