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"For the global South, and especially Africa, environmental issues are not a luxury. Arresting the world's warming and protecting and restoring our natural systems are issues of life and death for much of the world's population"
2004 Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai
(Kenya's Business Daily, Dec. 14, 2007)

IPS is intensifying its coverage of both global and local environmental challenges. We look at them from the perspective of the people for whom the ecosphere matters in a direct way: rural dwellers who have little means to protect themselves against adverse conditions; communities that need to switch to sustainable development in order to survive; poor women and children, always the most vulnerable in harsh times.

IPS has entered into cooperation with the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ) - a partnership within the Alliance of Communicators for Sustainable Development, COM+ - and Friends of the Earth International (FOEI), and is building new alliances in order to expand its independent coverage of the issues that will determine our future and that of our children. IPS also created the award-winning Tierramérica, a specialised information service on environment and development, sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and The World Bank (WB).


Winners of the 2009 Friends of the Earth International photo competition
on the theme "Biodiversity Lost, Biodiversity Preserved"

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News in RSS
HUMAN EXISTENCE IS AT REAL AND IMMINENT RISK
by Maurice Strong
NOVEMBER 2009 (IPS) - The current economic and climate change crises are both rooted in the unsustainable nature of the existing economic system. The rapid and unexpected economic meltdown, which began in the United States and quickly spread throughout the world demonstrated dramatically that the phenomenon of globalization and interdependence has a dramatic downside of shared risks and vulnerability, writes Maurice Strong, Secretary General of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, first Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and Secretary General of the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.
more >>
BRAZIL: SHOWING THE WORLD HOW TO END HUNGER
by Andrew MacMillan
NOVEMBER 2009 (IPS) - It is scandalous that in a world of ample food supplies, over one billion people face constant hunger -and the number is still rising. What makes matters worse is that we know how to end hunger, and yet few governments are doing so, writes Andrew MacMillan, a rural economist and former Director of the Field Operations Divison of FAO.
more >>
PRIVATISATION IS THE ENEMY OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
by Vandana Shiva
AUGUST 2009 (IPS) - The privatisation of the earth's resources is a recipe for famine and desertification, violence against women, hunger, and, as happens in India, the suicide of farmers, writes Vandana Shiva, author and international campaigner for women and the environment.
more >>
WHAT WE NEED IS A CLIMATE BAILOUT
by Maurice Strong
GROWING A GREEN COLLAR ECONOMY
by Mark Sommer
MISGUIDED PHILANTHROPY CANNOT FEED AFRICA
by Anuradha Mittal
AFRICA COULD LOSE BIG IN ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS WITH EU
by Aileen Kwa
ECO-AGRICULTURE CAN FEED WORLD, WHILE HEALING EARTH
by Lim Li Ching
THE POSSIBLE AMAZON
by Marina Silva
BIOFUELS AND FOOD SECURITY: CONFLICT OR COMPLEMENTARITY?
by Ignacy Sachs
INDIA: AS THE ECONOMY GROWS, SO DOES HUNGER
by Anuradha Mittal
CLIMATE CHANGE: WE NEED A PROACTIVE MEDIA
by Mario Lubetkin
BIOFUELS AND CLIMATE CHANGE: A CURE THAT MAKES THE DISEASE WORSE
by Vandana Shiva
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Sustainable Development
Kyoto on the Horizon
In The Eye of a Storm
Biodiversity - One Planet - 1.4 million species
Oil, Gas and Minerals: Mixed Blessings
Feedin the Future
Troubled Waters
The Creeping Desert
Energy Crunch
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Sustainable Development
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News in RSS
POLITICS-SUDAN: African Leaders Call for Peaceful Elections
ECONOMY: Greek Crisis Impacts the Balkans
U.S.: Families Sue Over Guantanamo Deaths
NIGERIA: Acting President Consolidates Power Amid Unrest
CLIMATE CHANGE: A Year On, Little Change in Political Climate
LATIN AMERICA: Still a Long Way to Go, for Black Women
ZAMBIA: School Policy for Teen Mothers a Partial Success
KENYA: Trying to Rebuild Communities After Floods
IRAN: New Budget May Add to Uncertainties, Political Strains
Q&A: Sri Lanka Remains Defiant of U.N. Chief
More >>
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CLIMATE CHANGE: A Year On, Little Change in Political Climate
By Matthew Berger
WASHINGTON - This time last year, United States federal legislation on climate change was starting to take shape, seemingly more pressing matters were taking up the bulk of U.S. policymakers' time, and a major climate conference was looming at the end of the year.
MORE >>
 

KENYA: Trying to Rebuild Communities After Floods
By Mary Kiio
NAIROBI - After torrential rains and floods claimed lives in Kenya’s North Rift region, hundreds of displaced people are now in dire need of relief aid.
MORE >>
 

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NEPAL: Crippling Power Outages Throw Life Out of Gear
By Bhuwan Sharma
KATHMANDU - When it gets cold during Nepal’s winter nights, Yem Prasad Gurung turns on his heater run by liquefied petroleum gas. When it gets dark, he switches on the lights that rely on a solar inverter – and to make sure he gets water, he turns on a generator-powered water pump.
MORE >>
 

CLIMATE CHANGE-BRAZIL: The Threat Posed by Livestock
By Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO - The livestock industry has less economic clout than the oil industry, but ranchers say it has better arguments to defend itself from accusations regarding its share of responsibility for global warming.
MORE >>
 

CLIMATE CHANGE: The U.N.'s Boys' Club
By Selina Rust
UNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's decision to appoint a 19-member, all-male high-level advisory group on Climate Change Financing (CCF) has triggered strong protests from women's groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) outraged by the composition of the panel.
MORE >>
 

DEVELOPMENT: Bad Water More Deadly Than War
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - Bad water kills more people than wars or earthquakes, declares Anders Berntell, executive director of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
MORE >>
 

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PERU: Priest on Campaign Trail Defrocked
By Ángel Páez
LIMA - A priest who is touring the country in his bid to run for president next year, at the head of a leftist movement, was indefinitely suspended by the Catholic Church for getting involved in politics.
MORE >>
 

VIETNAM: Salinisation, Drought Bring Worries to Mekong Delta
By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam
MEKONG DELTA, Vietnam - He has worked this land for half of 64 years and is known among his fellow farmers in Kien Giang province here in the Mekong Delta as ‘lao nong’, or the old master of rice.
MORE >>
 

ENVIRONMENT: Blame on Chinese Dams Rise as Mekong River Dries Up
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - As the water level in the Mekong River dips to a record 50-year low, a familiar pattern of fault-finding has risen to the surface. China, the regional giant through which parts of South-east Asia’s largest waterway flows through, is again at the receiving end of verbal salvoes from its neighbours.
MORE >>
 

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ENERGY-LATIN AMERICA: Moving Towards Renewables
By Marcela Valente*
BUENOS AIRES - Argentina is building its first solar energy park in the northwestern province of San Juan. The project calls for the manufacture of photovoltaic panels to supply the rest of the country and the other member countries of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur).
MORE >>
 

ENVIRONMENT: So That Vans May Pollute More
By David Cronin
BRUSSELS - Three years after vehicle-makers succeeded in weakening new European Union (EU) pollution standards for cars, many of the same firms are hoping to frustrate efforts to make vans more fuel-efficient.
MORE >>
 

CLIMATE CHANGE: In Canada, No News is Bad News
By Stephen Leahy
UXBRIDGE, Canada - Canada's climate researchers are being muzzled, their funding slashed, research stations closed, findings ignored and advice on the critical issue of the century unsought by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government, according to a 40-page report by a coalition of 60 non-governmental organisations.
MORE >>
 

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CHILE: Cracks Exposed in Readiness Plan
By Daniela Estrada*
SANTIAGO - Inadequacies in technical equipment, specialised human resources, institutional coordination, land zoning and citizen awareness were all laid bare by the major earthquake and subsequent tsunami on Feb. 27 in central and southern Chile.
MORE >>
 

ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: All Eyes on Forest Protection Body
By Keya Acharya
KOTAGIRI, NILGIRI MOUNTAINS, India - Seemingly unstoppable development has made a mockery of the protected status of this southern Indian region, which houses vast biodiversity and some of the finest examples of moist deciduous and tropical forests.
MORE >>
 

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ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Law on Forest Rights Fails to Deliver
By Manipadma Jena
BHUBANESWAR, India - A four-year-old landmark law that was supposed to bring profound changes in the lives of India’s tribal and forest-dwelling peoples has failed to deliver on that promise.
MORE >>
 

BIODIVERSITY: Lucrative Shark Trade Under Scrutiny
By Matthew Berger
WASHINGTON - As climate change transforms the acidity and oxygen levels of the world's waters with devastating effects for some marine species, others are facing an even more immediate threat from human consumption.
MORE >>
 

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INDONESIA: Waste Composting Project Blazes Cleaner Path
By Kanis Dursin
JAKARTA - Battling the pain from a boil on his left thigh, 45-year-old Inggit Tukino pulled his two-wheeled cart through the overcrowded alleys of a slum in Rawabebek, Penjaringan hamlet in here North Jakarta.
MORE >>
 

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EDUCATION-URUGUAY: Gardens of Knowledge
By Silvana Silveira
MONTEVIDEO - "Nature is wise, and if we take the time to observe it, we can learn so much" is the underlying philosophy of a number of innovative programmes being carried out in Uruguayan schools that are using gardens as a teaching resource, explained Edith Moraes, director of the national Primary Education Board.
MORE >>
 

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TANZANIA: Weather Changes Turn Farming into Gamble with Nature
By Denis Gathanju
DAR-ES-SALAAM - Changes in weather patterns have turned agriculture into a gamble with nature for Tanzanian farmers. Prolonged droughts and floods have made the lives of small-scale farmers, who don’t have access to irrigation, extremely difficult.
MORE >>
 

FINANCE: Self-Policing of Extractive Industries a "Dismal" Failure
By Charles Fromm
WASHINGTON - An international initiative that seeks to reform how governments profit from their natural resources should not reduce its existing standards of membership solely because candidate countries have been reluctant or incapable of meeting them, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.
MORE >>
 

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RIGHTS: "Famine Marriages" Just One Byproduct of Climate Change
By Thalif Deen*
UNITED NATIONS - The negative fallout from climate change is having a devastatingly lopsided impact on women compared to men, from higher death rates during natural disasters to heavier household and care burdens.
MORE >>
 

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ENVIRONMENT-UGANDA: Landslides - Experts Warn Worst is Yet to Come
By Joshua Kyalimpa
KAMPALA - Fourteen-year-old Isaac Wadyegere of Bundesi village in Bududa district woke up to a rainy and chilly Monday morning and went to school as usual. But Mar. 1 was not a usual day in eastern Uganda.
MORE >>
 

ECUADOR: Avatar Downfall a Blow for Indigenous Communities
By Gonzalo Ortiz
QUITO - Science fiction blockbuster Avatar was the big loser in the Oscar awards ceremony - not only a blow for director James Cameron but also seen as a symbolic reverse in the struggle to recover Amazon rainforest areas in Ecuador from the effects of oil pollution.
MORE >>
 

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PERU: Suspension of Mining Operation Merely a Placebo
By Milagros Salazar
LIMA - Although the Peruvian government reported that it had suspended the exploration activities of the Afrodita mining company in the country's northern Amazon jungle region to avoid further protests by local indigenous people, officials took no actual steps to bring the firm's work to a halt.
MORE >>
 

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ENVIRONMENT: Violent Backlash Against Climate Scientists
By Stephen Leahy*
UXBRIDGE, Canada - Climate change science has come under full-scale attack in a last-ditch effort to delay or prevent action by the U.S. government against global warming, experts warn.
MORE >>
 

 

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