Environment

Indigenous Peoples Link Their Development to Clean Energies

By Emilio Godoy
Achuar indigenous communities in Ecuador are turning to the sun to generate electricity for their homes and transport themselves in canoes with solar panels along the rivers of their territory in the Amazon rainforest, just one illustration of how indigenous people are seeking clean energies as a partner for sustainable development.

Between Drought and Floods, Cuba Seeks to Improve Water Management

By Patricia Grogg
If you enjoy a good daily shower and water comes out every time you turn on the taps in your home, you should feel privileged. There are places in the world where this vital resource for life is becoming scarcer by the day and the forecasts for the future are grim.

Worldwide Effects of Asbestos Use

By Emily Walsh
Earlier this summer, the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States (EPA) issued a Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) on asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral that is also a known carcinogen. Asbestos is the only definitive cause of mesothelioma, a cancer which affects the linings of internal organs.

Preservation of the Klamath River – a Life or Death Matter for the Yurok People

By Emilio Godoy
Fishermen are scarce in the Klamath River delta, unlike other fishing season, because climate change has driven up water temperatures which kills off the salmon, the flagship species of this region in northern California.

Global Warming Threatens Europe’s Public Health

By Ed Holt
Climate change and health experts are warning of the growing threat to public health in Europe from global warming as rising temperatures help potentially lethal diseases spread easily across the continent.

Q&A: Achieving Sustainable Goals: “In the End it is All About People. If People Want, it Will Happen.”

By Manipadma Jena
Today just over two billion people live without readily available, safe water supplies at home. And more than half the world’s population, roughly 4.3 billion people, live in areas where demand for water resources outstrips sustainable supplies for at least part of the year.

“Running Out Of Time” – Local Communities Mobilise for the Climate

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Local communities across the globe have risen up to demand commitments on climate change, as frustration mounts over the lack of action.

Q&A: As Water Scarcity Becomes the New Normal How Do We Manage This Scarce Resource?

By Manipadma Jena
Growing economies are thirsty economies. And water scarcity has become “the new normal” in many parts of the world, according to Torgny Holmgren executive director of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).

Law of the Sea Convention Expands to Cover Marine Biological Diversity

By Palitha Kohona
Responding to a persistent demand by developing countries, the conservation community and science, the UN General Assembly has commenced a process for bringing the areas beyond national jurisdiction in the oceans under a global legally binding regulatory framework.

Salmon Farming, Questioned in Chile, Arrives to Argentina

By Daniel Gutman
Questioned for its environmental and health impacts in Chile, where it is one of the country's main economic activities, salmon farming is preparing to expand in Argentina from Norway, the world's largest farmed salmon producer. The news has triggered a strong reaction from civil society organisations.

Four-Year Drought Forces Cuba to Find Ways to Build Resilience

By Ivet González
Eastern Cuba has suffered drought since time immemorial. But the western and central regions of the island used to be almost free of the phenomenon, until the latest drought that plagued this country between 2014 and 2017.

UN Begins Talks on World’s First Treaty to Regulate High Seas

By Thalif Deen
After several years of preliminary discussions, the United Nations has begun its first round of inter-governmental negotiations to draft the world’s first legally binding treaty to protect and regulate the “high seas”—which, by definition, extend beyond 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) and are considered “international waters” shared globally.

Climate Change Becomes a Reality Check for the North

By Friday Phiri
“This season, the month of May was particularly hot and dry,” says Leo De Jong, a commercial farmer in Zeewolde, in Flevopolder, the Netherlands. Flevopolder is in the province of Flevoland, the largest site of land reclamation in the world. Here a hectare of land costs up to 100,000 Euros. “At the moment, we are spending between 20,000 and 25,000 Euros per week on irrigation.”

Maya Farmers in South Belize Hold Strong to Their Climate Change Experiment

By Zadie Neufville
In one of Belize’s forest reserves in the Maya Golden Landscape, a group of farmers is working with non-governmental organisations to mitigate and build resilience to climate change with a unique agroforestry project.

New Rules for High Seas Must Include Needs of Poorest Nations

By Essam Yassin Mohammed
Over-fishing, warming oceans and plastic pollution dominate the headlines when it comes to the state of the seas. Most of the efforts to protect the life of the ocean and the livelihoods of those who depend on it are limited to exclusive economic zones – the band of water up to 200 nautical miles from the coast.

How Guyana Must Prepare to Cope With the ‘Jeopardies and Perils’ of Oil Discovery

By Desmond Brown
Recent huge offshore oil discoveries are believed to have set Guyana– one of the poorest countries in South America–on a path to riches. But they have also highlighted the country’s development challenges and the potential impact of an oil boom.

How Accurate Information About the Weather is Yielding Resilience for Zambia’s Smallholders

By Friday Phiri
Just having better information about when and for how long it will rain is proving the difference between success and failure among smallholder farmers in southern Zambia. Empowered with timely information about the weather ahead of the 2017/18 farming season, 56-year-old Fainess Muzyamba of Pemba district ditched her traditional maize crop for sweet potatoes.

Why India’s Solar Water-Drawing ATMs and Irrigation Pumping Systems Offer Replicable Strategies

By Ranjit Devraj
At New Delhi’s Savda Ghevra slum settlement, waterborne diseases have become less frequent thanks to solar-powered water ATMs that were installed here as a social enterprise venture three years ago.

How Safe Drinking Water in Rural Vanuatu Will Save Women Time While Aiding in Economic Development

By Nalisha Adams
Access to safe water for drinking and an adequate supply of water for other purposes is challenging in the rural areas of Vanuatu. A new project, that uses solar water pumping technology, will save time and energy for rural women whose task it is to collect and make water more accessible to their communities.

Making the Case for Investing in Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

By Ruth Romer
Tea picker Bina, 45 from Sylhet, Bangladesh, used to walk for an hour each day to collect water from a well, also using water from a nearby stream, which was contaminated. Bina and her children were often sick as a result; leading to missed work and a loss of income.

Africa’s Economic Growth Prospects Amongst the World’s Brightest

By Ayodele Odusola
The best time to invest in Africa is now. However, foreign investors have not moved into the continent as quickly as expected because foreign investment decisions are often methodically over-structured. One of the major factors cited is too much risk. But risks and profits are inseparable twins: high-risk ventures are frequently associated with higher profits.
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