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Monday, November 4, 2024

Genetic history of the African diaspora

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The genetic history of the African diaspora is composed of the overall genetic history of the African diaspora, within regions outside of Africa, such as North America, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; this includes the genetic histories of African Americans, Afro-Canadians, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinos, Afro-Europeans, Afro-Asians, and African Australians.

Overview

Prehistoric

The Sahara served as a trans-regional passageway and place of dwelling for people in Africa during various humid phases and periods throughout the history of Africa. As early as 11,000 years ago, Sub-Saharan West Africans, bearing macrohaplogroup L (e.g., L1b1a11, L1b1a6a, L1b1a8, L1b1a9a1, L2a1k, L3d1b1a), may have migrated through North Africa and into Europe, mostly into southern Europe (e.g., Iberia).

Amid the Green Sahara in Africa, the mutation for sickle cell originated in the Sahara or in the northwest forest region of western Central Africa (e.g., Cameroon) by at least 7,300 years ago, though possibly as early as 22,000 years ago. The ancestral sickle cell haplotype to modern haplotypes (e.g., Cameroon/Central African Republic and Benin/Senegal haplotypes) may have first arose in the ancestors of modern West Africans, bearing haplogroups E1b1a1-L485 and E1b1a1-U175 or their ancestral haplogroup E1b1a1-M4732. West Africans (e.g., Yoruba and Esan of Nigeria), bearing the Benin sickle cell haplotype, may have migrated through the northeastern region of Africa into the western region of Arabia. West Africans (e.g., Mende of Sierra Leone), bearing the Senegal sickle cell haplotype, may have migrated into Mauritania (77% modern rate of occurrence) and Senegal (100%); they may also have migrated across the Sahara, into North Africa, and from North Africa, into Southern Europe, Turkey, and a region near northern Iraq and southern Turkey. Some may have migrated and introduced the Senegal and Benin sickle cell haplotypes into Basra, Iraq, where both occur equally. West Africans, bearing the Benin sickle cell haplotype, may have migrated into the northern region of Iraq (69.5%), Jordan (80%), Lebanon (73%), Oman (52.1%), and Egypt (80.8%).

During the early period of the Holocene, Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced into Europe, mostly in Iberia. West Africans probably migrated, across Sahelian Africa, North Africa, and the Strait of Gibraltar, into Europe, and introduced 63% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA. Between 15,000 BP and 7000 BP, 86% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced into Southwest Asia by East Africans, largely in the region of Arabia, which constitute 50% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA in modern Southwest Asia.

In 4000 BP, there may have been a population that traversed from Africa (e.g., West Africa or West-Central Africa), through the Strait of Gibraltar, into the Iberian Peninsula, where admixing between Africans and Iberians (e.g., of northern Portugal, of southern Spain) occurred.

Historic

An African individual, who has been dated between 1st century CE and 3rd century CE as well as carried haplogroup H1, may have forcibly (via enslavement) or voluntarily migrated from the central Sahara or the Nile Valley (e.g., Sudan) to Rome.

During the modern period, West Africans introduced more than 75% of Sub-Saharan mitochondrial DNA into North America and Southern Africans introduced almost 15%. West Africans also introduced ~45% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA into South America, whereas, Southern Africans, largely indigenous Angolans, introduced ~55%. During the modern period, West Africans introduced 75% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA into Iberia and other parts of Europe, possibly by sea voyage. During the modern period, a greater number of West Africans introduced Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA than East Africans. In the modern period, 68% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced by East Africans and 22% was introduced by West Africans, which constitutes 50% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA in modern Southwest Asia.

International Trade of Enslaved Africans

Regarding the Indian Ocean slave trade, Romuald (2017) states: "From the 8th to the 19th centuries, about four million people were captured from the shores of eastern Africa by Arab Muslim and Swahili traders. It has been suggested that slaves transported before the 16th century originated from the Horn of Africa, i.e., Nilotic or Afro-Asiatic speakers from present-day Ethiopia, whereas most Africans enslaved from the 18th century onward were Zanj, i.e., Bantu speakers of southeastern Africa." Regarding the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Fortes-Lima (2021) states:

Between the 15th and the 19th century, around twelve million Africans were forcibly displaced from their countries to be enslaved (that means around 30,000 captives a year over three and a half centuries). Enslaved Africans were taken from African slaving coasts that stretched thousands of miles, from Senegal to Angola, and even round the Cape and on to Mozambique. The largest number (around 95%) of slaves arrived in Latin America, with ~43% disembarked in South America, ~52% in the Caribbean, while the remaining 5% arrived in what has become today the United States. This forced and massive migration of people radically changed the genetic landscape of present-day populations in the Americas...According to historical resources, from 1501 to 1867 enslaved Africans were embarked from eight major historical coastal regions in sub-Saharan Africa: 5.7% of the captives were from Senegambia, 3.2% from Sierra Leone, 2.7% from Windward Coast, 9.6% from Gold Coast, 16.1% from Bight of Benin, 12.3% from the Bight of Biafra, 46.3% from West Central Africa, and 4.1% from Southeast Africa. West Central Africa region (coastal region from present-day Gabon to Angola) was always the largest regional point for captives throughout most of the TAST [Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade] period, and much of the trade there was focused in present-day Angola. As the TAST expanded after 1641, slaving regions such as Gold Coast, the Bights of Benin and Biafra, and West Central Africa became more prominent than they had been before.

International Emigration of Modern Africans

Europe

In Lisbon, Portugal, 87% of Angolans, who were sampled in 2014, carried various haplogroups of Macro-haplogroup L (e.g., L0a, L0d, L1b, L1c, L2a, L2b, L2c, L3a, L3b, L3d, L3f, L4), whereas, other sampled Angolans carried different haplogroups (e.g., H, T, R0, K, U, J, M). In Lisbon, Portugal, out of 80 Guinea-Bissauns, who were sampled in 2017, 73 carried Macro-haplogroup L, 5 carried haplogroup U, one carried haplogroup M, and one carried haplogroup V. In Lisbon, Portugal, 81% of Mozambicans, who were sampled in 2017, carried various haplogroups of Macro-haplogroup L, whereas, 19% of the sampled Mozambicans carried different haplogroups (e.g., H, U, K, J1, M4, R0, T2).

Americas

Out of 642 individuals from 15 populations among the African diaspora in the Americas sampled in 2016, some of which included individuals who self-identified as being of African descent, the ancestry of 328 African Americans were found to be 80% African, the ancestry of Afro-Jamaicans were found to be 89% African, and the ancestry of Puerto Ricans were found to be 27% African.

Due to their relative isolation from Europeans and Native Americans, Maroons retained and adapted their cultures from Africa. European colonial forces relinquished and recognized the territorial sovereignty of areas occupied by Maroons, such as Colombia, Jamaica, French Guiana, and Suriname. Alukus,Kwinti, Matawai, Ndjukas, Paramakas, and Saramakas, who are Maroons of Noir Marron, are the largest, autonomous group of Maroons in the Americas. Though Noir Marron groups and other groups among the African diaspora have been in the Americas for 400 years, the ancestry of Noir Marron individuals sampled in 2017 has shown that Maroons are 98% African, which is the highest degree of retained African ancestry among the African diaspora. Noir Marron Maroons were found to be genetically linked with Africans in the region of the Bight of Benin; in particular, there are strong genetic connections with Africans in Benin and a linguistic connection with Gbe speakers, such as the Fon people.

During the Holocene, 3% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA is indicated to have been introduced into South America and 6% is indicated to have been introduced into North America. However, Sá et al. (2022) provided the following rationale: “This could be explained by statistical residuals from the recent lineages, but also from a couple of lineages whose founders in Africa were likely not detected, or due to minor errors in the sequences leading to overestimates of the age estimate of specific lineages.” During the modern period, West Africans introduced more than 75% of Sub-Saharan mitochondrial DNA into North America and Southern Africans introduced almost 15%. West Africans also introduced ~45% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA into South America, whereas, Southern Africans, largely indigenous Angolans, introduced ~55%.

North America

United States of America

Ancient DNA

At Avery’s Rest in Delaware, 3 out of 11 individuals were African Americans, who were dated between 1675 CE and 1725 CE; one was of West African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-CTS2447 and L3e3b, another was of western Central African Bantu-speaking ancestry and carried E1b1a-Z5974 and L0a1a2, and another was of West African and East African ancestry and carried E1b1a-Z5974 and L3d2.

At a burial site in Delaware, enslaved African Americans, who were dated to the 17th century CE as well as had West African and Bantu ancestry from Central Africa and East Africa, carried haplogroups L3e3, L0a1a, and L3i2.

At Catoctin Furnace African American Cemetery, in Catoctin Furnace, Maryland, there were 27 African Americans found who were dated between 1774 CE and 1850 CE. One female individual, who was of 95.17% Sub-Saharan African and 1.69% European ancestry, carried haplogroup L3e1. One male individual, who was of 98.14% Sub-Saharan African ancestry, carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c2c and L2a1+143+@16309. One male individual, who was of 83.73% Sub-Saharan African and 7.74% European ancestry, carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c1b1 and L3e2a1b1. One male individual, who was of 88.47% Sub-Saharan African and 7.92% European ancestry, carried haplogroups R1b1a1b1a1a2c1 and L3e1. One male individual, who was of 84.94% Sub-Saharan African and 9.45% European ancestry, carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a2a1a and L2a1+143+16189 (16192)+@16309. One female individual, who was of 97.02% Sub-Saharan African and 1.06% European ancestry, carried haplogroup L3f1b1a. One male individual, who was of 87.83% Sub-Saharan African and 8.23% European ancestry, carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c1a1a3a1d1 and L3d1b3. One male individual, who was of 98.14% Sub-Saharan African ancestry, carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1a and L3e2a1b1. One male individual, who was of 53.75% Sub-Saharan African and 42.11% European ancestry, carried haplogroups R1b1a1b1a1a2c1a1h2a~ and L3f1b3. One female individual, who was of 98.12% Sub-Saharan African ancestry, carried haplogroup L2b1a3. One female individual, who was of 97.94% Sub-Saharan African ancestry, carried haplogroup L3e1a1a. One male individual, who was of 93.87% Sub-Saharan African and 2.58% European ancestry, carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1 and L3e1. One male individual, who was of 98.70% Sub-Saharan African ancestry, carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c1b2a and L2a1a1. One male individual, who was of 97.01% Sub-Saharan African ancestry, carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c1a1 and L3e2a1b1. One female individual, who was of 87.17% Sub-Saharan African and 6.93% European ancestry, carried haplogroup L2a1+143+16189 (16192)+@16309. One male individual, who was of 82.31% Sub-Saharan African and 10.24% European ancestry, carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c1b and L3e2a1b1. One male individual, who was of 91.82% Sub-Saharan African and 5.31% European ancestry, carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c1a1 and L3e2. One female individual, who was of 75.81% Sub-Saharan African and 21.44% European ancestry, carried haplogroup L4b2b1. One female individual, who was of 91.95% Sub-Saharan African and 4.47% European ancestry, carried haplogroup L3e2. One male individual, who was of 87.70% Sub-Saharan African and 4.93% European ancestry, carried haplogroups E2b and L2b1a3. One female individual, who was of 97.53% Sub-Saharan African and 0.21% European ancestry, carried haplogroup L2b1a3. One female individual, who was of 83.28% Sub-Saharan African and 10.72% European ancestry, carried haplogroup L3e2a1b1. One male individual, who was of 41.31% Sub-Saharan African and 53.59% European ancestry, carried haplogroups R1a1a1 and J1b1a1a. One male individual, who was of 92.70% Sub-Saharan African and 3.57% European ancestry, carried haplogroups A1b1 and L0a1b1a. One male individual, who was of 81.18% Sub-Saharan African and 14.86% European ancestry, carried haplogroups E1b1a1~ and L2c. One female individual, who was of 88.09% Sub-Saharan African and 5.44% European ancestry, carried haplogroup L2a1+143+16189 (16192)+@16309. One female individual, who was of 92.32% Sub-Saharan African and 4.05% European ancestry, carried haplogroup L2b1a3.

At a burial site in Schuyler Flatts, New York, 6 out of 14 individuals were African Americans, who were dated to the 18th century CE as well as of West African, western Central African, and Malagasy ancestry, carried various haplogroups; two carried haplogroup L2 (e.g., L2a1, L2b1), two carried haplogroup L3 (e.g., L3e2, L3e2b), one carried haplogroup M, and one carried haplogroup M7.

At an African American cemetery dated to the 18th century CE, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, enslaved African Americans carried haplogroups U5 and U6.

At an Anson Street burial site dated to the 18th century CE, in Charleston, South Carolina, 29 enslaved African Americans carried the following haplogroups: one carried haplogroup L0 (e.g., L0a1), six carried haplogroup L1 (e.g., L1b, L1c), nine carried L2 (e.g., L2a, L2b, L2c), twelve carried L3 (e.g., L3e, L3b, L3d, L3f), and one carried U6 (e.g., U6a5).

At an Anson Street burial site, in Charleston, South Carolina, there were 18 African Americans found who were dated to the 18th century CE. Banza was of western Central African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-CTS668 and L3e3b1. Lima was of West African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-M4671 and L3b3. Kuto was of western Central African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-CTS2198 and L2a1a2. Anika was of Sub-Saharan African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-CTS6126 and L2b1. Nana was of West African ancestry and carried haplogroup L2b3a. Zimbu was of western Central African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-CTS5497 and L3e1e. Wuta was of Sub-Saharan African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-CTS7305 and L3e2b+152. Daba was of West African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-M4273 and L2c. Fumu was of Sub-Saharan African ancestry and carried haplogroups B2a1a-Y12201 and L3e2b+152. Lisa was of West African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-Z6020 and H100. Ganda was of West African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-CTS5612 and L1c1c. Coosaw was of West African and Native American ancestry and carried haplogroups E2b1a-CTS2400 and A2. Kidzera was of western Central African ancestry and carried haplogroup L2a1a2c. Pita was of Sub-Saharan African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-M4287 and L3e2b. Tima was of western Central African ancestry and carried haplogroup L3e1e. Jode was of Sub-Saharan African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-CTS4975 and L2a1a2c. Ajana was of western Central African ancestry and carried haplogroup L2a1I. Isi was of western Central African ancestry and carried haplogroup L3e2a.

In Maryland, a tobacco pipe dated to the 19th century CE was determined to have been used by an enslaved African American woman, who was of Mende ancestry, and carried haplogroup L3e. She may have lived for a period of time between 1736 CE and 1864 CE.

At Avondale Burial Place, in Bibb County, Georgia, utilized between 1820 CE and 1950 CE, 18 out of 20 individuals were determined to be African American, as they carried the following haplogroups: one L0, two with L1, seven with L2, seven with L3, and one with U6.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an individual of West African ancestry, who died of cholera during a cholera pandemic in 1849 CE, carried haplogroup L3d1b3.

Y-Chromosomal DNA

60% of African Americans, who were sampled in 2007, were of haplogroup E1b1a, within which 22.9% were particularly of haplogroup E-M2; they also possessed numerous SNPs (e.g., U175, U209, U181, U290, U174, U186, and U247).

An African American man, who was sampled in 2013, carried haplogroup A00, which likely dates back to 338,000 BP, and is a haplogroup shared with the Mbo people.

Torres et al. (2012) states: "One African American population, those from South Carolina, cluster with the African populations. Notably, the South Carolina population falls nearest to the Grain Coast populations. Ethnohistorical records indicate a relationship between African Americans within this region of the United States and West Africans from Senegal, Gambia, and Sierra Leone. Based on such records it has been suggested that many African Americans within South Carolina originate from the Grain Coast region of West Africa. Furthermore, Africans from this region were sought-after and imported to the Americas for their knowledge of rice cultivation."

X-Chromosomal DNA

Due to the X-chromosomes in African Americans having high concentrations of ancestry from Africa, this coheres with the understanding of there being an asymmetric flow of genes from European males to African females; consequently, this can be understood as being the result of enslaved African American females being raped by European males.

Mitochondrial DNA

African Americans, who were sampled in 2015, carried various haplogroups of macro-haplogroup L (e.g., L0, L1, L1b, L1c, L2, L2a, L2b, L2c, L2e, L3, L3b, L3d, L3e, L3f, L3h, L3x, L4). 10.2% of African Americans carried haplogroup L1b and 19.8% of African Americans carried haplogroup L2a.

Stefflova et al. (2011) states: "Ancestry from Guinea Bissau-Mali-Senegal-Sierra Leone predominates in other United States African American populations compared to Philadelphia alone (43% vs. 22%). Despite the differences in coverage and sampling, this pattern may be attributed to a significant contribution of slaves from British colonies in Africa to the British-controlled Philadelphia region compared to a more diverse contribution to other parts of the United States from French, Spanish, and Dutch colonies. Additional possible contributing factors include the different periods of the slave trade influencing the Philadelphian population compared to the other parts of the United States. However, these remain tentative conclusions since we cannot rule out a contribution from sampling bias. Another example of these differences is the Gullah/Geechee populations from South Carolina/Georgia that have >78% of their source from the Guinea Bissau-Mali-Senegal-Sierra Leone region (data not shown), corresponding to the “Rice coast” around Sierra Leone that was the major source of slaves drawn by the United States in the later period of the slave trade." The plurality of the African component of African Americans was found to be from West African populations from Senegambia and the Rice Coast (Guinea Bissau-Mali-Senegal-Sierra Leone), followed by Central Africans from the Congo and Angola, and lastly West-Central Africans (Nigeria-Niger-Cameroon).

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 2.6% (±2.1%) Native American and 10.6% (±2.3%) European ancestry, African-Americans who were sampled in 2008, were found to be 86.8% (±2.1%) West African. In addition to being found to have 8% Asian (as a proxy for Native American ancestry) and 19.6% European ancestry, African-Americans, who were sampled in 2010, were found to be 72.5% African. African Americans were found to be more closely genetically related to Yoruba people than East Africans (e.g., Luhya, Maasai). Murray et al. (2010) also states: "In the analysis of AIMs [Ancestry Informative Markers], African Americans were most distant from Yorubans, followed by the Luhya, and then the Maasai and were closest to Barbadians." Out of 5,244 African Americans sampled in 2017, their ancestry was found to range between 73% and 78% African; in particular, they were found to be of West African and western Central African ancestry. Approximately 7% of their ancestry derives from Windward Coast, 13% from Senegambia, 30% from Angola, and nearly 50% from Benin, western Nigeria, and Togo. Additionally, 4.8% of their ancestry derives from Bantu peoples and 16% derives from African rainforest hunter-gatherers.

Tishkoff et al. (2009) via "Supervised STRUCTURE analysis [inferred] African American ancestry from global training populations, including both Bantu (Lemande) and non-Bantu (Mandinka) Niger-Kordofanian–speaking populations. These results were generally consistent with the unsupervised STRUCTURE analysis (table S6) and demonstrate that most African Americans have high proportions of both Bantu (~0.45 mean) and non-Bantu (~0.22 mean) Niger-Kordofanian ancestry, concordant with diasporas originating as far west as Senegambia and as far south as Angola and South Africa." Moderate to modest amounts of Chadic, Fulani, Nilo-Saharan, Cushitic, and Sandawe ancestry were also inferred; this is consistent with the phylogenetic analysis of Tishkoff et al. (2009), wherein African-Americans were found to share more recent common ancestry with a clade including Hausa and Fulani from Cameroon, in addition to Chadic and Central Sudanic speakers such as the Mada, Sara, and Laka.

Medical DNA

The African ancestry in African Americans have often been connected to the risk alleles and genetic components of diseases predominant among African Americans, such as blood disorders, hypertension, progressive kidney failure, and type 2 diabetes.

African Americans, who have a high rate of occurrence of type 2 diabetes, have a few gene variants (e.g., several SNPs in IGF2 and HLA-B genes; the SNP, rs7903146, within the TCF7L2 gene; the intergenic SNP, rs7560163, located between the RBM43 gene and RND3 gene) that are strongly associated with type 2 diabetes.

The rate of occurrence for hypertension in African Americans is 39%. Several genes (e.g., EVX1-HOXA, PLEKHG1, RSPO3, SOX6, ULK4), which contributes to the signaling pathway for nitric oxide – a pathway connected with multiple functions (e.g., endothelian function, heart contraction, vasodilatation) relating to hypertension – and thus, are associated with hypertension. Hypertension is also associated with the NPR3 gene. These genes have all been connected with hypertension in African Americans.

Risk allele variants G1 and G2 are associated with chronic kidney disease, which are common among populations of Sub-Saharan African ancestry; the G2 variant occurs at a 3%-8% rate among populations of western Central African ancestry and origin.

Some infectious diseases are protected against due to African ancestry. Hereditary blood disorders, such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia, produce an effect on the development of hemoglobin, which, consequently, prevents the reproduction of malaria parasites within the erythrocyte. Populations with West African ancestry, including among the African diaspora brought via the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, tend to have occurrences of sickle cell anemia and thalassemia. The Sickle Hemoglobin S trait occurs in 8% of African Americans, and, generally, sickle cell anemia occurs in 0.02% of African Americans.

African Americans have as much as 65% of the Duffy-null genotype. The cancer medicine, azathioprine, regarding its safety and when it should be discontinued, was found to be unsuitable and possibly damaging to African Americans, as the standard range was based on “normal” ranges for Europeans; the distinct genetic data from African Americans (e.g., Duffy-null phenotype) might provide a different explanation for neutropenia.

Caribbean

A majority of Afro-Caribbean people descend from peoples in the regions of West Africa and western Central Africa. In particular, their genetic ancestry, to some extent, derives from peoples in the region of Angola, but more so, from peoples in regions, such as the Bight of Benin, Bight of Biafra, Cameroon, and Ghana. Additionally, between the late 19th century CE and early 20th century CE, some Haitians migrated into Cuba, thereby, resulting in the addition of ancestry from Africa.

Barbados

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 0.2% (±2.0%) Native American and 10.2% (±2.2%) European ancestry, Afro-Barbadians, who were sampled in 2008, were found to be 89.6% (±2.0%) West African. In addition to being found to have 6.7% Asian and 15.9% European ancestry, Afro-Barbadians, who were sampled in 2010, were found to be 77.4% African. Afro-Barbadians were found to be more closely genetically related to Yoruba people than East Africans. In addition to being found to have 6% Asian and 16% European ancestry, Afro-Barbadians, who were sampled in 2013, were found to be 77% African; most of the African ancestry of Afro-Barbadians were found to derive from the Yoruba people. In addition to being found to have 0% Native American and 16% European (e.g., Northern/Western) ancestry, Afro-Barbadians, who were sampled in 2016 and self-reported their African ancestry, were found to be 84% African (e.g., Yoruba). The ancestry of Afro-Barbadians, who were sampled in 2017, were found to be 88% African.

Medical DNA

Dominica

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 16.2% (±10.4%) Native American and 28.1% (±12.3%) European ancestry, Afro-Dominicans, who were sampled in 2013, were found to be 55.6% (±16.1%) West African.

Medical DNA

Dominican Republic

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 9% Native American and 52% European (e.g., Northern/Western) ancestry, Afro-Dominicans, who were sampled in 2016 and self-reported their African ancestry, were found to be 38% African (e.g., Yoruba).

Medical DNA

Grenada

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 6.8% (±4.6%) Native American and 12.1% (±11.2%) European ancestry, Afro-Grenadians, who were sampled in 2013, were found to be 81.1% (±11.3%) West African.

Medical DNA

Haiti

Y-Chromosomal DNA

Afro-Haitians, who were sampled in 2012, were found to have carried haplogroup E1b1a-M2 (63.4%), within which were more specific sub-haplogroups, such as haplogroups E1b1a7-M191 (26.8%) and E1b1a8-U175 (26%), and subgroups within those sub-haplogroups, such as E1b1a7a-U174 (26.8%) and E1b1a8a-P278 (13%); there were also various sub-haplogroups of haplogroup R1b (e.g., R1b1b1-M269, R1b1b1a1b2-M529, R1b1b1a1b*-S116, R-M306, R1b2*-V88) as well as haplogroup R1a-M198.

Autosomal DNA

The ancestry of Afro-Haitians, who were sampled in 2013, were found to be 84% African.

Medical DNA

Jamaica

Y-Chromosomal DNA

Afro-Jamaicans, who were sampled in 2012, were found to have carried haplogroup E1b1a-M2 (60.4%), within which were more specific sub-haplogroups, such as E1b1a7-M191 (27.7%) and E1b1a8-U175 (23.3%), and subgroups within those sub-haplogroups, such as E1b1a7a-U174 (25.8%) and E1b1a8a-P278 (11.3%); there were also various sub-haplogroups of haplogroup R1b (e.g., R1b1b1-M269, R1b1b1a1b2-M529, R1b1b1a1b*-S116, R-M306, R1b2*-V88) as well as haplogroup R1a-M198.

Mitochondrial DNA

Afro-Jamaicans, who were sampled in 2012, were found to have mostly (97.5%) carried various forms of macro-haplogroup L as well as various other haplogroups (e.g., U6, A2, B2, D4, H, J, U2, M).

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 3.2% (±3.1%) Native American and 12.4% (±3.5%) European ancestry, Afro-Jamaicans, who were sampled in 2008, were found to be 84.4% (±3.1%) West African. In addition to being found to have 8.3% (±13.5%) Native American and 10.3% (±8.4%) European ancestry, Afro-Jamaicans, who were sampled in 2013, were found to be 81.4% (±15.9%) West African. The ancestry of Afro-Jamaicans, who were sampled in 2016, were found to be 89% African. In addition to being found to have 1% Native American and 11% European (e.g., Northern/Western) ancestry, Afro-Jamaicans, who were sampled in 2016 and self-reported their African ancestry, were found to be 89% African (e.g., Yoruba).

Medical DNA

Puerto Rico

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 12% Native American and 61% European (e.g., Northern/Western) ancestry, Afro-Puerto Ricans, who were sampled in 2016 and self-reported their African ancestry, were found to be 27% African (e.g., Yoruba).

Medical DNA

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 5.8% (±2.9%) Native American and 8.2% (±5.4%) European ancestry, Afro-Kittitians, who were sampled in 2013, were found to be 85.9% (±5.7%) West African.

Medical DNA

Saint Lucia

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 7.5% (±7.3%) Native American and 17.9% (±12.5%) European ancestry, Afro-Saint Lucians, who were sampled in 2013, were found to be 74.5% (±15.3%) West African.

Medical DNA

Saint Martin

Ancient DNA

In Zoutsteeg, Philipsburg, Saint Martin, three enslaved Africans of West African (e.g., Nigeria, Ghana) and western Central African (e.g., Bantu peoples of northern Cameroon) ancestry, who are estimated to date between 1660 CE and 1688 CE, were found; one carried haplogroups R1b1c-V88 and L3b1a, another carried haplogroup L3d1b, and the last carried haplogroup L2a1f. A man and woman may have been from Ghana or Nigeria, and a man may have been from among the Bantu peoples of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Medical DNA

Saint Vincent

Autosomal DNA

The ancestry of the Garifuna in Saint Vincent, who were sampled in 2013, were found to be 70% African. The ancestry of the Garifuna of Saint Vincent, who were sampled in 2019, were found to be 70% African. In addition to being found to have 6.5% (±6.4%) Native American and 12.8% (±12.9%) European ancestry, Afro-Vincentians, who were sampled in 2013, were found to be 80.6% (±16.4%) West African.

Medical DNA

Trinidad and Tobago

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 9.2% (±8.7%) Native American and 15.8% (±11.5%) European ancestry, Afro-Trinidadians, who were sampled in 2013, were found to be 75.0% (±16.6%) West African.

Medical DNA

Virgin Islands

Saint Thomas

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 2.6% (±2.1%) Native American and 10.6% (±2.3%) European ancestry, Afro-Virgin Islanders from Saint Thomas, who were sampled in 2008, were found to be 86.8% (±2.2%) West African. In addition to being found to have 5.6% (±4.9%) Native American and 16.9% (±21.1%) European ancestry, Afro-Virgin Islanders from Saint Thomas, who were sampled in 2013, were found to be 77.4% (±21.9%) West African.

Medical DNA

Central America

Belize

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 29.0% Native American and 1.0% European ancestry, some Afro-Belizeans from Livingston, who were sampled in 1981, were found to be 70.0% African. In addition to being found to have 17.4% Native American and 2.7% European ancestry, some Afro-Belizeans from Stann Creek, who were sampled in 1983, were found to be 79.9% African. In addition to being found to have 24.1% Native American and 4.9% European ancestry, some Afro-Belizeans from Punta Gorda, who were sampled in 1983, were found to be 71.0% African. In addition to being found to have 23.9% Native American and 0.5% European ancestry, some Afro-Belizeans from Hopkins, who were sampled in 1983, were found to be 75.6% African. In addition to being found to have 7.4% Native American and 17.1% European ancestry, some Afro-Belizeans from Stann Creek, who were sampled in 1983, were found to be 75.5% African. In addition to being found to have 5.2% Native American and 42.8% European ancestry, some Afro-Belizeans from Punta Gorda, who were sampled in 1983, were found to be 52.0% African. In addition to being found to have 8.6% Native American and 16.7% European ancestry, some Afro-Belizeans from Belize City, who were sampled in 1983, were found to be 74.7% African.

Medical DNA

Guatemala

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Honduras

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 17% Native American and 2% European (e.g., Northern/Western) ancestry, Afro-Hondurans, who were sampled in 2016 and self-reported their African ancestry, were found to be 81% African (e.g., Yoruba).

Medical DNA

Mexico

Ancient DNA

At a San Jose de los Naturales Royal Hospital burial site, in Mexico City, Mexico, three enslaved West Africans of West African and Southern African ancestry, dated between 1453 CE and 1626 CE, 1450 CE and 1620 CE, and 1436 CE and 1472 CE, were found; one carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1c1b/E-M263.2 and L1b2a, another carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1d1/E-P278.1/E-M425 and L3d1a1a, and the last carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1c1a1c/E-CTS8030 and L3e1a1a. Human leukocyte antigen alleles further confirm that the individuals were of Sub-Saharan African origin.

At the 11–1 burial site, in Campeche, Mexico, a West African woman, who was in her early twenties and dated to the late 17th century CE, carried haplogroup L3.

Medical DNA

At La Concepción chapel and Hospital Real de San José de los Naturales, in Mexico City, Mexico, enslaved Africans, who carried haplogroup L, were sampled for viral genomes. From among the sampled individuals, who may have died between 1472–1625 CE and 1442–1608 CE, the ancient DNA of the viruses were able to be were able to be reconstructed. Due to the brutality of the Middle Passage and enslavement of the first generation of Africans, the transmission of the Hepatitis B virus and human parvovirus B19 from Africa to the Americas was facilitated by Spanish slavers and colonists; while this has not been established as causally connected, it is at least associated with the Cocoliztli epidemics.

Nicaragua

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

South America

Bolivia

Autosomal DNA

The ancestry of Afro-Bolivians from the Yungas Valley, who were sampled in 2016, were found to be 80% African.

Medical DNA

Brazil

Ancient DNA

At Pretos Novos Cemetery, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 4 out 16 carried M. tuberculosis and 3 out of 16 carried haplogroups L3e2, L3d1, and L1c2; thus, indicating that the individuals, who were buried in the cemetery between the 18th century CE and the 19th century CE, were born in West Africa and/or western Central Africa, and soon died after reaching Rio de Janeiro.

Autosomal DNA

The average ancestry of Afro-Brazilians were found to be 70.8% African.

Medical DNA

Colombia

Y-Chromosomal DNA

At Palenque, in addition to haplogroup R1b being found, including haplogroup R1b-V88, haplogroup E1b1a-M2 was found, which includes its sub-lineages (e.g., U175, U181, U290). While 37.9% was unable to be identified, the following African paternal haplogroups were able to be identified at Palenque: E1b1a-M2* (xM154, M191) (22.4% rate of occurrence) likely originates near Bight of Benin, E1b1a-M2* (xM154, M191) (12.1%) likely originates near Loango/Angola, B2a-M150* (xM109) (5.2%) likely originates in Loango, R1b-V88 (6.9%) likely originates near Bight of Benin/Loango, E1b1b-M35* (xM78, M81, M123, V6, M293) (5.2%) likely originates near Senegambia/Bight of Benin, Y-MRCA* (xM13,SRY10831.1) (3.4%) likely originates in Upper Guinea, E1a-M33 (1.7%) likely originates in Upper Guinea, E1a-M33 (1.7%) likely originates near Bight of Benin/Bight of Biafra, E1b1a-M191 (1.7%) likely originates near Loango/Angola, and E1b1a-M191 (1.7%) likely originates in Loango.

Mitochondrial DNA

While 67.1% was unable to be identified, the following African maternal haplogroups were able to be identified at Palenque: L1b1a1’4 (8.9% rate of occurrence) likely originates near Senegambia/Upper Guinea, L1c3a1b (6.3%) likely originates near Gold Coast/Angola, L0a1a+200 (1.3%) likely originates near Upper Guinea/Bight of Benin, L2b1a (1.3%) likely originates near Bight of Benin/Angola, L2d+16129 (1.3%) likely originates in Angola, L3e1d (12.7%) likely originates in Angola, and L3f1b+16365 (1.3%) likely originates in Gold Coast.

Autosomal DNA

In 2016, linguistic evidence (e.g., Kikongo influence and remnants from the early history of Palenque found in Palenquero), which was also compatible with a diverse origin for African Y-chromosome, supported Bakongo people being the founding population of Palenque; in 2020, the Yombe people of the Republic of the Congo were found to be genetically closest with the people of Palenque.

In addition to being found to have 28% Native American and 39% European (e.g., Northern/Western) ancestry, Afro-Colombians, who were sampled in 2016 and self-reported their African ancestry, were found to be 33% African (e.g., Yoruba). The average ancestry of Afro-Colombians were found to be 76.8% African.

Medical DNA

Based on 30 genetic markers, African ancestry was shown to provide statistically significant protection against Dengue Fever in Colombians.

Peru

Autosomal DNA

The ancestry of Afro-Peruvians, who were sampled in 2018, were found to be 78% African.

Medical DNA

Suriname

Ancient DNA

In Batavia, Suriname, an enslaved West African (e.g., Mali) with some Middle Eastern ancestry, who died more than a century ago, carried a strain of M. leprae and haplogroup L3.

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Atlantic Ocean

North Atlantic Ocean

Macaronesia

Canary Islands

Ancient DNA

At Finca Clavijo, in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, nine individuals, dated between 15th century CE and 17th century CE, who were of Sub-Saharan African and North African/Moorish origin, were enslaved and forcibly brought from Africa (e.g., Morocco, Senegal River); the Sub-Saharan African individuals carried haplogroups L1b, L1c, and L2a1, and the Moorish individuals carried haplogroups H, HV/R, R0, I, and U6b1.

Medical DNA

South Atlantic Ocean

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Saint Helena

Ancient DNA

In Saint Helena, 20 freed Africans, who were dated to the 19th century CE, were also of western Central African (e.g., Bantu peoples of Gabon and Angola) ancestry. One female individual carried haplogroup L1b1a10b. One female individual carried haplogroup L2a1f. One female individual carried haplogroup L2a1a3c. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a2a1a3b1d and L1c3a. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c1a1a and L0a1b2a. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a2a1a3b1a2a2 and L0a1e. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a2a1a3b1 and L2a1f1. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1 and L3. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a2a1a3b1d and L3e1e. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a2a1a3a1d and L3e3b2. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c1a1a3 and L3e1a3a. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a2a1a3b1a2a2 and L2b1a. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a2a1a3b1 and L3f1b1a. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a2a1a3b1d1c1a and L3d3a1. One male individual carried haplogroups B2a1a1a1 and L3e2b1. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a2a1a3b1d1c1a and L2a1f. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c1a1a3a1c1 and L3e1d1a. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a2a1a3a1d and L1b1a10. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c1a1a3a1c and L2a1f1. One male individual carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c1a1 and L2b1a. An enslaved African American man and woman, from the 18th century CE Anson Street burial site in Charleston, South Carolina, who carried haplogroup L3e1e, shared this haplogroup with freed Africans in Saint Helena. Based on those who were present among enlaved Africans, the ratio of males-to-females supports the conclusion of there being a strong selection bias for males in the latter period of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Consequently, due to this study on the freed Africans of Saint Helena, among other studies, greater genetic insights have been made into the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and its effects on the demographics of Africa.

Medical DNA

Eurasia

Europe

As early as 11,000 years ago, Sub-Saharan West Africans, bearing macrohaplogroup L (e.g., L1b1a11, L1b1a6a, L1b1a8, L1b1a9a1, L2a1k, L3d1b1a), may have migrated through North Africa and into Europe, mostly into southern Europe (e.g., Iberia).

During the early period of the Holocene, Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced into Europe, mostly in Iberia. West Africans probably migrated, across Sahelian Africa, North Africa, and the Strait of Gibraltar, into Europe, and introduced 63% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA. During the modern period, West Africans introduced 75% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA into Iberia and other parts of Europe, possibly by sea voyage.

France

Ancient DNA

At Pont-sur-Seine, in France, a male individual, dated to the Middle Neolithic, carried haplogroups E1b1a1a1a1c2c and U5b1-16189-@16192.

Medical DNA

Greece

Medical DNA

According to some studies, Greeks share some Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) alleles with East Africans (e.g., Amhara, Nuba, Oromo) and West Africans (e.g., Fulani, Mossi, Rimaibe) from Burkina Faso, who are viewed as having a possible earlier origin in Ethiopia. In particular, West Africans (e.g., Fulani, Mossi, Rimaibe) and Ethiopians (e.g., Amhara, Oromo) are viewed as sharing the most HLA-DRB1 alleles with Greeks. Greeks, West Africans, and Ethiopians are viewed as viewed as sharing chromosome 7 markers. During the desertification of the Green Sahara in 5000 BCE, or during the time of ancient Egypt, admixture between Greeks and black Africans are viewed as having occurred. Following the aridification of the Green Sahara, Africans are viewed as possibly having migrated from the southern region of the Sahara to the region of Athens and the islands in the Aegean. If the migration of black Africans into Greece occurred following the drying of the Green Sahara, it is viewed that this may indicate that Pelasgians derive from black Africans. More likely, if the migration of black Africans into Greece occurred during the time of ancient Egypt, then it is viewed that it may have been when black African dynasties in ancient Egypt and that those who followed them were expelled.Alternatively, during the existence of ancient Egypt, it is viewed that groups from Ethiopia may have migrated to Greece and West Africa, thereby, resulting in the possible admixture of modern Greeks and modern West African ethnic groups (e.g., Fulani, Mossi, Rimaibe). Greeks are viewed as sharing some alleles with West Africans (e.g., Fulani, Mossi, and Rimaibe) and East Africans (e.g., Oromo, Amhara, Nubians), the latter of which are viewed as also interrelated. Following the expulsion of what are characterized as black African Egyptian dynasties and groups who followed the dynasties toward Greece, it is viewed that there may have been subsequent admixture between the incoming groups and Greeks. Another migration of West Africans may have occurred thereafter. Additionally, following desertification of the Green Sahara around 5000 BCE, it is viewed that there may have been another migration of black Africans into Greece. A shared autosomal marker, relating to cystic fibrosis (3120 + 1 G), was viewed as having been found between some Africans and Greeks; as a possible historic explanation for the presence of this marker, the Danaids, who are identified as Africans, are viewed as possibly having migrated toward the north, into ancient Egypt, being repelled in ancient Egypt, and subsequently having migrated into Peloponnesus.

Italy

Ancient DNA

Medical DNA

Portugal

Ancient DNA

At Valle da Gafaria, in Lagos, Portugal, seven enslaved Africans, five of which had a combination of African and European admixture, and two of which had West African and Bantu ancestry, all of who were estimated to date between the 15th century CE and the 17th century CE; while one of their haplogroups went undetermined, it was determined that the others carried haplogroups H2a2, L1b1, L3i1b, L3'4'6, L2b1, and L3d.

At Cabeço da Amoreira, in Portugal, an enslaved West African man, who may have been from the Senegambian coastal region of Gambia, Mauritania, or Senegal, and carried haplogroups E1b1a and L3b1a, was buried among shell middens between the 16th century CE and the 18th century CE.

Mitochondrial DNA

In Lisbon, Portugal, out of 80 Guinea-Bissauns, who were sampled in 2017, 73 carried Macro-haplogroup L, 5 carried haplogroup U, one carried haplogroup M, and one carried haplogroup V.

In Lisbon, Portugal, 81% of Mozambicans, who were sampled in 2017, carried various haplogroups of Macro-haplogroup L, whereas, 19% of the sampled Mozambicans carried different haplogroups (e.g., H, U, K, J1, M4, R0, T2).

Medical DNA

Spain

Ancient DNA

In Granada, Spain, a Muslim (Moor) of the Cordoba Caliphate, who was of haplogroups E1b1a1 and H1+16189, as well as estimated to date between 900 CE and 1000 CE, and a Morisco, who was of haplogroup L2e1, as well as estimated to date between 1500 CE and 1600 CE, were both found to be of West African (i.e., Gambian) and Iberian descent.

Medical DNA

Asia

Between 15,000 BP and 7000 BP, 86% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced into Southwest Asia by East Africans, largely in the region of Arabia, which constitute 50% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA in modern Southwest Asia. During the modern period, a greater number of West Africans introduced Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA than East Africans. In the modern period, 68% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced by East Africans and 22% was introduced by West Africans, which constitutes 50% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA in modern Southwest Asia.

Arabia

Mitochondrial DNA

From as early as 2500 BP, East African females migrated, as well as some who may have later been enslaved and forcibly transported, into Arabia. Consequently, Arabs, who were sampled in 2003, have been shown to carry Sub-Saharan African haplogroups (e.g., L1, L2, L3b, L3d, L3e); specifically, 35% of Yemenese from the Hadramawt region, and between 10% and 15% among other Arabs (e.g., Bedouin, Iraqis, Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians).

Medical DNA

Georgia

Ancient DNA

In Abkhazia, Georgia, an African woman, Zana, who carried haplogroup L2b1b, was 34% West African and 66% East African, and lived during the 19th century CE. Between the 16th century CE and the 19th century CE, the ancestors of Zana, who were of West African and East African ancestry, may have arrived in Abkhazia, Georgia as a result of enslavement during the Ottoman Empire. Khwit, who was the son of Zana and carried haplogroups R1b1a1b1 and L2b1b, was of African and European admixture.

Medical DNA

Local myth about Zana of Abkhazia, Georgia being an Almasty was refuted by genetic evidence from ancient DNA, which confirmed that Zana was neither closely related to chimpanzees nor closely related to archaic humans, but closely related to other modern humans. Margaryan et al. (2021) speculate that Zana may have had congenital generalized hypertrichosis, which may have resulted in the development of the local myth.

India

Y-Chromosomal DNA

Out of the total amount of haplogroups carried, Siddis, who were sampled in 2011, 70% of their paternal haplogroups were found to be African; their paternal haplogroups were found to be common among Bantu-speaking peoples.

Mitochondrial DNA

Out of the total amount of haplogroups carried, Siddis, who were sampled in 2011, 24% of their maternal haplogroups were found to be African.

Autosomal DNA

In addition to being found to have 30.74% (±10.98%) South Indian and 7.05% (±10.15%) European ancestry, Siddis, who were sampled in 2011, were found to be 62.21% (±9.68%) East African. Siddis, who were sampled twice in 2011, were found to be 60%-75% Sub-Saharan African.

Medical DNA

Israel

Medical DNA

During the Copper Age and early Islamic era of ancient Israel, West Africans may have migrated into ancient Israel and introduced head louse from West Africa.

Pakistan

Y-Chromosomal DNA

Out of the total amount of haplogroups carried, Makranis, who were sampled in 2002 and 2004, 12% (±7%) of their paternal haplogroups were African.

Mitochondrial DNA

Out of the total amount of haplogroups carried, Makranis, who were sampled in 2002 and 2004, 40% (±9%) of their maternal haplogroups were African.

Autosomal DNA

While the orature among Makranis narrates an origin from Abyssinia, the genetic results from 2017 show that much of the ancestry of Makranis derives from Bantu-speaking peoples (Zanj), specifically from the southeast African Swahili coast. In addition to being found to have 74.5% Pakistani ancestry, Makranis, who were sampled in 2017, were found to be 25.5% Sub-Saharan African. Due to the African ancestry in Makranis being genetically similar to southeastern Bantu (e.g., Sotho) and eastern Bantu (e.g., Luhya) peoples, their African ancestry may derive from a source population in Mozambique. Additionally, the African ancestors of the Makranis may have been enslaved by slavers from the Omani Empire during the Indian Ocean slave trade of the 18th century CE.

Medical DNA

Since enslaved Africans were brought to Pakistan, the African Duffy-null alleles in Makranis have evolved. Makranis have an increased level of malarial resistance to P. vivax.

Resource depletion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources are commonly divided between renewable resources and non-renewable resources. The use of either of these forms of resources beyond their rate of replacement is considered to be resource depletion. The value of a resource is a direct result of its availability in nature and the cost of extracting the resource. The more a resource is depleted the more the value of the resource increases. There are several types of resource depletion, including but not limited to: mining for fossil fuels and minerals, deforestation, pollution or contamination of resources, wetland and ecosystem degradation, soil erosion, overconsumption, aquifer depletion, and the excessive or unnecessary use of resources. Resource depletion is most commonly used in reference to farming, fishing, mining, water usage, and the consumption of fossil fuels. Depletion of wildlife populations is called defaunation.

Resource depletion also brings up topics regarding its history, specifically its roots in colonialism and the Industrial Revolution, depletion accounting, and the socioeconomic impacts of resource depletion, as well as the morality of resource consumption, how humanity will be impacted and what the future will look like if resource depletion continues at the current rate, Earth Overshoot Day, and when specific resources will be completely exhausted.

History of resource depletion

The depletion of resources has been an issue since the beginning of the 19th century amidst the First Industrial Revolution. The extraction of both renewable and non-renewable resources increased drastically, much further than thought possible pre-industrialization, due to the technological advancements and economic development that lead to an increased demand for natural resources.

Although resource depletion has roots in both colonialism and the Industrial Revolution, it has only been of major concern since the 1970s.Before this, many people believed in the "myth of inexhaustibility", which also has roots in colonialism. This can be explained as the belief that both renewable and non-renewable natural resources cannot be exhausted because there is seemingly an overabundance of these resources. This belief has caused people to not question resource depletion and ecosystem collapse when it occurred, and continues to prompt society to simply find these resources in areas which have not yet been depleted.

Depletion accounting

In an effort to offset the depletion of resources, theorists have come up with the concept of depletion accounting. Related to green accounting, depletion accounting aims to account for nature's value on an equal footing with the market economy. Resource depletion accounting uses data provided by countries to estimate the adjustments needed due to their use and depletion of the natural capital available to them. Natural capital refers to natural resources such as mineral deposits or timber stocks. Depletion accounting factors in several different influences such as the number of years until resource exhaustion, the cost of resource extraction, and the demand for the resource. Resource extraction industries make up a large part of the economic activity in developing countries. This, in turn, leads to higher levels of resource depletion and environmental degradation in developing countries. Theorists argue that the implementation of resource depletion accounting is necessary in developing countries. Depletion accounting also seeks to measure the social value of natural resources and ecosystems. Measurement of social value is sought through ecosystem services, which are defined as the benefits of nature to households, communities and economies.

Importance

There are many different groups interested in depletion accounting. Environmentalists are interested in depletion accounting as a way to track the use of natural resources over time, hold governments accountable, or compare their environmental conditions to those of another country. Economists want to measure resource depletion to understand how financially reliant countries or corporations are on non-renewable resources, whether this use can be sustained and the financial drawbacks of switching to renewable resources in light of the depleting resources.

Issues

Depletion accounting is complex to implement as nature is not as quantifiable as cars, houses, or bread. For depletion accounting to work, appropriate units of natural resources must be established so that natural resources can be viable in the market economy. The main issues that arise when trying to do so are, determining a suitable unit of account, deciding how to deal with the "collective" nature of a complete ecosystem, delineating the borderline of the ecosystem, and defining the extent of possible duplication when the resource interacts in more than one ecosystem. Some economists want to include measurement of the benefits arising from public goods provided by nature, but currently there are no market indicators of value. Globally, environmental economics has not been able to provide a consensus of measurement units of nature's services.

Minerals depletion

Minerals are needed to provide food, clothing, and housing. A United States Geological Survey (USGS) study found a significant long-term trend over the 20th century for non-renewable resources such as minerals to supply a greater proportion of the raw material inputs to the non-fuel, non-food sector of the economy; an example is the greater consumption of crushed stone, sand, and gravel used in construction.

Large-scale exploitation of minerals began in the Industrial Revolution around 1760 in England and has grown rapidly ever since. Technological improvements have allowed humans to dig deeper and access lower grades and different types of ore over that time. Virtually all basic industrial metals (copper, iron, bauxite, etc.), as well as rare earth minerals, face production output limitations from time to time, because supply involves large up-front investments and is therefore slow to respond to rapid increases in demand.

Minerals projected by some to enter production decline during the next 20 years:

Oil conventional (2005)
Oil all liquides (2017). Old expectation: Gasoline (2023)
Copper (2017). Old expectation: Copper (2024). Data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) suggest that it is very unlikely that copper production will peak before 2040.
Coal per KWh (2017). Old expectation per ton: (2060)
Zinc. Developments in hydrometallurgy have transformed non-sulfide zinc deposits (largely ignored until now) into large low cost reserves.

Minerals projected by some to enter production decline during the present century:

Aluminium (2057)
Iron (2068)

Such projections may change, as new discoveries are made and typically misinterpret available data on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves.

Phosphor (2048). The last 80% of world reserves are only one mine.

Petroleum

Oil depletion is the decline in oil production of a well, oil field, or geographic area. The Hubbert peak theory makes predictions of production rates based on prior discovery rates and anticipated production rates. Hubbert curves predict that the production curves of non-renewing resources approximate a bell curve. Thus, according to this theory, when the peak of production is passed, production rates enter an irreversible decline.

The United States Energy Information Administration predicted in 2006 that world consumption of oil will increase to 98.3 million barrels per day (15,630,000 m³/d) (mbd) in 2015 and 118 million barrels per day in 2030. With 2009 world oil consumption at 84.4 mbd, reaching the projected 2015 level of consumption would represent an average annual increase between 2009 and 2015 of 2.7% per year.

Deforestation

Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh, are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute. Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the tropics. In 2019, nearly a third of the overall tree cover loss, or 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests. These are areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage.

The direct cause of most deforestation is agriculture by far. More than 80% of deforestation was attributed to agriculture in 2018. Forests are being converted to plantations for coffee, palm oil, rubber and various other popular products. Livestock grazing also drives deforestation. Further drivers are the wood industry (logging), urbanization and mining. The effects of climate change are another cause via the increased risk of wildfires (see deforestation and climate change).

Deforestation results in habitat destruction which in turn leads to biodiversity loss. Deforestation also leads to extinction of animals and plants, changes to the local climate, and displacement of indigenous people who live in forests. Deforested regions often also suffer from other environmental problems such as desertification and soil erosion.

Another problem is that deforestation reduces the uptake of carbon dioxide (carbon sequestration) from the atmosphere. This reduces the potential of forests to assist with climate change mitigation. The role of forests in capturing and storing carbon and mitigating climate change is also important for the agricultural sector. The reason for this linkage is because the effects of climate change on agriculture pose new risks to global food systems.

Since 1990, it is estimated that some 420 million hectares of forest have been lost through conversion to other land uses, although the rate of deforestation has decreased over the past three decades. Between 2015 and 2020, the rate of deforestation was estimated at 10 million hectares per year, down from 16 million hectares per year in the 1990s. The area of primary forest worldwide has decreased by over 80 million hectares since 1990. More than 100 million hectares of forests are adversely affected by forest fires, pests, diseases, invasive species, drought and adverse weather events.

Controlling deforestation

REDD+ (or REDD-plus) is a framework to encourage developing countries to reduce emissions and enhance removals of greenhouse gases through a variety of forest management options, and to provide technical and financial support for these efforts. The acronym refers to "reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries". REDD+ is a voluntary climate change mitigation framework developed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). REDD originally referred to "reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries", which was the title of the original document on REDD. It was superseded by REDD+ in the Warsaw Framework on REDD-plus negotiations.

Since 2000, various studies estimate that land use change, including deforestation and forest degradation, accounts for 12–29% of global greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason the inclusion of reducing emissions from land use change is considered essential to achieve the objectives of the UNFCCC.

Overfishing

Overfishing refers to the overconsumption and/or depletion of fish populations which occurs when fish are caught at a rate that exceeds their ability to breed and replenish their population naturally. Regions particularly susceptible to overfishing include the Arctic, coastal east Africa, the Coral Triangle (located between the Pacific and Indian oceans), Central and Latin America, and the Caribbean. The depletion of fish stocks can lead to long-term negative consequences for marine ecosystems, economies, and food security. The depletion of resources hinders economic growth because growing economies leads to increased demand for natural, renewable resources like fish. Thus, when resources are depleted, it initiates a cycle of reduced resource availability, increased demand and higher prices due to scarcity, and lower economic growth. Overfishing can lead to habitat and biodiversity loss, through specifically habitat degradation, which has an immense impact on marine/aquatic ecosystems. Habitat loss refers to when a natural habitat cannot sustain/support the species that live in it, and biodiversity loss refers to when there is a decrease in the population of a species in a specific area and/or the extinction of a species. Habitat degradation is caused by the depletion of resources, in which human activities are the primary driving force. One major impact that the depletion of fish stocks causes is a dynamic change and erosion to marine food webs, which can ultimately lead to ecosystem collapse because of the imbalance created for other marine species. Overfishing also causes instability in marine ecosystems because these ecosystems are less biodiverse and more fragile. This occurs mainly because, due to overfishing, many fish species are unable to naturally sustain their populations in these damaged ecosystems.

Most common causes of overfishing:

Increasing consumption: According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), aquatic foods like fish significantly contribute to food security and initiatives to end worldwide hunger. However, global consumption of aquatic foods has increased at twice the rate of population growth since the 1960s, significantly contributing to the depletion of fish stocks.
Climate change: Due to climate change and the sudden increasing temperatures of our oceans, fish stocks and other marine life are being negatively impacted. These changes force fish stocks to change their migratory routes, and without a reduction in fishing, this leads to overfishing and depletion because the same amount of fish are being caught in areas that now have lower fish populations.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing: Illegal fishing involves conducting fishing operations that break the laws and regulations at the regional and international levels around fishing, including fishing without a license or permit, fishing in protected areas, and/or catching protected species of fish. Unreported fishing involves conducting fishing operation which are not reported, or are misreported to authorities according to the International and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). Unregulated fishing involves conducting fishing operations in areas which do not have conservation measures put in place, and cannot be effectively monitored because of the lack of regulations.
Fisheries subsidies: A subsidy is financial assistance paid by the government to support a particular activity, industry, or group. Subsidies are often provided to reduce start up costs, stimulate production, or encourage consumption. In the case of fisheries subsidies, it enables fishing fleets to catch more fish by fishing further out in a body of water, and fish for longer periods of time.

Wetlands

Wetlands are ecosystems that are often saturated by enough surface or groundwater to sustain vegetation that is usually adapted to saturated soil conditions, such as cattails, bulrushes, red maples, wild rice, blackberries, cranberries, and peat moss. Because some varieties of wetlands are rich in minerals and nutrients and provide many of the advantages of both land and water environments, they contain diverse species and provide a distinct basis for the food chain. Wetland habitats contribute to environmental health and biodiversity. Wetlands are a nonrenewable resource on a human timescale and in some environments cannot ever be renewed. Recent studies indicate that global loss of wetlands could be as high as 87% since 1700 AD, with 64% of wetland loss occurring since 1900. Some loss of wetlands resulted from natural causes such as erosion, sedimentation, subsidence, and a rise in the sea level.

Wetlands provide environmental services for:

Food and habitat
Improving water quality
Commercial fishing
Floodwater reduction
Shoreline stabilization
Recreation

Resources in wetlands

Some of the world's most successful agricultural areas are wetlands that have been drained and converted to farmland for large-scale agriculture. Large-scale draining of wetlands also occurs for real estate development and urbanization. In contrast, in some cases wetlands are also flooded to be converted to recreational lakes or hydropower generation. In some countries ranchers have also moved their property onto wetlands for grazing due to the nutrient rich vegetation. Wetlands in Southern America also prove a fruitful resource for poachers, as animals with valuable hides such a jaguars, maned wolves, caimans, and snakes are drawn to wetlands. The effect of the removal of large predators is still unknown in South African wetlands.

Humans benefit from wetlands in indirect ways as well. Wetlands act as natural water filters, when runoff from either natural or man-made processes pass through, wetlands can have a neutralizing effect. If a wetland is in between an agricultural zone and a freshwater ecosystem, fertilizer runoff will be absorbed by the wetland and used to fuel the slow processes that occur happen, by the time the water reaches the freshwater ecosystem there will not be enough fertilizer to cause destructive algal blooms that poison freshwater ecosystems.

Non-natural causes of wetland degradation

Hydrologic alteration
- drainage
- dredging
- stream channelization
- ditching
- levees
- deposition of fill material
- stream diversion
- groundwater drainage
- impoundment
Urbanization and urban development
Marinas/boats
Industrialization and industrial development
Agriculture
Silviculture/Timber harvest
Mining
Atmospheric deposition

To preserve the resources extracted from wetlands, current strategies are to rank wetlands and prioritize the conservation of wetlands with more environmental services, create more efficient irrigation for wetlands being used for agriculture, and restricting access to wetlands by tourists.

Groundwater

Water is an essential resource needed for survival. Water access has a profound influence on a society's prosperity and success. Groundwater is water that is in saturated zones underground, the upper surface of the saturated zone is called the water table. Groundwater is held in the pores and fractures of underground materials like sand, gravel and other rock, these rock materials are called aquifers. Groundwater can either flow naturally out of rock materials or can be pumped out. Groundwater supplies wells and aquifers for private, agricultural, and public use and is used by more than a third of the world's population every day for their drinking water. Globally there is 22.6 million cubic kilometers of groundwater available; of this, only 0.35 million of that is renewable.

Groundwater as a non-renewable resource

Groundwater is considered to be a non-renewable resource because less than six percent of the water around the world is replenished and renewed on a human timescale of 50 years. People are already using non-renewable water that is thousands of years old, in areas like Egypt they are using water that may have been renewed a million years ago which is not renewable on human timescales. Of the groundwater used for agriculture, 16–33% is non-renewable. It is estimated that since the 1960s groundwater extraction has more than doubled, which has increased groundwater depletion. Due to this increase in depletion, in some of the most depleted areas use of groundwater for irrigation has become impossible or cost prohibitive.

Environmental impacts

Overusing groundwater, old or young, can lower subsurface water levels and dry up streams, which could have a huge effect on ecosystems on the surface. When the most easily recoverable fresh groundwater is removed this leaves a residual with inferior water quality. This is in part from induced leakage from the land surface, confining layers or adjacent aquifers that contain saline or contaminated water. Worldwide the magnitude of groundwater depletion from storage may be so large as to constitute a measurable contributor to sea-level rise.

Mitigation

Currently, societies respond to water-resource depletion by shifting management objectives from location and developing new supplies to augmenting conserving and reallocation of existing supplies. There are two different perspectives to groundwater depletion, the first is that depletion is considered literally and simply as a reduction in the volume of water in the saturated zone, regardless of water quality considerations. A second perspective views depletion as a reduction in the usable volume of fresh groundwater in storage.

Augmenting supplies can mean improving water quality or increasing water quantity. Depletion due to quality considerations can be overcome by treatment, whereas large volume metric depletion can only be alleviated by decreasing discharge or increasing recharge. Artificial recharge of storm flow and treated municipal wastewater, has successfully reversed groundwater declines. In the future improved infiltration and recharge technologies will be more widely used to maximize the capture of runoff and treated wastewater.

Resource depletion and the future

Earth Overshoot Day

Earth Overshoot Day (EOD) is the date when humanity's demand for ecological resources exceeds Earth's ability to regenerate these resources in a given year. EOD is calculated by the Global Footprint Network, and organization that develops annual impact reports, based on data bout resource use in the previous year. EOD is announced each year on June 5, which is World Environment Day, and continues to get earlier each year. For example, Earth Overshoot Day 2023 was August 2, compared to in 2010 where it fell on August 10 and in 2000 where it fell on September 17. The Global Footprint Network calculates Earth Overshoot Day by dividing world biocapacity by world ecological footprint and multiplying that by 365 days (366 days during a leap year). World biocapacity refers to the total amount of natural resources that Earth can regenerate in a year. World ecological footprint refers to the total amount of resource that society consumes in a year, including things like energy, food, water, agricultural land, forest land, etc. Earth Overshoot Day can be calculated for Earth as a whole, but also for each country individually. For example, in a middle income country like Morocco, their 2023 country specific overshoot day was December 22, compared to a high income country like the United States of America which consumes a lot more resources, their 2023 country specific overshoot day was March 14. The goal is to push Earth Overshoot Day back far enough to where humanity would be living within Earth's ecological means and not surpassing what it can sustainably provide each year.

The World Counts

According to The World Counts, a source which collects data from a number of organizations, research institutes, and news services, and produces statistical countdown clocks that illustrate the negative trends related to the environment and other global challenges, humanity is in trouble if current consumption patterns continue. At society's current consumption rate, approximately 1.8 Earths are needed in order to provide resources in a sustainable capacity, and there is just under 26 years until resources are depleted to a point where Earth's capacity to support life may collapse. It is also estimated that approximately 29% of all species on Earth are currently at risk of extinction. As well, 25 billion tons of resources have been extracted this year alone, this includes but is not limited to natural resources like fish, wood, metals, minerals, water, and energy. The World Counts shows that there is 15 years until Earth is exhausted of freshwater, and 23 years until there are no more fish in the oceans. They also estimate that 15 billion trees are cut down every year, while only 2 billion trees are planted every year, and that there is only 75 years until rainforests are completely gone.

Resource scarcity as a moral problem

Researchers who produced an update of the Club of Rome's Limits to Growth report find that many people deny the existence of the problem of scarcity, including many leading scientists and politicians. This may be due, for example, to an unwillingness to change one's own consumption patterns or to share scarce natural resources more equally, or to a psychological defence mechanism.

The scarcity of resources raises a central moral problem concerning the distribution and allocation of natural resources. Competition means that the most advanced get the most resources, which often means the developed West. The problem here is that the West has developed partly through colonial slave labour and violence, and partly through protectionist policies, which together have left many other, non-Western countries underdeveloped.

In the future, international cooperation in sharing scarce resources will become increasingly important. Where scarcity is concentrated on the non-renewable resources that play the most important role in meeting needs, the most essential element for the realisation of human rights is an adequate and equitable allocation of scarcity. Inequality, taken to its extreme, causes intense discontent, which can lead to social unrest and even armed conflict. Many experts believe that ensuring equitable development is the only sure way to a peaceful distribution of scarcity.

Another approach to resource depletion is a combined process of de-resourcification and resourcification. Where one strives to put an end to the social processes of turning unsustainable things into resources, for example, non-renewable natural resources, and the other strives to instead develop processes of turning sustainable things into resources, for example, renewable human resources.

History of climate change policy and politics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_climate_change_policy_and_politics

The history of climate change policy and politics refers to the continuing history of political actions, policies, trends, controversies and activist efforts as they pertain to the issue of climate change. Climate change emerged as a political issue in the 1970s, when activist and formal efforts sought to address environmental crises on a global scale. International policy regarding climate change has focused on cooperation and the establishment of international guidelines to address global warming. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a largely accepted international agreement that has continuously developed to meet new challenges. Domestic policy on climate change has focused on both establishing internal measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and incorporating international guidelines into domestic law.

In the 21st century, there has been a shift towards vulnerability-based policy for those most impacted by environmental anomalies. Over the history of climate policy, concerns have been raised about the treatment of developing nations. Critical reflection on the history of climate change politics provides "ways to think about one of the most difficult issues we human beings have brought upon ourselves in our short life on the planet".

History of climate change mitigation policies

Historically efforts to deal with climate change have taken place at a multinational level. They involve attempts to reach a consensus decision at the United Nations, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is the dominant approach historically of engaging as many international governments as possible in taking action on a worldwide public issue. The Montreal Protocol in 1987 is a precedent that this approach can work. But some critics say the top-down framework of only utilizing the UNFCCC consensus approach is ineffective. They put forward counter-proposals of bottom-up governance. At this same time this would lessen the emphasis on the UNFCCC.

The Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC adopted in 1997 set out legally binding emission reduction commitments for the "Annex 1" countries. The Protocol defined three international policy instruments ("Flexibility Mechanisms") which could be used by the Annex 1 countries to meet their emission reduction commitments. According to Bashmakov, use of these instruments could significantly reduce the costs for Annex 1 countries in meeting their emission reduction commitments.

The Paris Agreement reached in 2015 succeeded the Kyoto Protocol which expired in 2020. Countries that ratified the Kyoto protocol committed to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases, or engage in carbon emissions trading if they maintain or increase emissions of these gases.

In 2015, the UNFCCC's "structured expert dialogue" came to the conclusion that, "in some regions and vulnerable ecosystems, high risks are projected even for warming above 1.5 °C". Together with the strong diplomatic voice of the poorest countries and the island nations in the Pacific, this expert finding was the driving force leading to the decision of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference to lay down this 1.5 °C long-term target on top of the existing 2 °C goal.

History of activism

Since the early 1970s, climate activists have called for more effective political action regarding climate change and other environmental issues. In 1970, Earth Day was the first large-scale environmental movement that called for the protection of all life on earth. The Friends of Earth organisation was also founded in 1970.

Activism related to climate change continued in the late 1980s, when major environmental organizations became involved in the discussions about climate, mainly in the UNFCCC framework. Whereas environmental organizations had previously primarily been engaged at the domestic level, they began to increasingly engage in international campaigning.

The largest transnational climate change coalition, Climate Action Network, was founded in 1992. Its major members include Greenpeace, WWF, Oxfam and Friends of the Earth. Climate Justice Now! and Climate Justice Action, two major coalitions, were founded in the lead-up to the 2009 Copenhagen Summit.

Between 2006 and 2009, the Campaign against Climate Change and other British organisations staged a series of demonstrations to encourage governments to make more serious attempts to address climate change.

The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen was the first UNFCCC summit in which the climate movement started showing its mobilization power at a large scale. According to Jennifer Hadden, the number of new NGOs registered with the UNFCCC surged in 2009 in the lead-up to the Copenhagen summit. Between 40,000 and 100,000 people attended a march in Copenhagen on December 12 calling for a global agreement on climate. Activism went beyond Copenhagen, with more than 5,400 rallies and demonstrations took place around the world simultaneously.

In 2019, activists, most of whom were young people, participated in a global climate strike to criticise the lack of international and political action to address the worsening impacts of climate change. Greta Thunberg, a 19-year-old activist from Sweden, became a figurehead for the movement.

Development of political concern

In the mid-1970s, climate change shifted from a solely scientific issue to a point of political concern. The formal political discussion of global environment began in June 1972 with the UN Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) in Stockholm. The UNCHE identified the need for states to work cooperatively to solve environmental issues on a global scale.

The first World Climate Conference in 1979 framed climate change as a global political issue, giving way to similar conferences in 1985, 1987, and 1988. In 1985, the Advisory Group on Greenhouse Gases (AGGG) was formed to offer international policy recommendations regarding climate change and global warming. At the Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere in 1988, climate change was suggested to be almost as serious as nuclear war and early targets for CO₂ emission reductions were discussed.

The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) jointly established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988. A succession of political summits in 1989, namely the Francophone Summit in Dakar, the Small Island States meeting, the G7 Meeting, the Commonwealth Summit, and the Non-Aligned Meeting, addressed climate change as a global political issue.

Partisan division

In the late 2000s, the political discourse regarding climate change policy became increasingly polarising. In the United States, the political right has largely opposed climate policy while the political left has favoured progressive action to address environmental anomalies. In a 2016 study, Dunlap, McCright, and Yarosh note the 'escalating polarisation of environmental protection and climate change' discourse in the USA. In 2020, the partisan gap in public opinion regarding the importance of climate change policy was the widest in history. The Pew Research Center found that, in 2020, 78% of Democrats and 21% of Republicans in the USA saw climate policy as a top priority to be addressed by the President and Congress.

In Europe, there is growing tension between right-wing interest in migration and left-wing climate advocacy as primary political concerns. The validity of climate change research and climate scepticism have also become partisan issues in the United States. However in the United Kingdom the right-wing Conservative Party set one of the first net zero goals in the world in 2019.

Development of international policy

Through the creation of multilateral treaties, agreements, and frameworks, international policy on climate change seeks to establish a worldwide response to the impacts of global warming and environmental anomalies. Historically, these efforts culminated in attempts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions on a country-by-country basis.

In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) was held in Rio de Janeiro. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was also introduced during the conference. The UNFCCC established the concept of common but differentiated responsibilities, defined Annex 1 and Annex 2 countries, highlighted the needs of vulnerable nations, and established a precautionary approach to climate policy. In accordance with the convention, the first session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP-1) was held in Berlin in 1995.

In 1997, the third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-3) passed the Kyoto Protocol, which contained the first legally binding greenhouse gas reduction targets. The Kyoto Protocol required Annex 1 countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012.

At the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-13) in 2007, the Bali Action Plan was implemented to promote a shared vision for the Copenhagen Summit. The Action Plan called for Annex 2 nations to adopt Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs). The Bali Conference also raised awareness for the 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation.

In 2009, the Copenhagen Accord was created at the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-15) in Copenhagen, Denmark. Although not legally binding, the Accord established an agreed-upon goal to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius.

The Paris Agreement was adopted at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-21) on the 12th of December 2015. It entered into force on the 4th of November 2016. The agreement addressed greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance. Its language was negotiated by representatives of 196 state parties at COP-21. As of March 2019, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement and 187 have become party to the agreement.

History of climate change adaptation policies

When climate change first became prominent on the international political agenda in the early 1990s, talk of adaptation was considered an unwelcome distraction from the need to reach agreement on effective measures for mitigation – which has mainly meant reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. A few voices had spoken out in favour of adaptation even in the late 20th and early 21st century. In 2009 and 2010, adaptation began to receive more attention during international climate negotiations. This was after limited progress at the Copenhagen Summit had made it clear that achieving international consensus for emission reductions would be more challenging than had been hoped. In 2009, the rich nations of the world committed to providing a total of $100 billion per year to help developing nations fund their climate adaptation projects. This commitment was underscored at the 2010 Cancún Summit, and again at the 2015 Paris Conference. The promise was not fulfilled, but the amount of funding provided by the rich nations for adaptations did increase over the 2010 – 2020 period.

Climate change adaptation has tended to be more of a focus for local authorities, while national and international politics has tended to focus on mitigation. There have been exceptions – in countries that feel especially exposed to the effects of climate change, sometimes the focus has been more on adaptation even at national level.

History of climate change denial

Political pressure on scientists in the United States

Actions under the Bush Administration around 2007

A survey of climate scientists which was reported to the US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in 2007, noted "Nearly half of all respondents perceived or personally experienced pressure to eliminate the words 'climate change', 'global warming' or other similar terms from a variety of communications." These scientists were pressured to tailor their reports on global warming to fit the Bush administration's climate change denial. In some cases, this occurred at the request of former oil-industry lobbyist Phil Cooney, who worked for the American Petroleum Institute before becoming chief of staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (he resigned in 2005, before being hired by ExxonMobil). In June 2008, a report by NASA's Office of the Inspector General concluded that NASA staff appointed by the White House had censored and suppressed scientific data on global warming in order to protect the Bush administration from controversy close to the 2004 presidential election.

Officials, such as Philip Cooney repeatedly edited scientific reports from US government scientists, many of whom, such as Thomas Knutson, were ordered to refrain from discussing climate change and related topics.

Climate scientist James E. Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, wrote in a widely cited New York Times article in 2006, that his superiors at the agency were trying to "censor" information "going out to the public". NASA denied this, saying that it was merely requiring that scientists make a distinction between personal, and official government views, in interviews conducted as part of work done at the agency. When multiple scientists working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made similar complaints; government officials again said they were enforcing long-standing policies requiring government scientists to clearly identify personal opinions as such when participating in public interviews and forums.

In 2006, the BBC current affairs program Panorama investigated the issue, and was told, "scientific reports about global warming have been systematically changed and suppressed."

According to an Associated Press release on 30 January 2007:

Climate scientists at seven government agencies say they have been subjected to political pressure aimed at downplaying the threat of global warming.

The groups presented a survey that shows two in five of the 279 climate scientists who responded to a questionnaire complained that some of their scientific papers had been edited in a way that changed their meaning. Nearly half of the 279 said in response to another question that at some point they had been told to delete reference to "global warming" or "climate change" from a report.

The survey was published as a joint report the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Government Accountability Project.

Politically motivated investigations into historic temperature reconstructions

In June 2005, Rep. Joe Barton, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and Ed Whitfield, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, sent letters to three scientists Michael E. Mann, Raymond S. Bradley and Malcolm K. Hughes as authors of the studies of the 1998 and 1999 historic temperature reconstructions (widely publicised as the "hockey stick graphs"). In the letters he demanded not just data and methods of the research, but also personal information about their finances and careers, information about grants provided to the institutions they had worked for, and the exact computer codes used to generate their results.

Sherwood Boehlert, chairman of the House Science Committee, told his fellow Republican Joe Barton it was a "misguided and illegitimate investigation" seemingly intended to "intimidate scientists rather than to learn from them, and to substitute congressional political review for scientific review". The U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) president Ralph Cicerone wrote to Barton proposing that the NAS should appoint an independent panel to investigate. Barton dismissed this offer.

On 15 July, Mann wrote giving his detailed response to Barton and Whitfield. He emphasized that the full data and necessary methods information was already publicly available in full accordance with National Science Foundation (NSF) requirements, so that other scientists had been able to reproduce their work. NSF policy was that computer codes are considered the intellectual property of researchers and are not subject to disclosure, but notwithstanding these property rights, the program used to generate the original MBH98 temperature reconstructions had been made available at the Mann et al. public FTP site.

Many scientists protested Barton's demands. Alan I. Leshner wrote to him on behalf of the American Association for the Advancement of Science stating that the letters gave "the impression of a search for some basis on which to discredit these particular scientists and findings, rather than a search for understanding", He stated that Mann, Bradley and Hughes had given out their full data and descriptions of methods. A Washington Post editorial on 23 July which described the investigation as harassment quoted Bradley as saying it was "intrusive, far-reaching and intimidating", and Alan I. Leshner of the AAAS describing it as unprecedented in the 22 years he had been a government scientist; he thought it could "have a chilling effect on the willingness of people to work in areas that are politically relevant". Congressman Boehlert said the investigation was as "at best foolhardy" with the tone of the letters showing the committee's inexperience in relation to science.

Barton was given support by global warming sceptic Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who said "We've always wanted to get the science on trial ... we would like to figure out a way to get this into a court of law," and "this could work". In his Junk Science column on Fox News, Steven Milloy said Barton's inquiry was reasonable. In September 2005 David Legates alleged in a newspaper op-ed that the issue showed climate scientists not abiding by data access requirements and suggested that legislators might ultimately take action to enforce them.

Boehlert commissioned the U.S. National Academy of Sciences to appoint an independent panel which investigated the issues and produced the North Report which confirmed the validity of the science. At the same time, Barton arranged with statistician Edward Wegman to back up the attacks on the "hockey stick" reconstructions. The Wegman Report repeated allegations about disclosure of data and methods, but Wegman failed to provide the code and data used by his team, despite repeated requests, and his report was subsequently found to contain plagiarized content.

Climatic Research Unit email controversy (2009)

The Climatic Research Unit email controversy (also known as "Climategate") began in November 2009 with the hacking of a server at the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) by an external attacker, copying thousands of emails and computer files (the Climatic Research Unit documents) to various internet locations several weeks before the Copenhagen Summit on climate change.

The story was first broken by climate change denialists,who argued that the emails showed that global warming was a scientific conspiracy and that scientists manipulated climate data and attempted to suppress critics. The CRU rejected this, saying that the emails had been taken out of context. FactCheck.org reported that climate change deniers misrepresented the contents of the emails.Columnist James Delingpole popularised the term "Climategate" to describe the controversy.

The mainstream media picked up the story, as negotiations over climate change mitigation began in Copenhagen on 7 December 2009. Because of the timing, scientists, policy makers and public relations experts said that the release of emails was a smear campaign intended to undermine the climate conference. In response to the controversy, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released statements supporting the scientific consensus that the Earth's mean surface temperature had been rising for decades, with the AAAS concluding: "based on multiple lines of scientific evidence that global climate change caused by human activities is now underway... it is a growing threat to society".

Eight committees investigated the allegations and published reports, finding no evidence of fraud or scientific misconduct. The scientific consensus that global warming is occurring as a result of human activity remained unchanged throughout the investigations.

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Monday, November 4, 2024

Genetic history of the African diaspora

Overview

Prehistoric

Historic

International Trade of Enslaved Africans

International Emigration of Modern Africans

Europe

Americas

North America

United States of America

Ancient DNA

Y-Chromosomal DNA

X-Chromosomal DNA

Mitochondrial DNA

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Caribbean

Barbados

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Dominica

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Dominican Republic

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Grenada

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Haiti

Y-Chromosomal DNA

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Jamaica

Y-Chromosomal DNA

Mitochondrial DNA

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Puerto Rico

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Saint Lucia

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Saint Martin

Ancient DNA

Medical DNA

Saint Vincent

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Trinidad and Tobago

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Virgin Islands

Saint Thomas

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Central America

Belize

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Guatemala

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Honduras

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

Mexico

Ancient DNA

Medical DNA

Nicaragua

Autosomal DNA

Medical DNA

South America

Bolivia