Biodiversity

Grenada Braces for Impacts of Climate Change

By Desmond Brown
Henry Prince has lived in this fishing village for more than six decades. Prince, 67, who depends on the sea for his livelihood, said he has been catching fewer and fewer fish, and the decrease is taking a financial toll on him and other fisher folk throughout the island nation of Grenada.

Planned Mega-Port in Brazil Threatens Rich Ecological Region

By Fabíola Ortiz
Activists and local residents have brought legal action aimed at blocking the construction of a nearly 50 sq km port terminal in the Northeast Brazilian state of Bahia because of the huge environmental and social impacts it will have.

Riches in World’s Oceans Estimated at Staggering 24 Trillion Dollars

By Thalif Deen
The untapped riches in the world’s oceans are estimated at nearly 24 trillion dollars – the size of the world’s leading economies, according to a new report released Thursday by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

To Defend the Environment, Support Social Movements Like Berta Cáceres and COPINH

By Jeff Conant
The 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize for Central and South America has been awarded to Berta Cáceres, an indigenous Honduran woman who co-founded the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, known as COPINH.

Fears Grow for Indigenous People in Path of Massive Ethiopian Dam

By Chalachew Tadesse
A United Nations mission is due to take place this month to assess the impact of Ethiopia’s massive Gilgel Gibe III hydroelectric power project on the Omo River which feeds Lake Turkana, the world’s largest desert lake, lying mostly in northwest Kenya with its northern tip extending into Ethiopia.

Nepal: A Trailblazer in Biodiversity Conservation

By Naresh Newar
At dusk, when the early evening sun casts its rays over the lush landscape, the Chitwan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 200 km south of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, is a place of the utmost tranquility.

In Belize, Climate Change Drives Coastal Management

By Aaron Humes
A five-year project launched here in Belize City in March seeks to cement a shift in view of climate change and its impact on Belize’s national development.

Deforestation in the Amazon Aggravates Brazil’s Energy Crisis

By Mario Osava
In Brazil water and electricity go together, and two years of scant rainfall have left tens of millions of people on the verge of water and power rationing, boosting arguments for the need to fight deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

Global Civil Society to the Rescue of the Amazon

By Kwame Buist
A global civil society petition to save the Amazon is circulating on the internet and its promoters say that once one million signatures have been collected indigenous leaders will deliver it directly to the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.

Millions of Dollars for Climate Financing but Barely One Cent for Women

By Amantha Perera
The statistics tell the story: in some parts of the world, four times as many women as men die during floods; in some instances women are 14 times more likely to die during natural disasters than men.

Nicaragua’s Future Canal a Threat to the Environment

By José Adán Silva
The new interoceanic canal being built in Nicaragua has brought good and bad news for the scientific community: new species and archeological sites have been found and knowledge of the local ecosystems has grown, but the project poses a huge threat to the environment.

Opinion: A Major Push Forward for Gender and Environment

By Joni Seager, Deepa Joshi, and Rebecca Pearl-Martinez
Experts from around the world gathered in New York recently to launch work on the Global Gender Environment Outlook (GGEO), the first comprehensive, integrated and global assessment of gender issues in relation to the environment and sustainability.

Q&A: “Protect Your Biodiversity”

By Desmond Brown
Richard Huber is chief of the Sustainable Communities, Hazard Risk, and Climate Change Section of the Department of Sustainable Development of the Organisation of American States (OAS). Its objective? Foster resilient, more sustainable cities – reducing, for example, consumption of water and energy – while simultaneously improving the quality of life and the participation of the community.

Opinion: The Scourge of Illegal Wildlife Trade

By Steven Broad
On Feb. 13, 2014, heads of state and ministers from 41 countries met in London to inject a new level of political momentum into efforts to combat the growing global threat posed by illegal wildlife trade to species such as elephants, rhinos and tigers.

Four Fast Facts to Debunk Myths About Rural Women

By Jacqui Ashby and Jennifer Twyman
We are lucky to live in a country that has long since abandoned the image of the damsel in distress. Even Disney princesses now save themselves and send unsuitable “saviours” packing. But despite the great strides being made in gender equality, we are still failing rural women, particularly women farmers.

Opinion: Sustainable Development Goals Could Be a Game-Changer for Water

By Betsy Otto and Kitty van der Heijden
Suppose money was being deposited and withdrawn from your bank account, but you didn’t know how much. And suppose you knew you had bills coming due, but you didn’t know when or what amount would be required to cover them.

In Thrall to the Mall Crawl and Urban Sprawl

By Kitty Stapp
There's little argument about the basic facts: It's ugly (think strip malls and big box stores). It's not very convenient (hours spent behind the wheel to get to work). And it wreaks havoc on the natural environment (lost farmland and compromised watersheds).

Women Turn Drought into a Lesson on Sustainability

By Zofeen Ebrahim
When a group of women in the remote village of Sadhuraks in Pakistan’s Thar Desert, some 800 km from the port city of Karachi, were asked if they would want to be born a woman in their next life, the answer from each was a resounding ‘no’.

Caribbean Community Climate-Smarting Fisheries, But Slowly

By Zadie Neufville
Caribbean nations have begun work on a plan to ‘climate smart’ the region's fisheries as part of overall efforts to secure food supplies.

Socioenvironmental Catastrophe Emerges from the Ashes of Patagonia’s Forests

By Fabiana Frayssinet
In the wake of the fire that destroyed more than 34,000 hectares of forests, some of them ancient, in Argentina’s southern Patagonia region, the authorities will have to put out flames that are no less serious: the new socio-environmental catastrophe that will emerge from the ashes.

Indonesia’s Palm Oil Industry in Need of a Makeover

By Amantha Perera
Over the past three decades, 50 percent of the 544,150 square kilometres that comprise Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, has been taken over by the palm oil industry.
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