Environment

Caribbean Stakes Future on Climate-Smart Agriculture

By Desmond Brown
As Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries continue to build on the momentum of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech in 2016, special emphasis is being placed on agriculture as outlined in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).

UN FARMS to Create One Million Days of Work for Mideast Migrants

By Baher Kamal
The problem is rather complex and often not recognised: in one of the major regions of both origin and destination for migrants and refugees -- the Near East and North of Africa, 10 per cent of rural communities is made up of forcibly displaced persons, while more than 25 per cent of the young rural people plan to emigrate.

New Evidence Confirms Risk That Mideast May Become Uninhabitable

By Baher Kamal
New evidence is deepening scientific fears, advanced few years ago, that the Middle East and North Africa risk becoming uninhabitable in a few decades, as accessible fresh water has fallen by two-thirds over the past 40 years.

Climate Change Making Kenya’s Droughts More Severe

By Lyndal Rowlands
The Super El Nino of 2015 to 2016 wrought droughts and floods around the world, yet it is its sister La Nina that is now fuelling drought and hunger in East Africa.

SPARKS Plugs Gap in Caribbean Climate Research

By Zadie Neufville
On Nov. 30 last year, a new high-performance ‘Super Computer’ was installed at the University of the West Indies (UWI) during climate change week. Dubbed SPARKS - short for the Scientific Platform for Applied Research and Knowledge Sharing - the computer is already churning out the ‘big data’ Caribbean small island states (SIDS) need to accurately forecast and mitigate the effects of climate change on the region.

The Indigenous ‘People of Wildlife’ Know How to Protect Nature

By Baher Kamal
In the northern part of Mount Kenya, there is an indigenous community -- the Il Lakipiak Maasai ("People of Wildlife") -- which owns and operates the only community-owned rhino sanctuary in the country.

Another Somalian Famine

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Last month, the United Nations declared another famine threat in Somalia due to yet another drought in the Horn of Africa. Important lessons must be drawn from the Somalia famine of 2010-2012, which probably killed about 258,000 people, half of whom were under-five. This was the greatest tragedy in terms of famine deaths in the 21st century, and in recent decades since the Ethiopian famine of the late 1980s.

Global Harvests Robust, Yet 37 Countries Need Food Aid

By IPS World Desk
Global food supply conditions are robust, but access to food has been dramatically reduced in areas suffering from civil conflicts, while drought conditions are worsening food security across swathes of East Africa, according to the United Nations.

Barefoot Solar Warriors Take On Gender Injustice and Climate Change

By Stella Paul
On a summer morning in 2008, Magan Kawar decided to leave her village for a job. The very next day, her parents-in-law excommunicated her.

Unhealthy Environment Causes 1 in 4 Child Deaths: WHO

By Lyndal Rowlands
Unhealthy environments - both inside and outside the home - cause the deaths of more than 1.7 million child under the age of five every year, according to two new reports released by the World Health Organization (WHO) Monday.

Caribbean Awaits Trump Moves on Climate Funding, Paris Deal

By Kenton X. Chance
Caribbean leaders worry that with climate change sceptic Donald Trump in the White House, it will be more difficult for small island developing states facing the brunt of climate change to secure the financing necessary to adapt to and mitigate against it.

Guyana’s New Oil Fields Both Blessing and Curse

By Desmond Brown
The recent discovery of large volumes of oil offshore of Guyana could prove to be a major headache for the country, as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and other Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) members press for keeping global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels as provided for in the historic Paris Climate Agreement.

From El Nino Drought to Floods, Zimbabwe’s Double Trouble

By Jeffrey Moyo
Dairai Churu, 53, sits with his chin cupped in his palms next to mounds of rubble from his destroyed makeshift home in the Caledonia informal settlement approximately 30 kilometers east of Harare, thanks to the floods that have inundated Zimbabwe since the end of last year.

Caribbean Leaders Want Swifter Action on Climate Funding

By Desmond Brown
When Tropical Storm Erika hit the tiny Caribbean island of Dominica on Aug. 27, 2015, it killed more than two dozen people, left nearly 600 homeless and wreaked damages totaling more than a billion dollars.

The Peasant Farmer Who Stood Up to the President of Nicaragua

By José Adán Silva
The unequal battle that small farmer Francisca Ramírez is waging against the Nicaraguan government of Daniel Ortega has become so well-known that people are calling for her security and her rights from the political heart of Europe.

Antarctic Ice Lowest Ever – Asia at High Risk – Africa Drying Up

By Baher Kamal
For those who still deny the tangible impact of climate change, please note that the extended spell of high global temperatures is continuing; the Arctic is witnessing exceptional warmth with record low ice volumes--the lowest on record; global heat is putting Asia on higher risk than ever, and Africa is drying up.

Netherlands to Host Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation

By IPS World Desk
The Netherlands announced that it will work with Japan and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to establish a Global Centre of Excellence to help countries, institutions and businesses to adapt to a warming climate, which is increasing the frequency of natural disasters and causing economic disruptions.

UN Declares War on Ocean Plastic

By Baher Kamal
The available data is enough for the United Nations to literally declare war on oceans plastic: more than 8 million tonnes of leaks into their waters each year – equal to dumping a garbage truck of plastic every minute, wreaking havoc on marine wildlife, fisheries and tourism, and costing at least 8 billion dollars in damage to marine ecosystems.

Humankind’s Ability to Feed Itself, Now in Jeopardy

By IPS World Desk
Mankind’s future ability to feed itself is in jeopardy due to intensifying pressures on natural resources, mounting inequality, and the fallout from a changing climate, warns a new United Nations’ report.

Shrinking and Darkening, the Plight of Kashmir’s Dying Lakes

By Umar Shah
Mudasir Ahmad says that two decades ago, his father made a prophecy that the lake would vanish after the fish in its waters started dying. Three years ago, he found dead fish floating on the surface, making him worried about its fate.

Making the Deep Blue Sea Green Again

By Lyndal Rowlands
Children growing up in the Seychelles think of the ocean as their backyard, says Ronald Jean Jumeau, Seychelles' ambassador for climate change.
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