Cities Decide to Wage Battle Against Climate Change
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) – The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said that climate change is “the battle of my life”. The fact is that it’s a battle we are all fighting. The battle is taking place particularly in cities. The very basis of urban life is threatened: by rising sea levels, extreme […]
Thai Farmer Shows How ‘Sufficiency Economy’ Works in Practice
By Bronwen Evans * CHANTHABURI, Thailand (IDN) – There are generally two reasons why Thai farmers embrace organics – one is health and the other is economics. For 73-year old Kumnung Chanthasit it was the latter. He had farmed the same plot of land in Thailand’s eastern province of Chanthaburi since boyhood. Despite the rich […]
Another War Looms over Yemen as Situation Gets Complicated
Viewpoint by Manish Rai NEW DELHI (IDN) – In August, the port city of Aden, which is currently the seat of exiled President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi government, was captured by southern separatists demanding secession of South Yemen. The separatists are backed by the UAE, Saudi Arabia’s “So Called” partners in Yemen. The recent clashes are […]
Young People Are Right About Climate Change
Viewpoint by Luis Alfonso de Alba The writer is the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action Summit. NEW YORK (IDN) – Climate change is not a far-away problem – it is causing huge damage right now in Asia-Pacific and around the world. From air pollution choking many major cities, to more extreme heat […]
Climate Change: A People-Centered Approach
By Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, President, Soka Gakkai International (SGI) TOKYO (IDN) – “That which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it,” observed Aristotle, highlighting an all-too-common human tendency. His warning is still relevant today, especially in our fight against climate change. The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, is […]
Kenya Must Move Fast to Reverse Deforestation
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Since independence, natural resources in Kenya have been on a fast track to extinction. Today, nearly half of all its forests are gone, resulting in more droughts, floods and other dire consequences for communities, ecosystems, food security and infrastructure. From 10% of the country covered […]
Rising Demand for Palm Oil Threatens African Culture
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – The palm oil industry is growing by leaps and bounds around the globe but its overnight success is worrying environmentalists. An estimated 7.5 million acres of land traditionally used or inhabited by local communities has been acquired by palm oil companies, according to GRAIN, a […]
Need for NGO Action on Persian Gulf Tensions
Viewpoint by René Wadlow The writer is President, Association of World Citizens, a Nongovernmental Organization in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). GENEVA (IDN) – The 14 September 2019 drone attacks on oil installations in eastern Saudi Arabia have dimmed hope for U.S.-Iranian discussions aimed to reduce tensions and potentially […]
Leaders Demand Urgent Climate Action in Dorian’s Wake
By Josephine Latu-Sanft The writer is Senior Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat. LONDON (IDN) – In the lead up to September 23 global climate summit in New York and barely two weeks after Hurricane Dorian battered The Bahamas, the Commonwealth’s top official is calling for urgent action to tackle climate change and its disastrous […]