Forest, desertification, land degradation & biodiversity

Photo: Serena the Duong. Credit: Donna Kwan

UN Agency Honours UAE for Protecting Migratory Species

By Devinder Kumar

GANDHINAGAR; India (IDN) – The United Nations Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) has recognized the United Arab Emirates' Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) as a Migratory Species Champion Plus because of its contributions to the conservation of medium-sized marine mammal Dugong and African-Eurasian birds of prey.

The Dugong is a large, slow-moving animal which feeds on seagrass. The calm, shallow waters along the Abu Dhabi coastline offer the perfect environment for this marine mammal and are home to an estimated 3,000 individuals, part of the second-largest Dugong population in the world, shared with three other Gulf countries.

: Devinder Kumar; SUSTAINABILITY; Oceans, seas and marine resources; 18 February 2020

Photo: Mijikenda Cultural Village meeting, Rabai, coastal Kenya. Credit: © Krystyna Swiderska

Protecting Indigenous Cultures for Saving Global Biodiversity

Viewpoint by Krystyna Swiderska*

COVENTRY (IDN) – Species are being lost at about a thousand times the natural rate of extinction. This is faster than at any other period in human history. Ecosystems – the vital systems on which all life depends – are being degraded across the globe.

This crisis of biodiversity loss is finally receiving some attention. But its connection to another loss – that of indigenous cultures – is rarely mentioned. From animals to insects and plants, biodiversity loss cannot be effectively addressed without tackling the rapid disappearance of indigenous cultures. The two are inextricably linked.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 17 February 2020

Photo: The aftermath of the bushfires in Prospect Hill, Sydney (near Pemulwuy and Greystanes) in January 2020. CC BY-SA 4.0

Australia Battling Devastation Wrought by Worst Ever Bushfires

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – Australia’s worst summer in living memory has burnt over 18 million hectares. The UN Environments Programme (UNEP) estimates that more than 5,900 buildings including over 2,800 homes have been destroyed as of mid-January. In addition to a death toll of 33 people so far, about one billion animals, and many more bats and insects, are likely to die in total over the coming weeks and months as a result of lost habitat and food sources, says UNEP.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 25 January 2020

Photo credit: A. Baffoe and deforestation

Tropical African Plants Facing Extinction

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – A new study warns that a third of tropical African plants are on the path to extinction, with much of western Africa standing to lose more than 40 percent of plant diversity.

Ethiopia, and parts of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the hardest hit regions, the researchers found.

Species at risk include trees, shrubs, herbs and woody vines.

: THE WORLD; Africa; 28 November 2019

Photo: Soil erosion is a major problem for Benin's farmers. Nuclear techniques help scientists find its exact causes, so that they can tackle erosion. Credit: E. Fulajtar | IAEA.

Two UN Agencies Reveal High Rate of Soil Erosion in Benin

By Emil Fulajtar and Joanne Liou*

VIENNA (IDN) – Harmless traces from nuclear testing more than half a century ago are helping researchers assess soil erosion rates. In Africa, about 65 percent of the continent's farmland is affected by erosion-induced losses of topsoil and soil nutrients, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Benin is among those countries severely impacted by soil erosion, which poses a major problem for economic development since agriculture represents approximately 35 percent of the country’s GDP and 80 percent of its export income. A recent study applied a nuclear technique to assess rates of soil erosion and support land conservation in Benin.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 14 November 2019

India To Host the UN Conference on Migratory Species

By Rita Joshi

BONN (IDN) – Based on an ancient Sanskrit saying, the theme ‘Migratory species connect the planet and together we welcome them home’ will guide the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS COP13) in Gandhinagar, a planned city in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Some 1,500 representatives of national governments, international organizations, scientists, conservation groups and other wildlife experts – together with the associated meetings of the Standing Committee – will discuss the topic from February 15 to 22, 2020.

: Rita Joshi; SUSTAINABILITY; Forests, desertification, land degradation & biodiversity; 09 November 2019

EU Enhances Support for FAO to Benefit ACP States

By Jaya Ramachandran

ROME (IDN | ACP) – European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, and Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Qu Dongyu, signed on October 14 a new agreement enabling the EU to provide an additional €9 million to support the UN agency's work in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The funding will boost in particular the efforts of countries in the targeted regions to bring about sustainable changes in agricultural policies and practices to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and natural resources.

: Jaya Ramachandran; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 14 October 2019

Photo: The Hadza people in Manyara. Credit. Edwin Mkendo.

Tanzania’s Hadzabe Win Climate Change Award

By Kizito Makoye

MANYARA, Tanzania (IDN) – At the heart of the Yaeda valley, which sprawls across a wide expanse of plains in Tanzania’s northern Manyara region, live the Hadzabe – a 40,000-year-old tribe who live in the bush. Their livelihoods still depend on hunting and gathering wild fruits, and for many years now, they have shown a great ability in surviving on a few dwindling resources.

Armed with vast knowledge of the country’s flora and fauna, coupled with their inseparable bond with nature, the Hadzabe have until recently lived in a perfect balance between man and the environment.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 11 October 2019

Photo: People lining up for water at a borehole in Epworth, in southeast Harare, Zimbabwe.Credit: Zinyange Auntony for The New York Times.

Drought Catapults Zimbabwe into a National Disaster

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – In a new low water mark for Zimbabwe’s troubled economy, two million people in Zimbabwe's capital have now been left without water after the government ran out of foreign currency to pay for imported water treatment chemicals.

Zimbabwe’s capital city shut its main water works on September 26, potentially leaving the city dry and raising the risk of water borne diseases.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 03 October 2019

UN Reviews the SAMOA Pathway for Most Vulnerable Countries

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Progress made in addressing the priorities of the highly vulnerable small island developing States (SIDS) will draw the focus of the United Nations General Assembly when it conducts a high-level review of the SAMOA Pathway on September 27 as part of the ACTION FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET that kicked off a week earlier at the UN headquarters.

Fifty two countries and territories are presently classified as SIDS by the UN OHRLLS (UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States). 38 are UN members and 14 are non-UN Members or Associate Members of the Regional Commissions.