The horror of the Second World War, culminating in the nuclear blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, brought home the need to address the nuclear issue. However, and as outlined in the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) 2020 Armaments, Disarmament and International Security yearbook, at the start of 2020, nine countries — the United States, […]
In use since about 1755, the word habitat derives from the Latin habitāre, to inhabit, from habēre, to have or to hold. Human habitats are places where people live and where they can find all things that they need to survive. World Habitat Day is to reflect on the basic right of all humans to […]
The first World Migratory Bird Day in 2006 was to counter some of the negative publicity migratory birds were receiving at the peak of the Avian Influenza discussion. Themes in subsequent years included: the plight of migratory birds due to global warming (2007) migratory birds as messengers for the conservation of biodiversity worldwide (2008) the […]
According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), from 2000 to 2019, there were 7,348 major recorded disaster events claiming 1.23 million lives, affecting 4.2 billion people and resulting in approximately US$2.97 trillion in global economic losses. International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and […]
Women and girls play a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing. Accounting for a substantial proportion of the agricultural labour force, including informal work, females perform the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work within families and households in rural areas and make significant […]
The statistics on poverty are shameful. The World Bank estimates that 9.2% of the world, or 689 million people, live in extreme poverty on $1.90 or less a day. Children and youth account for two-thirds of the world’s poor, and women represent a majority in most regions.Extreme poverty is increasingly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, and […]
Cities occupy 2% of the world's total landmass, but contribute to 70% of the world's economy (GDP), 60% of its energy consumption, 70% of its greenhouse gas emissions, and 70% of the world's waste. Urbanization provides the promise -- oft not fulfilled -- of social inclusion, access to services and new opportunities. However, inequality and […]
Damage to the environment through war includes the pollution of water wells, the torching of crops, deforestation, soil poisoning and the killing of animals. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reports that over the last 60 years, at least 40 percent of all internal conflicts have been linked to the exploitation of natural resources ( […]
Plants nurture soil-living organisms -- only 1% of these soil microorganisms having been identified to date (compared to 80% of plant species). This vast world constitutes soil biodiversity -- 25% of the planet's biodiversity -- and determines the main bio-geochemical processes that make life possible on Earth, with this diverse community feeding and protecting plants, […]
Home to 15% of the world´s population, mountains host about half of the world's biodiversity hotspots and provide freshwater to half of humanity. Of the 20 plant species that supply 80% of the world's food, six originated and have been diversified in mountains: maize, potatoes, barley, sorghum, tomatoes, and apples. Climate change and overexploitation (unsustainable […]