Biodiversity

Using Climate-Smart Solutions to Promote Peace in South Sudan

By Isaiah Esipisu
Almost a month to go ahead of the traditional rainy season in Gbudue State, 430 kilometres west of South Sudan’s capital, Juba, smallholder farmers are already tilling their land as they prepare to plant purer, drought-tolerant seeds.

The Rising Trend of Zero Waste Lifestyles

By Leyla Acaroglu
Not too long ago, the term “zero waste” was just one of those boring policy directives or catchphrases thrown around by governments. But in the last few years, ‘going zero waste’ has taken on a new direction as a lifestyle trend of the insta-famous, who are helping to make zero waste a movement that anyone can get involved in.

Island Women Take the Lead in Peatland Restoration

By Stella Paul
Eluminada Roca has lived all her life next to the  Leyte Sab-a Basin peatlands. The grandmother from of San Isidro village in Philippines’ Leyte island grew up looking at the green hills that feed water to the peatland, she harvested tikog—a peatland grass to weave mats—and ate the delicious fish that was once in abundant in the waters. But today, the land is losing its water, the grass is disappearing and the fish stock has drastically decreased.

Healthy Oceans, Healthy Societies

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Over recent years, there have been shocking reports of marine endangerment and plastic pollution. The threats are clear, and now urgent action is needed more than ever.

Mining Grabs Up Land, Deals Blow to Agriculture in Central America

By Edgardo Ayala
Like an octopus, metals mining has been spreading its tentacles throughout Central America and dealing a blow to the region's agriculture and natural ecosystems, according to affected villagers, activists and a new report on the problem.

Q&A: Suriname’s President Champions Preserving the World’s Forests

By Desmond Brown
At the Bonn Climate Conference in 2017, Suriname announced its aspirations to maintain its forest coverage at 93 percent of the land area. For Suriname and other High Forest Cover and Low Deforestation (HFLD) nations, maintaining forest coverage is their contribution to saving the planet from the effects of climate change, something they did not cause.

‘Today, We Declare Our Love to Our Forests and Ecosystems’

By Desmond Brown
High Forest Cover and Low Deforestation (HFLD) nations ended a major conference in Suriname on Thursday, with the Krutu of Paramaribo Joint Declaration on HFLD Climate Finance Mobilisation.

Q&A: What of the Carbon Neutral Countries?

By Desmond Brown
As High Forest Cover and Low Deforestation (HFLD) nations meet in Suriname at a major conference, it is obvious that the decision made by these countries to preserve their forests has been a difficult but good one.

Q&A: We Are Helping the World Mitigate Climate Change, Now it’s Time to Help Us

By Desmond Brown
The Caribbean nation of Suriname may be one of the most forested countries in the world, with some 93 percent of the country’s surface area being covered in forests, but it is also the most threatened as it struggles with the impacts of climate change.

Our Forests Provide the World With Oxygen But We Need More Climate Change Finance – HFLD Countries

By Desmond Brown
Suriname, the most forested country in the world, is this week hosting a major international conference on climate financing for High Forest Cover and Low Deforestation (HFLD) countries.

Q&A: The Nature of Value vs the Value of Nature

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Humans have long had a varied and complicated relationship with nature—from its aesthetic value to its economic value to its protective value. What if you could measure and analyse these values? One group is trying to do just that.

Billions of Dollars Available for Reducing and Reversing Land Degradation

By Desmond Brown
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has debunked the notion that there is no funding available for countries to prevent, reduce or reverse land degradation.

The Silent, Invisible Crisis Destabilising Communities Could be a Subject of Hope

By Desmond Brown
New data show that globally two billion hectares of land—roughly twice the size of China—have been degraded. And of this amount, 500 million hectares are abandoned agricultural lands. 

Desertification, Land Degradation and Climate Change Go Hand in Hand

By Desmond Brown
The link between desertification, land degradation and climate change is among several issues occupying the attention of the 197 Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) for the next three days.

Q&A: 17 Percent of the Problem, but 30 Percent of the Solution

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
From expansive evergreen forests to lush tropical forests, the Earth’s forests are disappearing on a massive scale. While deforestation poses a significant problem to the environment and climate, trees also offer a solution.

Turning Mangrove Trees into Sustainable Assets for Myanmar

By Stella Paul
In 2015, Worldview International Foundation began a mangrove restoration project, planting saplings of the trees on about 121 hectares of land in Myanmar’s Ayyerwady region.

Sprouting Mangroves Restore Hopes in Coastal Myanmar

By Stella Paul
Htay Aung is having a moment. The 63-year-old retired professor of Marine Science sits at the foot of a Buddha statue atop a hill on Shwe Thaung Yan sub township, in Myanmar's Ayyerwady region, almost in meditation. Below him, a vast thicket of mangrove glistens in the gold of a setting sun. For Aung, this stretch of mangroves—known as the Thor Heyerdahl Climate Park—is a symbol of joy, hope and all things good.

Mexico’s Forests, Both Victims of and Solution to Climate Change

By Emilio Godoy
"I dream of a healthy, sustainable, well-managed forest," says Rogelio Ruiz, a silviculturist from southern Mexico, who insists that "we have to clean it up, take advantage of the wood, and reforest.”

Overfishing Threatens Malawi’s Blue Economy

By Mabvuto Banda
Lake Malawi, Africa’s third largest lake, provides an economic lifeline to many fishing families. But overfishing is affecting many of these lives, with women being affected the most.

Ghana’s Contribution to Plastic Waste Can Be Reduced with the Right Investment

By Albert Oppong-Ansah
Twelve-year-old Naa Adjeley lives in Glefe, a waterlogged area that is one of the biggest slums along the west coast of Accra, Ghana. The sixth grade student, his parents and three siblings use 30 single-use plastic bags per day for breakfast.

Investors Turn Kenya’s Troublesome Invasive Water Hyacinth into Cheap Fuel

By Benson Rioba
Currently 30 square kilometres of Lake Victoria, which stretches to approximately 375 kilometres and links Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, is covered with the evasive water hyacinth that has paralysed transport in the area. But scientists are harvesting and fermenting the weed, and one intrepid chemistry teacher has built a business out of it.
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