Environment

Impact of Climate Change on Karachi May be One of Pakistan’s Biggest Threats

By Rabiya Jaffery
Historically a small fishing village, Karachi has now turned into Pakistan’s biggest commerce and industrial center that generates about half of the country’s tax revenue.

Iraq’s Toxic Conflict

By Will Higginbotham
In Iraq, thirty years of armed conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people, wounded countless more, displaced millions and laid cities and towns to waste.

Climate-Related Disasters Cost Nearly $400 Billion in 2017

By Amina J. Mohammed
I am pleased to be with you at this important and timely summit on climate risk and to discuss the opportunities that are there for us to seize through decisive climate action.

Create “Sponge Cities” to Tackle Worsening Floods

By Martin Khor
With floods now causing more damage more frequently around the world, it is time to counter their effects by turning our towns into "Sponge Cities", a recent trend popularised by China to absorb rainwater through permeable roads and pavements, parks, rooftop gardens and other green spaces.

Why Humanitarian Assistance Needs Rigorous Evaluation

By Dr Anastasia Aladysheva
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the Financial Tracking Service (FTS), the number of people in need of humanitarian aid in 2017 rose to 141.1 million and they were located in 37 countries.

Latin America Makes Headway Against Land Degradation

By Orlando Milesi
Two-thirds of the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have already submitted or are preparing to submit to the United Nations their land degradation goals, to combat a problem that threatens agriculture and the lives of their people.

How Natural Disasters Undermine Schooling

By Erica Chuang and Jessie Pinchoff & Stephanie Psaki
In 2010, heavy monsoons led to devastating floods in Pakistan that destroyed 11,000 schools. Thousands of additional schools had to be used as community shelters, preventing them from operating as classrooms. In the immediate aftermath of climate-related events such as this, damage to schools and infrastructure often interrupt a child’s education.

Women on the Front Lines of Halting Deforestation

By Sally Nyakanyanga
In Zimbabwe, the bulk of rural communities and urban poor still get their energy supplies from the forests, leading to deforestation and land degradation.

Renewed Partnership to End Hunger in Africa by 2025

By António Guterres
After a period of prolonged decline, world hunger is on the rise. Africa has the highest rates of hunger in the world, and they are increasing. Agricultural and livestock productivity in Africa is under threat. This is largely due to conflict and climate change.

Indigenous Peoples & Local Communities Vital to the Global Environment

By Katie Reytar and Peter Veit
Indigenous Peoples and local communities are some of the best environmental stewards. Their livelihoods and cultures depend on forests, clean water and other natural resources, so they have strong incentives to sustainably manage their lands.

Biodiversity and Food Security: the Dual Focus of the World Potato Congress

By Mariela Jara
Potatoes were first taken out of Peru, where they originated, 458 years ago to feed the world. Half a millennium later, potatoes have spread throughout the planet but there are challenges to preserve the crop’s biodiversity as a source of food security, as well as the rights of the peasants who sustain this legacy for humanity.

The Future of Our Cities: New Agenda, New Faces, New Year

By David Kuria
Urban development is one of our greatest challenges. While the world is highly urbanizing, our cities are transforming the nexus for the social, economic, environmental and political realities of our times.

Can Drought Be Prevented? Slovakia Aims to Try

By Ed Holt
A landmark programme to combat drought set to be implemented in the small Central European country of Slovakia could be an inspiration for other states as extreme weather events become more frequent, the environmental action group behind the plan has said.

Argentina’s Law on Forests Is Good, But Lacks Enforcement

By Daniel Gutman
Never in the parliamentary history of Argentina had something similar happened: one and a half million people in 2007 signed a petition asking the Senate to pass a law to reduce deforestation. The law was quickly approved, and promulgated on Dec. 26 of that year. But 10 years later, it has left a bittersweet taste.

“The World Has Gone in Reverse”

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
A year into his position, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said that peace remains elusive and that renewed action must be taken in 2018 to set the world on track for a better future.

PPPs Likely to Undermine Public Health Commitments

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
The United Nations Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is being touted in financial circles as offering huge investment opportunities requiring trillions of dollars. In 67 low- and middle-income countries, achieving SDG 3 — healthy lives and well-being for all, at all ages — is estimated to require new investments increasing over time, from an initial $134 billion annually to $371 billion yearly by 2030, according to recent estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) reported in The Lancet.

40% of India’s Thermal Power Plants in Water-Scarce Areas, Threatening Shutdowns

By Tianyi Luo
New WRI research finds that 40 percent of the country’s thermal power plants are located in areas facing high water stress, a problem since these plants use water for cooling. Scarce water is already hampering electricity generation in these regions—14 of India’s 20 largest thermal utilities experienced at least one shutdown due to water shortages between 2013-2016, costing the companies $1.4 billion.

Expansion of Soy Resurrects Key Railway Line in Brazil

By Mario Osava
The railroad can contribute to the economy, making transportation cheaper, but it is unlikely to foment equitable development in and of itself, apart from facing complex construction obstacles in countries like Brazil.

Sustainable Energy Critical for Achieving Overall Goals of Paris Climate Agreement

By Miroslav Lajčák
The Paris Agreement ushered in a new global approach to climate change. At the core of this agreement are the Nationally Determined Contributions. We are now implementing these pledges.

Clean Energy Sources Manage to Cut Electricity Bill in Chile

By Orlando Milesi
A 75 percent drop in electricity rates, thanks to a quadrupled clean generation capacity, is one of the legacies to be left in Chile by the administration of Michelle Bachelet, who steps down on Mar. 11.

Policy Support Gap for “Climate-Smart” Agriculture

By Busani Bafana
Conditioned that ploughing is the sure way to produce crops, Zimbabwean farmer Handrixious Zvomarima surprised himself by trying a different method. He planted cowpea seeds directly without tilling the land. It worked.
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