Latest news with #GGN
New Straits Times
22-05-2025
- New Straits Times
Communities must lead heritage conservation, says Sabah geoparks expert
KOTA KINABALU: Local communities must be at the heart of efforts to preserve geological and cultural heritage, said Global Geoparks Network (GGN) vice president, Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Ibrahim Komoo. He emphasised that public understanding is the foundation of effective conservation. Speaking at the Malaysia Geopark Network Convention at a hotel here, Ibrahim said heritage conservation must be grounded in the values and trust of local and indigenous communities. "Many people don't realise that education about heritage is a key part of preservation. In developed countries like Japan, places are preserved not because of conservation officers, but because the people are educated and aware. "We need to build awareness and skills through education and training. If communities don't know about the existence or value of heritage, conservation efforts won't succeed," he said. "If we help improve their livelihood through heritage tourism, they will take care of it because they'll see it as a source of income," he said. He noted the growing popularity of geo-food — local village dishes elevated to premium tourist experiences — as well as traditional crafts that could flourish with improved product quality. "I once saw a mengkuang mat sell for up to RM500, where previously it would've gone for only RM30 to RM50. It's all because of quality," he said. The expert also proposed incorporating storytelling into tourism experiences, rooted in the natural and cultural significance of each location. "In the past, people climbed mountains just to reach the summit. "Now, we should encourage them to stop at five or six points along the way to learn about the beauty and importance of the landscape." Malaysia currently has 10 national geoparks, with Langkawi and Kinabalu recognised as Unesco Global Geoparks. Also present were Sabah Parks Board of Trustees chairman Peter Lintar and director Dr Maklarin Lakim.
Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Indian Express
Knowledge Nugget: What you must know about UNESCO Global Geoparks for UPSC Exam
Take a look at the essential events, concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here's your knowledge nugget for today on the UNESCO Global Geoparks. Knowledge Nugget: UNESCO Global Geoparks Why in the news? UNESCO has added 16 additional sites from 11 nations to its Global Geoparks Network, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. The new geoparks are in China, North Korea, Ecuador, Indonesia, Italy, Norway, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. Key Takeaways : 1. UNESCO Global Geoparks are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a comprehensive approach of protection, education and sustainable development. 2. According to UNESCO's official site, 'A UNESCO Global Geopark uses its geological heritage, in connection with all other aspects of the area's natural and cultural heritage, to enhance awareness and understanding of key issues facing society, such as using our earth's resources sustainably, mitigating the effects of climate change and reducing natural hazard-related risks.' 3. Global Geoparks are established through a bottom-up approach of combining conservation with sustainable development while involving all relevant local and regional stakeholders and authorities in the area. 4. At present, there are 229 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 50 countries. North Korea recorded its historic first with the inclusion of its site in the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network, while Saudi Arabia has made its debut on the list with two newly designated geoparks. Do you know? On 5 March 2025, UNESCO celebrated the 10th anniversary of the International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme, UNESCO's flagship programme in the Earth Sciences. 5. As of April 30, 2025, India does not have any UNESCO Global Geoparks. While India has identified several geological heritage sites and is exploring the idea of developing geoparks, none have yet been recognised by UNESCO. Criteria to be a UNESCO Global Geopark The criteria for an area to become a UNESCO Global Geopark are set out in the Operational Guidelines for UNESCO Global Geoparks. There are four fundamental features to a UNESCO Global Geopark. 1. Geological heritage of international value: The area must have geological heritage of international value. 2. Effective management structure: UNESCO Global Geoparks are managed by a body having legal existence recognized under national legislation. 3. Visibility: UNESCO Global Geoparks promote sustainable local economic development mainly through geotourism. To stimulate the geotourism in the area, it is crucial that a UNESCO Global Geopark has visibility. 4. Networking: Membership of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) is obligatory for UNESCO Global Geoparks. Is the designation of UNESCO Global Geoparks fixed? Notably, sites are given the designation of UNESCO Global Geoparks for a period of four years after which the functioning and quality of each UNESCO Global Geopark is thoroughly re-examined during a revalidation process. According to UNESCO's official site- 1. If, on the basis of the field evaluation report, the UNESCO Global Geopark continues to fulfill the criteria, the area will continue as a UNESCO Global Geopark for a further four-year period (so-called 'green card'). 2. If the area no longer fulfills the criteria, the management body will be informed to take appropriate steps within a two-year period (so-called 'yellow card'). 3. Should the UNESCO Global Geopark not fulfill the criteria within two years after receiving a 'yellow card', the area will lose its status as a UNESCO Global Geopark (so-called 'red card'). • UNESCO's Memory of the World (MoW) programme, launched in 1992, is an international cooperation strategy aimed at safeguarding, protecting, and facilitating access to and the use of documentary heritage, particularly rare and endangered heritage. • Beginning in 1997, the Register has been biennally updated, with the exception of a lengthy gap between 2017 and 2023, with between nine (in 1999) and 78 (in 2017) additions. In any year, at most two submissions from a country are added. • Recently, manuscripts of the Bhagavad Gita and Bharat Muni's Natyashastra are added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, taking the total number of inscriptions from India in the list to 14. 📍Natyashastra: Natyashastra is an ancient Sanskrit treatise on performing arts. It is traditionally attributed to the sage Bharata. Comprising 36,000 verses, the ' Naṭyashastra embodies a comprehensive set of rules that define natya (drama), abhinaya (performance), rasa (aesthetic experience), bhava (emotion), sangita (music),' the UNESCO citation says. 📍Bhagavad Gita: Bhagavad Gita is a Sanskrit scripture comprising 700 verses that are organised in 18 chapters, embedded in the sixth book (Bhishma Parva) of the epic poem Mahabharata. It is traditionally attributed to the sage Vyasa. • Notably, last year, three Indian literary works — Ramcharitmanas, Panchatantra, and Sahṛdayaloka-Locana—were added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register. let's also know about these literary works. 📍 Ramcharitmanas: This manuscript was authored by Goswami Tulsidas. 📍 Panchatantra: Attributed to Vishnu Sharma, this is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in verse and prose. 📍 Sahṛdayaloka-Locana: Written by 15th-century Kashmiri scholars Acharya Anandvardhan and Abhinavagupta, it was chosen for its aesthetic significance. 1. They are managed by UNESCO. 2. Recently, North Korea recorded its historic first with the inclusion of its site in the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network. 3. India has six Global Geoparks sites. How many of the statements given above are correct? (a) Only one (b) Only two (c) All three (d) None
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The ‘Gold' Fund That Could Cost You Thousands In Missed Returns
Image of Gold Ingots on Golden Background getty At my CEF Insider service, we focus on the long term, picking up closed-end funds that give us the capital we need to grow our wealth, plus the high income (I'm talking 8%+ yields here) we need to gain—and keep!—our financial freedom. That said, there's no denying that one particular investment (that's known for neither income nor long-term wealth building!) is getting a lot of attention these days: gold. So let's talk about the yellow metal and why we've avoided it at CEF Insider, despite its recent rise. We'll also look at a closed-end fund (CEF) that looks like a good play on gold but is, in fact, far from it. (Either way, it's a fund I recommend selling now, if you hold it, or avoiding if you don't). You don't have to look too far to see why gold is more of a play for short-term traders. Gold Lags Medium Term Ycharts We only have to go back five years to see gold underperforming the S&P 500, even after the recent selloff in stocks. But let's look at the really long term here. If we go back 33 years (the longest I can go back easily with the software I'm using), you again see that a significant gold holding would be a significant drag on a portfolio. Gold Lags Long Term Ycharts If you are trying to build generational wealth, clearly gold is not the way to go. If you're looking to play short-term extreme price moves? Then gold can work, but it's often no better than a coin flip. Here's why. Gold Coin Flip Results CEF Insider Here we see a few years in the 1970s, when gold (in blue above) crushed the S&P 500 (in red). But since then, the years in which gold has beaten stocks have been rarer. In fact, since 1971, gold has topped stocks 23 times, and stocks have beaten gold 31 times. And if you're interested in the long term, this is the real takeaway: Over this period, gold gave investors a 10.8% average return per year, while stocks returned an average of 12.5%. That's not too much of a difference. But take out the 1970s and gold gave investors a 4.3% annualized return while stocks returned 13.2% annualized return. That's a massive difference and a clear sign that gold is very much not for the long term. Which brings me to that so-called 'gold' CEF I recommend selling now: the GAMCO Global Gold, Natural Resources & Income Trust (GGN). GGN is a good fund, and well managed, but its focus on gold will inevitably drag it down when gold's rally inevitably stumbles—which is why I see it as a sell now. This one is also not a 'pure' gold play: It holds 54% of its portfolio in metals and mining stocks, including notable gold names like Newmont Corp. (NEM) and Kinross Gold (KGC). But it also has miners of other minerals, like Rio Tinto (RIO)—mainly an iron ore miner—and BHP Group (BHP), which focuses mostly on iron ore and copper. Another 33% of GGN's holdings are in energy and energy-services stocks, including top-10 holdings Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX). That energy focus has been weighing on GGN, since oil has been tumbling with stocks as of late. Nonetheless, investors have been bidding up the fund, shrinking the fund's discount to net asset value (NAV, or the value of its underlying holdings) down close to par. The fund's discount has been shrinking for years after temporarily spiking in mid-2022, during that year's selloff. That's left its current discount near its 10-year average of 3%. In other words, this fund is no longer undervalued, so it risks seeing less demand from investors going forward. This doesn't mean GGN is always a sell, by the way. Buying it on October 1, 2022, near the depths of that year's stock-market pullback, would have been a good move: GGN (in purple below) trounced gold prices—shown by a benchmark index fund, the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), in orange, and an S&P 500 index fund (in blue) from then until the end of that year: GGN Outperforms Ycharts Since then, though, the story has been very different. GGN Lags Ycharts As you can see above, GGN is well behind the S&P 500 since then, and more or less on par with gold. The fund's 'tie' with gold since brings up another question, though: Why not just buy gold itself? Well, gold has no dividend, so if you want to use your profits, you'll need to know how to time gold's ups and downs in order to sell at the right times to get the cash you need. With GGN, you're at least getting an 8.4% payout. The fund's high dividend effectively turned the volatility in the fund's gold and resources holdings into usable income for investors who held it. What's more, with gold itself—or an ETF that tracks it, like GLD, you will have to be very right about gold in the short term because gold tends to underperform stocks. And since gold has had an unusually strong run as of late, the law of mean reversion suggests that the chances of a bullish bet on gold turning sour are more likely now than they were a few weeks ago. All of this basically leaves us back where we started: If you're in the market for a reliable income stream to provide long-term wealth without the stress of gambling on short-term moves in an unpredictable commodity, you're best to look elsewhere. Michael Foster is the Lead Research Analyst for Contrarian Outlook. For more great income ideas, click here for our latest report 'Indestructible Income: 5 Bargain Funds with Steady 8.6% Dividends.' Disclosure: none
Gulf Today
24-03-2025
- General
- Gulf Today
Green Grass Nursery has been a pioneer in integrating Arabic language learning into its curriculum
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has recently made Arabic education mandatory in all private schools, emphasising the importance of bilingual education. Green Grass Nursery (GGN) has long recognized the value of early language development by integrating Arabic language learning and culture into the curriculum since it's founding in 2013. The nursery has been incorporating daily Arabic classes into its curriculum, ensuring that young learners develop strong language skills from the start. In 2018, the nursery took a further step by becoming fully bilingual, seamlessly integrating Arabic and English into daily learning experiences. From the very start, the nursery understood that the Arabic language serves as a window to its culture and community. This proactive approach sets GGN apart as a pioneer in early childhood bilingual education. Arwa Naccho, Green Grass Principal and CEO said "Language has always been, and will always remain, more than just a subject; it's an integral part of culture and community. KHDA's new policy approach has not only enhanced language skills but has also nurtured a deeper appreciation of the region's rich heritage among our students.' At Green Grass Nursery, young learners participate in one-hour-a-day preschool intensive Arabic programs designed to help children not only acquire language skills but also appreciate the culture of the UAE. These are more than educational programs; they encourage individual identity. The nursery's vision resides on the idea that learning goes beyond the four walls of a classroom; they have included the Reggio Emilia approach as well as the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. This nurturing framework enables children to discover, learn, and develop their skills and creativity in a supportive setting. 'Learning multiple languages at an early age enhances communication skills, boosts cognitive development, and aids cultural appreciation. By immersing children in both Arabic and English, Green Grass Nursery prepares them for academic success and a globally connected,' added Arwa Naccho. The Green Grass Nursery bilingual blueprint empowers future generations through innovative Arabic and English play-based learning. By 2025, it aims to expand the team of Arabic specialists and introduce a new bilingual Primary Key Stage 1 and 2 program for children aged 5 to 7 years. They are also exploring opportunities to join a larger educational organisation to share and scale our unique bilingual model. Green Grass Nursery's multifaceted strategy combined with steadfast and persistent devotion has set the benchmark in early childhood education. Now as Dubai begins this new journey with a change in educational policy, Green Grass Nursery remains a lighthouse of quality showing how Arabic education can be meaningful and enjoyable. Also, for those who are looking for more information regarding their new bilingual programs, their website gives a sneak peek at a realm where culture and language intertwine.
