UNISDR’s Margareta Wahlström on the Nitty-gritty of Disaster Risk Reduction

IPS Editor in Chief Ramesh Jaura talked to Margareta Wahlström - head of UNISDR, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General - in Sendai, Japan, at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) from 14 to 18 March 2015, exploring the outcome of the conference and its implication for funding and transfer of technology, the future of official development assistance (ODA) and the crucial role of the civil society in general and faith-based organisations in particular in reducing disaster risk.  

Ebola, Women and Disaster Risk Reduction

UNFPA's Liberia representative Remi Sogunro talks to IPS News Agency, explaining the importance of Disaster Risk Reduction strategies to address epidemics such as Ebola and keep women's concerns on top. Sogunro was taking part in the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, from 14 to 18 March 2015.  

Sometimes a Single Tree Is More Effective than a Government

Every morning, Raj Kumari Chaudhari walks from her home to the other end of Padnaha village, located in the Bardiya district of mid-west Nepal, to a big mango tree to offer prayers.

From Brown to Green Again, Trinidadians Reclaim a Forest

Thanks to committed involvement by the local community, the Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project has transformed this area of Trinidad from a bare, dusty hillside to one where tall trees flourish, fruit trees grow alongside flowering plants, and more wildlife returns each year.

From Delhi Through New York to Paris

Credit: Film and Television Unit, TERI

Conflict-Related Displacement: A Huge Development Challenge for India

The tarpaulin sheet, when stretched and tied to bamboo poles, is about the length and breadth of a large SUV. Yet, about 25 women and children have been sleeping beneath these makeshift shelters at several relief camps across Kokrajhar, a district in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam.

From Bullets to Ballots: The Face of Sri Lanka’s Former War Zone

In four months’ time, Sri Lanka will mark the sixth anniversary of the end of its bloody civil conflict. Ever since government armed forces declared victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on May 19, 2009, the country has savored peace after a generation of war.

Children Starving to Death in Pakistan’s Drought-Struck Tharparkar District

The main entrance to the Civil Hospital in Mithi, headquarters of the Tharparkar district in Pakistan’s southern Sindh Province, is blocked by a couple of men clad in traditional dress and turbans. They are trying to console a woman who is sobbing so heavily she has to gasp for breath.

Cameroonians combat climate change armed with wood stoves

Cameroon’s women are making strides in the fight against climate change. For the past months local housewives have been testing “improved wood stoves”, a revolutionary cooking appliance which consumes less wood and produces less smoke than traditional cookers. In a country where people are usually too poor to have access to gas and wood consumption is on the rise, improved wood stoves can limit deforestation and help women improve their quality of life.

Time to Recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders comprise 2.5 per cent (some 548,370) of Australia’s 24-million strong population, but they are not recognised by the Constitution.

SMS for Healthy, AIDS-Free Babies

In rural Zambia and Malawi, new mums face long delays finding out if they have passed HIV on to their babies.

Silent Suffering: Men and HIV

Lungile Thamela knows how he got infected with HIV: through his reckless choice to have unprotected sex with his partner although he knew she was living with HIV.

Silent Suffering: Men, Manhood and HIV

Across Africa, men have lower rates than women for HIV testing, antiretroviral treatment enrollment and adherence, viral load suppression and survival.

Nigeria Struggles to Care for its Adolescents Living With HIV

HIV among teenagers is devastating families in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, where AIDS has become the No. 1 killer of adolescents.

Mangrove Conservation Paves the Way to a Sustainable Future

When the Asian tsunami washed over several Indian Ocean Rim countries on Boxing Day 2004, it left a trail of destruction in its wake, including a death toll that touched 230,000.

Crisis of Poverty and Inequality in Oil rich Nigeria

With a production capacity of over 3 million barrels of crude oil per day Nigeria is Africa’s top crude oil producer and the continent’s largest economy. But Nigeria’s wealth has only benefited a privileged few while majority of the citizens remain poor. Poverty and inequality in Nigeria have increased crime rate and heightened crisis including the insurgency of the terrorist group Boko Haram.

Dry Fields Breed Hunger in Jamaica

Caribbean countries already grappling with a finite amount of space for food production now face the added challenges of extreme rainfall events or droughts due to climate change.

Will Myanmar’s ‘Triple Transition’ Help Eradicate Crushing Poverty?

Myanmar is never out of the news for long. This has been the case since a popular uprising challenged military rule in 1988. For over two decades, the country was featured in mainstream media primarily as one unable to cope with its own internal contradictions, a nation crippled by military rule.

High Expectations At the World Parks Congress

Conserving the world's most valuable natural resources is the focus of the sixth World Parks Congress 2014, taking place Sydney, Australia. The congress, which takes place once every 10 years, is convened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Inside Pakistan’s Untapped Fishing Industry

If you want to know what ‘sea traffic’ looks like, just go down to the Karachi Harbour. Built in 1959, the dockyard houses close to 2,000 big and small boats anchored in the grey sludge at the edge of Pakistan’s southern port city, which opens into the Arabian Sea.

Climate Smart Agriculture Could Ease Malawi’s Food Insecurity

Climate smart agriculture practiced by some farmers in Malawi has improved harvests. However, the organizations supporting the practice among smallholder farmers who have witnessed reduced harvests due to climate change are not working together, and there is no uniform policy. This has compromised what could otherwise improve food security. Pilirani Tambala reports from Lilongwe.