Former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed had often said that climate change could not be fought without democratic governance. Now, more than two months after the 7 February coup that deposed him from the presidency, the implications of that statement are being felt anew in the Indian Ocean island nation. In 2008, Nasheed became [...]
In the theater of environmental preservation, increasing the global poor’s access to energy is usually cast as a necessary evil because it comes at the expense of the environment. Yet, given the direct correlation between adequate access to energy and poverty indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality, and literacy rates, reducing poverty necessitates [...]
In just over four months from now heads of state will convene in Brazil for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, called Rio+20 in reference to the city where the first such conference took place 20 years ago. Rio+20 will focus on promoting a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty [...]
For the second time in January, trade experts and environmentalists met together at UN Headquarters in New York to plan for more effective collaboration at Rio+20 in June. “We are building a bridge between the two communities of trade and environment, which are usually separated in negotiations,” Eugenia Nunez, Economic Affairs Officer at the UN [...]
With increasing climate change issues affecting the globe, some countries are at higher risk of losing their place in the world – quite literally. Found throughout the world’s oceans and seas, Small Island Developing States (SIDS), are suffering the consequences of human actions and climate change combined. Already saddled with terrible social and economic [...]
The food crisis in the Horn of Africa, identified by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as the largest global humanitarian crisis today, looks to be moving west. With signs of growing demand for food and rising prices in Niger and neighboring countries, international organizations are coming together to prevent a [...]
Among the various obstacles to achieving a minimum standard of living for children, an evolving threat is climate change. A recent UNICEF regional report shows that children in East Asia and the Pacific are most at risk. A recent Climate Vulnerability Monitor report states that over 99 percent of climate change deaths take place [...]
The UN Environment Programme reports that the last decade saw nine out of the 10 hottest years since reliable record keeping began, and a recent Berkeley study found that the Earth’s average land temperature had risen by .911 degrees Celsius since the 1950s, supporting several previous studies. At this rate, the Earth will see greater [...]
One of the world’s most diverse and pristine forests is at risk of dissipating, as it could soon fall into the hands of multinational oil companies come January 2012. Yasuní Ishpingo Tambococha Tiputini (Yasuní-ITT), a virtually untouched national park in the Ecuadorian Amazon, lies atop approximately one billion barrels of oil, worth up to $100 [...]
Improving the delivery of climate forecasting information to the developing world will play a key role in averting humanitarian crises. Better access to climate data would allow countries and regions to improve preparedness and disaster risk management capacity, lessening the effects of drought, famine, and disease. Recently, scientists, academics, policymakers and stakeholders convened in New [...]
In a bid to increase awareness of the challenges facing the world’s poorest countries, the United Nations has partnered with MediaGlobal to assist newspaper editors, broadcasters, and owners of media companies in advancing human development by featuring stories that raise international awareness of issues of poverty, disease, and hunger in the most vulnerable countries.
The Global Media Compact aims to assist newspaper editors, broadcasters, and owners of media companies in advancing human development by featuring stories that raise international awareness of issues of poverty, disease, and hunger in the most vulnerable countries in Africa. READ MORE
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