Active Citizens

IFAD’s Record-Breaking Pledges: Lifeline for Rural Communities Cornered by Climate, Hunger

By Joyce Chimbi
The world is not on track to end hunger and poverty as a future of growing food insecurity and climate challenges beckon. Small-scale farmers are the backbone of food production, producing one-third of the world’s food and up to 70 percent of the food consumed in Africa and Asia, yet they are often cut off from the services they need to pull themselves out of poverty and food insecurity.

‘Imperfect COP28’ Gives Direction For Managed, Equitable Move From Fossil Fuels

By Cecilia Russell
While the outcomes of COP28 are being hotly debated in both the scientific and social justice arenas, the climate conference has taken an unprecedented step forward toward a just transition, says Yamide Dagnet, Director for Climate Justice at the Open Society Foundations.

Fashion Forward: Protect Africa from ‘Fagia’ Amid Alarming Global Stocktake

By Joyce Chimbi
Thousands of bales of cheap, poor-quality secondhand clothing arrive on boats and ships docking on Africa’s extensive 26,000-kilometer-long coastline, dotted with at least 100 ports and harbors. From Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Uganda, and Kenya, Africa’s ecosystems are chocking with cheap, air-polluting, and emissions-producing low-quality clothing as they often contain plastic-based fibers.

Taking Charge Against Plastic Pollution in India

By Umar Manzoor Shah
Aditi Agarwal, a brilliant computer science engineer and Gold Medalist, once thrived in the tech world, contributing to innovations at Microsoft. However, she felt a calling to address real-world challenges, particularly those related to carbon emissions and plastic pollution. In pursuit of a nobler cause, she joined a company called Go Rewise, a youth-led initiative in India dedicated to recycling PET bottles through a circular economy approach.

Lawmakers Told: Plan From the Cradle For Healthy Aging

By Cecilia Russell
Lawmakers were reminded of the benefits of long-term planning and the benefits of evidence-based decision-making in policymaking while grappling with demographic trends, be they an aging population or one with significant growth in youth, like that of Uzbekistan.

ECW’s Emergency Appeal for Crises Impacted Children Facing Double Tragedies

By Joyce Chimbi
Across the globe, the number of crisis-affected school-aged children facing climate shocks amplified by climate change keeps rising. The Somalia region of Ethiopia is facing the worst drought in 40 years. Last year in Pakistan, unprecedented flooding damaged more than 26,000 schools. Tropical Cyclone Tej recently made landfall in Yemen, affecting thousands of people.

Why is There Funding for War But Never for Climate Finance, Ask Feminists

By Umar Manzoor Shah
The Feminist Green New Deal Coalition has highlighted feminist climate solutions and shared feminist policies and frameworks that are advancing just climate policies at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 27th session of the Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai. US-based Feminist Green New Deal Coalition shared at a press conference that to truly address the root causes, as well as the scope and scale of the climate crisis, feminist approaches and principles are necessary for a cross-cutting approach that combats historical oppression and uplifts the leadership of marginalized groups.

Mass Protests Send Message of Solidarity with Palestinian People

By Zofeen Ebrahim
To mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people condemning Israel’s war on Gaza, protests were held on Wednesday across the globe, from Tokyo to Manila, Tehran and Beirut, Stockholm and London, and in Harare, Johannesburg, Quezon City, and Milan.

Restoring Indigenous Trees: New Mission to Combat Climate Change in Rwanda

By Aimable Twahirwa
With the ongoing national tree-planting campaign, Rwanda seeks to replace its degraded forest resulting from charcoal production and firewood and increase the need for construction materials with new indigenous trees to combat climate change. By using the power of carbon markets to fight climate change, Rwanda aims to reduce 4.6 million metric tons of carbon emissions across different key sectors, including forest, through its ambitious climate action agenda that features a 38 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to business-as-usual by 2030.

Salvadoran Rural Communities Face Climate Injustice

By Edgardo Ayala
For decades, poor fishing and farming communities in southern El Salvador have paid the price for the electricity generated by one of the country's five dams, as constant and sometimes extreme rains cause the reservoir to release water that ends up flooding the low-lying area where the families live.

Latin America Still Has a Long Way to Go to Eliminate Gender Violence

By Mariela Jara
"The Latin American and Caribbean region has made many advances in the fight against gender violence, but now we are facing reactions that show that our rights are never secure and that we must always be on the alert to defend them," said Susana Chiarotti, a member of Mesecvi's Committee of Experts.

Argentines Get Used to the Fact that Inflation Can Always Get Worse

By Daniel Gutman
People in Argentina have become accustomed to the fact that nothing costs the same today as it did the week before and they take price hikes in stride with resignation, says Mariano Cohen. "Almost nobody gets angry or complains anymore. They just don't buy something if they can't afford it," he explains in his disposable goods store in Villa Crespo, one of Buenos Aires' most commercial neighborhoods.

The Relentless Struggles of India’s Seawall Mammas

By Manipadma Jena
The sun is high in the noon sky—humidity unrelenting at 95 percent in this Indian sea-coast village. The monsoon has been deficient; rice paddies are yellowing on the edges from the salty surf misting in on them. Waves now break barely 200 metres from the farms and homes.

Back to Nature to Avoid Water Collapse in the Capital of Chile

By Orlando Milesi
A return to nature is the main solution being promoted by communities and municipalities to avoid the water shortage that threatens to leave Santiago, the capital of Chile, home to more than 40 percent of the 19.5 million inhabitants of this South American country, without water.

Community Solutions Combat Water Shortages in Peru’s Highlands

By Mariela Jara
The lack of water is so severe in Peru's highlands that farming families are forced to sell their livestock because they cannot feed them. "There is no grass or fodder to feed them," says Fermina Quispe, a Quechua farmer from a rural community located at 4,200 meters above sea level.

How to Defend the Environment and Survive in the Attempt, as a Woman in Mexico

By Emilio Godoy
The defense of the right to water led Gema Pacheco to become involved in environmental struggles in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, an area threatened by drought, land degradation, megaprojects, mining and deforestation.

Bringing the Piratininga Lagoon Back to Life in Brazil

By Mario Osava
Houses with balconies facing the street or the surrounding hills, when they are not hidden behind high walls, reflect a neighborhood where people live on the shore of a lagoon but reject the landscape it offers.

Silent Struggles: Unraveling Korea’s Startling Elderly Suicide Surge

By Hyunsung (Julie) Lee
Growing up in a culture that values respect for elders, I was acutely aware of the importance of caring for our aging population. However, my journey to understanding the gravity of this issue truly began with a personal anecdote. I watched my grandmother, a pillar of strength throughout my childhood, gradually withdraw from the vibrant world in which she once thrived. The cheerful twinkle in her eyes began to dim, replaced by an eerie sense of isolation.

The Frogs Are Drying Up! Let’s Explore What We Can Do!

By Karuta Yamamoto, Seiji Takano, Shun Shikii, Sota Yoshihara and Takeru Konno
Have you ever seen a dried frog? We have, and it’s making us rethink our impact on the environment. Frogs are incredibly sensitive to dry conditions, and they are facing the threat of extinction due to global warming. Amphibians, like frogs, make up a significant portion of endangered species, with 41 percent vulnerable compared to only 25 percent for mammals like polar bears.

The Issue Preventing Female Students in Thailand from Flourishing: No, It’s Not Just the Poverty You’re Thinking Of

By Hyolim (Kelly) Lee and Eunseol (Rachel) Cho
Four acrylic panels stood like soldiers around the perimeter of my body, bolted upright by the men who installed them, light proudly bouncing off the inherent gloss on those walls as I sat on the toilet.

Ecuadorians Vote to Preserve Yasuní National Park, but Implementation Is the Problem

By Carolina Loza
The decision reached by Ecuadorians to put an end to oil production in Yasuní National Park, in a popular referendum in August, was a triumph for civil society and a global milestone in environmental democracy. But when it comes to implementation, the result is less promising.
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