Climate Action

Photo: Researchers aim at mitigating environmental issues in Cerrón Grande, the largest water body in El Salvador. Credit: UCA.

University Scientists in El Salvador Research to Protect Biodiversity

By J. Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Cerrón Grande reservoir, the largest water body in El Salvador—and home to over fifteen species of fish and a wide variety of submerged and floating flora—is currently threatened by the accumulation of solid waste, erosion, eutrophication, pollution, and the presence of invasive species. To mitigate these environmental issues, a multidisciplinary group of scientists from the “José Simeón Cañas” Central American University, a member institution of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) in El Salvador, has stepped in.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 28 September 2022

Photo: Kenyan youth protest against Global North's failure to reduce CO2 emissions.

Kenyan Youth Seek Compensation from Rich Countries Responsible for Climate Change

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Nairobi on September 24 to demand that wealthy countries pay more in the fight against climate change.

"We need the Global North to pay for the damages they are causing," said Duncan Omwami, an activist who joined the protest.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 26 September 2022

Photo: Vanessa Nakate, centre, in Turkana County, Kenya with 20-year-old Dorcas Amana and her 20-month-old son Micah Erot and Asinyoni Ekiru with her 14-month-old baby Papos Alos. UNICEF/Translieu/Nyaberi/UN0702702

UNICEF Appoints Climate Activist Vanessa Nakate as Goodwill Ambassador

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A Black climate activist, who found her picture snipped out of a news photo of young environmental activists (all white) at a U.N. confab, is finally getting a serious platform for her important work.

Vanessa Nakate, the Ugandan-born fighter for climate protection has been selected by UNICEF, the UN aid and development agency for children, to travel around the continent as their new goodwill ambassador. Other ambassadors included Serena Williams, popular actor Amitabh Bachchan, and Katy Perry.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 19 September 2022

Photo: Since dumpsites are already overflowing with waste in Kenya, textiles are often dumped directly into rivers, as in the Nairobi river. © Kevin McElvaney / Greenpeace

African Ministers Commit to Fighting Pollution, Climate Change, Loss of Nature

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The 18th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) closed with environment ministers from 54 African countries adopting a series of decisions and key messages to tackle climate change, the loss of nature, pollution and waste, including the elimination of open dumping and burning of waste.

The conference took place from September 12-16 in Dakar, Senegal.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 September 2022

Pakistan and the Fight for Climate Justice

Viewpoint by Jeffrey D. Sachs

This article was published in Project Syndicate and is being republished with the author's permission.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Around the world, 2022 has been a year of climate catastrophes, including droughts, floods, mega-fires, typhoons, and more. Among the hardest-hit countries is Pakistan. With torrential monsoon rainfall almost 190% above its 30-year average, extraordinary flooding has submerged one-third of the country and killed 1,400 people so far. But make no mistake: this is not only a “natural disaster”; rather, it is also the result of malfeasance for which high-income countries must bear major financial responsibility.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 September 2022

Photo: Wooden fishing boats sinking into the oily mud in the Bodo City of Ogoniland in Nigeria's Niger Delta region, the third largest mangrove ecosystem in the world. Credit: Friends of the Earth International

UN Agency Slates Clean-up of Nigeria's Most Polluted Region

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — There were high hopes for a one-billion-dollar clean-up of Nigeria’s most polluted region of Ogoniland in Nigeria's Niger Delta region, the third largest mangrove ecosystem in the world when it got off the ground in 2019. It would address the greasy rainbow sheen over the 386-mile wetlands, the continual ooze from dormant wellheads and active pipelines, the once-lush mangroves coated in crude, and the smells of benzene while farmlands stood charred and barren.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 05 September 2022

Photo: The Rolling Hills of the Wild Coast at dusk in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. CC BY-SA 4.0

South Africa's Nature Preserve Saved from Risky Oil Drilling

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | PRETORIA (IDN) — Energy giant Shell Global suffered a major setback in its fight for prospecting rights, overstepping the needs of rural communities seeking to protect whales and other marine life and keeping their coastline safe from oil spills and other dangers.

A panel of South African judges sided with the rural communities, fishermen, traditional healers and environmental activists against the oil giant and the South African government, which granted exploration rights to Shell and a local partner over the objections of people living on the coastline.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 05 September 2022

Photo: Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. (right) with K.N. Govindacharya (left)

Eco-Centric Development, SDGs, and 'Ganga Samvad Yatra'

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S.

The writer is an ex-diplomat and Special Adviser for Asia & Africa of ALCAP, the Latin American Parliamentary Association of Audio-Visual Communication. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN InDepth News.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — Those who have seen the 1969 movie Easy Rider must have reflected on the meaning of The Ballad of Easy Rider, a beautiful elegy that evokes the subconscious bond a man shares with rivers and his very existence.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 31 August 2022

Photo: Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan climate justice activist. CC BY-SA 4.0

A ‘Rousing Manifesto and Poignant Memoir’

Ugandan Activist’s New Book

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A young climate activist from Uganda about to address the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, faced one final indignity from western media when they staged a photo op of her with her white climate colleagues and then clipped her out of the final shot.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 29 August 2022

Navigating Climate-Related Mobility and Human Security in the Pacific Islands

Viewpoint by Tim Westbury

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

BRISBANE, Australia (IDN) — The Pacific Islands security narrative is often dominated by voices and interests from outside of the region. At the recent Shangri-La Dialogue, among the hype surrounding geostrategic competition in the Pacific, Fiji’s Defence Minister Inia Seruiratu said that the “single greatest threat to our very existence is ... human-induced, devastating climate change.”