NEW YORK | 3 December 2024 (IDN) — While organized looting has constrained UNRWA to pause relief deliveries to Palestinian refugees, the sudden escalation of fighting in Syria’s northwest is continuing to impact aid deliveries there. Meanwhile, UN summit has got underway in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to combat desertification, drought and promote land restoration, writes […]
Planetary Boundaries: Confronting the Global Crisis of Land Degradation
New report launched during UNCCD COP16 outlines critical steps towards keeping land in the safe zone By UN Department of Global Communications RIYADH, Saudi Arabia | 1 December 2024 (IDN) —A major new scientific report was launched today, a day ahead of the opening of the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to […]
Zimbabwe Struggling to Save Dying Wetlands
By Sally Nyakanyanga* HARARE, Zimbabwe | 16 November 2024 (IDN) — Budiriro 1 and Budiriro 5, two high-density suburbs of Harare in Zimbabwe, were once separated by a wetland. Now, they are separated by “Budiriro 3 Extension”, an illegally built settlement of temporary homes. As a result of this development, important functions performed by the […]
COP16: A Disappointment, as Expected
By Anusa Karki and Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 6 November 2024 (IDN) — The recently concluded COP 16 on Biodiversity held in Cali, Colombia, (21 October to 1 November) was largely a disappointment. Unsurprisingly, it was largely expected to end up in this way. Yet, despite the gloom, in Cali, an important new conversation […]
US Top Jurisdiction Used by Environmental Criminals to Hide Dirty Money
By FACT COALITION Analysis of 230 Environmental Crimes in Amazon Region Sheds Light on How Illicit Proceeds Are Laundered WASHINGTON, DC | 16 October 2024 (IDN) — A new report by the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition finds that the U.S. is the most common foreign destination for the products and proceeds of […]
Youths in Nepal Pushing the Government to take Biodiversity Preservation Seriously
By Simone Galimberti KATHMANDU, Nepal | 16 September 2024 (IDN) — With the upcoming COP 16 on Biodiversity that is scheduled to be held in Colombia, October 21-November 1—the first after the introduction of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework—it is imperative that Nepal presents an ambitious updated version of its National Biodiversity Strategy and […]
Land Grabs Target Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka
By Rodney Reynolds NEW YORK, 12 September 2024 (IDN) — As the 57th session of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) addresses the human rights situation in Sri Lanka next week, a new report from the Oakland Institute, Trincomalee Under Siege: Land Grabs Target the Tamil Homeland in Sri Lanka uncovers the rapidly escalating colonization […]
UN Biodiversity Summit: The Window of Opportunity Closes a Little Every Day
As COP16 in Colombia nears, renowned Argentine biologist Sandra Díaz tells Dialogue Earth of the need for transformative change to tackle biodiversity loss By Fermín Koop* BUENOS AIRES, Argentina | 19 August 2024 (IDN) — Colombia will host the United Nations’ biodiversity summit, COP16, from 21 October to 1 November. In the south-western city of […]
Nepal: Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Maintain Symbiotic Bonds with Forests
By Devinder Kumar NEW DELHI | 10 August 2024 (IDN) — Nepal is richly endowed with forest resources, with a coverage of about 6.4 million hectares. Between 1992 and 2016, the country nearly doubled its forest cover, moving from 26 percent to 45 percent of its land area. The progress in forest regeneration and improvement […]
UN Takes Yet Another Step Towards Reconciling Humanity with Nature
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 6 July 2024 (IDN) — Reconciling Humanity with Nature does not sound sexy in a world caught in the grips of geopolitical turmoil, which is triggering a divorce between Humanity and Nature. But it is a vital component of what the United Nations system describes the Triple Planetary Crisis referring […]