Good for Girls and Good for the Planet: Eco-Friendly Sanitary Towels

’Going Green’ seems to Dr Jacquline Kisato's favorite catchphrase as she passionately explains her eco-friendly sanitary towel, a product she expects will help empower women and young girls while also putting money into farmers’ pockets.

Smallholder Farmers Gain Least from International Climate Funding

Smallholder farmers from the Global South benefit from a grossly disproportionate 0.3% of international climate finance despite producing a third of the world's food and despite holding the key to climate-proofing food systems.

Time to Convert Climate Change Rhetoric into Action, Says WFP’s Gernot Laganda

It is crucial to narrow the gaps and ensure that climate finance goes to where people are most vulnerable, says Gernot Laganda, Director of Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction at the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)—especially as the most fragile states only receive USD 2.1 per capita while non-fragile states receive USD 161.

Recognizing Food & Land-Use Systems as Contributors to Climate Change

For a long time, the agriculture sector has been heralded as a success story for India. Spurred by the Green Revolution, it provided a path-breaking solution to feed the country's burgeoning population starting in the 1960s.

Why Demography is Key to Unlocking a Sustainable Future for Asia & the Pacific

Asia and the Pacific is an economic powerhouse, fuelled by its vibrant and diverse population. Comprising 60 per cent of the world’s population, this region is bursting with both a wealth of experience and untapped potential.

Fast-Track Climate Resilience Building of Small and Vulnerable Nations Ahead of COP28

As the countdown to COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, continues, IPS caught up with Dr Oldman Koboto, Mauritius-based Manager for the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH).

Community Efforts Boost Wastewater Treatment in El Salvador – Video

Neither the central government nor most of El Salvador's 262 municipalities have had the capacity to install enough wastewater treatment plants to prevent it from being discharged directly into the environment.

High Prevalence of Undetected Hypertension Found in Bangladesh

Since her childhood, Parveen Begum, 52, has been adding extra salt while eating her meals. However, she did not know that this contributed to high blood pressure.

The Relentless Struggles of India’s Seawall Mammas

The sun is high in the noon sky—humidity unrelenting at 95 percent in this Indian sea-coast village. The monsoon has been deficient; rice paddies are yellowing on the edges from the salty surf misting in on them. Waves now break barely 200 metres from the farms and homes.

Deforestation, Encroachment Threaten West Africa’s One Health Plans

Thirty-three years ago, Bala Amerasekaran – a Sri Lankan by birth – visited Freetown, Sierra Leone. Since then, the West African nation has been his home, where Amerasekaran has dedicated his life to conserving the chimpanzee – Sierra Leone’s national animal.

Kashmir’s Apple Industry Faces Dire Threats as Climate Change Takes its Toll

Of Kashmir’s seven million inhabitants, a staggering one million rely directly on apple farming. The region is pivotal in India’s apple and horticulture production, contributing to over 70 percent of the country’s apple supply. This not only provides income to farmers but also sustains a vast network of laborers, traders, and transporters within the fruit economy.

Communities Taking a Sting Out of Poaching With Alternative Livelihoods

As we approach the forest in the village to appreciate Andrew Mbewe’s beekeeping enterprise, a bee from a hive close to the edge of the natural woodland stings him on the cheek.

Women Correct Historical Injustices, Build Climate Resilience Through Cash Pooling

Although women account for more than three-quarters of the agricultural labour force and manage 40 percent of small-scale farms, historically, they neither owned nor controlled the land because land rights were passed down to male relatives. It is a historic gender injustice whereby women could only access land through close male relatives.

African, Asian Parliamentarians Debate How People-Centered Policies Aid Development of Women, Youth

Asian and African parliamentarians have committed to accelerate the implementation of a people-centered development agenda as the African continent continues to face rapid demographic change with several challenges, such as youth unemployment and gender inequities.

Is Solutions Journalism the Answer To Cynicism About the Media? – PODCAST

If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard a lot of negative talk about the media in recent years. Much of it has focused on the integrity of the so-called mainstream or legacy media that has dominated the information landscape in recent decades, or longer. These attacks, which sometimes actually degenerate into physical assaults, call into question how honestly or fairly these outlets portray the world, including in politics and global issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Uganda: When Climate Justice Becomes Climate Justice Denied

On December 4, 2019, landslides in the Bududa region of Uganda killed 20. The landslides occurred after heavy rains, and a Red Cross report estimated that 96 households were affected, with 49 houses destroyed. It displaced many, while others continued to live in high-risk areas that could "slide at any moment."

Increasing Wastewater Treatment Is Vital for Families and Ecosystems in El Salvador

Insufficient wastewater treatment systems in El Salvador have taken a toll on the environment and the health of the population for decades, but some municipalities are putting more attention on processing their liquid waste.

Action Delayed, Justice Denied by Voluntary ESG Approach

Policy approaches relying solely on voluntary actions to address urgent needs are unlikely to succeed. Depending on optional compliance to address global warming will not fix things in time.

Climate Change Turns African Rivers into Epicentres of Conflict

Almost all major river basins in Africa have become the epicentres for conflicts over the last 20 years, and agricultural yields on the continent could drop by up to 50 percent in the coming years owing to the drying up of 'traditional' water sources, thanks in part to effects climate change and degradation of the environment, the inaugural edition of the State of Africa's Environment Report 2023 released in Nairobi finds.

Crisis Resilient Urban Futures: The Future of Asian and Pacific Cities 2023

Cities have always been dynamic hubs of culture, education, economic growth and opportunity, and most importantly, centres of social interaction attracting residents and visitors alike.

Big Changes Coming to the World Bank—But it’s Not Enough

It’s official: The World Bank officially has a mission to combat climate change. At least on paper. This week, the World Bank governing body approved a new vision statement that clarifies that the Bank can tackle climate change as part of its mission to alleviate global poverty on “a livable planet.” Also this week, the new World Bank President Ajay Banga suggested that he’ll be consider redirecting subsidies away from fossil fuels and towards climate action.