Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South | WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2020

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

World Environment Day - This year the theme is biodiversity. One million species of living things are at risk of extinction. 75% of our land-based environments and two thirds of our marine environments have been changed by human actions. Now COVID19 shows how the destruction of biodiversity can harm the system that supports human life. These are some of IPS' stories about the issue.

Safeguarding Africa’s Food Security in the Age of COVID-19 Pritha Mitra and Seung Mo Choi Food security in sub-Saharan Africa is under threat. The ability of many Africans to access sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs has been disrupted by successive natural disasters and epidemics. Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, locust outbreaks in eastern Africa, and droughts ... MORE > >

The Bible, Donald Trump and Plastic Jan Lundius Another episode of the spectacular show that could be called The Greatest Story Ever Told: The Saga of the Trump Presidency, scripted and acted by Trump himself, took place on 1st of June. As U.S. cities were scenes of demonstrations and looting, President Trump declared himself to be ”the ... MORE > >

Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Now? Lawrence Surendra In the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, the much-anticipated 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) of the WHO concluded without any major controversies or disagreements. The landmark WHA resolution to bring the world together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, co-sponsored by more than 130 countries, ... MORE > >

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2020 My name is Emma, I’m 10 years old, and I live in Canada. I am sharing this video with you, today, because I learned at school that my future – the future of all children – will be determined by what we do together today. The life we lead – from the foods we eat, the air we breathe, the water ... MORE > >

How to Transform UN’s Environmental Goals into a People’s Agenda for Africa Dr Olukoya Obafemi The COVID-19 insurgence has highlighted the need for multilateral cooperation among sustainability stakeholders. As the journey towards achieving Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is fraught with imminent global challenges, global environmental leaders agree that now is the ... MORE > >

Prioritising Life or the Economy Will Determine the Post-Pandemic Focus in Urban Areas Mario Osava The first priority in the COVID-19 pandemic was to save lives, in an effort to avoid even more devastating economic losses if strict lockdown and isolation were not put in place. But that priority could be reversed in the wake of the crisis, and lessons that would open up paths for shaping ... MORE > >

Two-thirds of Tropical Forests ‘Under Threat in Next Decade’ Bruno de Pierro Tropical forests can develop resistance to a warmer climate, but 71 per cent will come under threat in the next decade if global average temperatures reach two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a new study warns. Forest-dependent communities and the global climate will be affected if ... MORE > >

The Consequential Effects of Covid-19 on the Climate Crisis Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin Okyenhene The tragedy of the coronavirus pandemic and its associated challenges have thrown our world into chaos, with the virus destroying lives and livelihoods in its path. The whole world is presently seized by the effects of the pandemic, but there is a silent crisis of equal measure that has long ... MORE > >

COVID19 and Its Impact on Pacific Island States William W. Ellis By now, the impact of COVID19 on our daily lives has been well documented, especially in advanced economies. Anxiety about the future continues to grow everywhere. Much of the corporate news coverage we consume has focused on the toll this pandemic will take on mainland countries. Often neglected, ... MORE > >

Ensuring Biodiversity Now will Prevent Pandemics Later Samira Sadeque A future repetition of the current COVID-19 pandemic is preventable with massive cooperation on international and local levels and by ensuring biological diversity preservation around the world, experts recently said. How to prevent the current crisis in the future According to the World ... MORE > >

Innovation Is an Imperative - for Sustainable Food Systems Zoltán Kálmán Hunger and food insecurity continue to rise. The official 2019 statistics refer to 821 million people suffering from hunger all over the world. According the recently launched Global Report on Food Crises, there are further 135 million people facing crisis levels of hunger or worse. WFP estimates ... MORE > >

Crisis Hits Oil Industry and Energy Transition Alike Emilio Godoy While it attempts to cushion the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the Latin American and Caribbean region also faces concerns about the future of the energy transition and state-owned oil companies. These questions were discussed at the 29th La Jolla Energy Conference, organised by the ... MORE > >

Unite Behind Environmental Science: Transforming Values and Behaviour is as Important as Restoring Global Ecosystems Ana María Hernández Salgar Restoring damaged ecosystems is vital to avoid the collapse of nature’s most valuable contributions to people, but International Day for Biological Diversity 2020 should also be a wake-up call about the importance of addressing our social, economic and systemic values, because it is these that are ... MORE > >

Biological Diversity is Fundamental to Human Health Samira Sadeque This year’s International Day of Biological Diversity falls amid the coronavirus pandemic and the slow easing, in some nations, of a global lockdown. While the lockdown has forced most people to stay at home, there have been reports of more wildlife being spotted - even in once-busy city ... MORE > >

COVID-19: Global Supply Chain Resilience Relies on Soap & Water for Workers Ruth Romer As COVID-19 lockdown restrictions across the globe start to be relaxed, the collective conversation has shifted towards plans for a ‘new normal.’ With the IMF predicting a three percent dive to global GDP in 2020, the biggest economic downturn in almost a century, global corporations are ... MORE > >

Mexico's Development Banks Fuel the Fossil Energy Trade Emilio Godoy Since 2012, Teresa Castellanos has fought the construction of a gas-fired power plant in Huexca, in the central Mexican state of Morelos, adjacent to the country's capital. "We don't want the power plant to operate, because it will cause irreparable damage, polluting the water and air. This ... MORE > >

To Restore Forests, First Start With a Seed Emmanuel Hitimana In 2011, when Rwanda committed to restoring 2 million hectares of land in a global effort to restore 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested areas by 2020 — it seemed like a big ask. The densely populated and geographically small African nation had many limitations which could stand in ... MORE > >

Where Will Global South Rank in New Green Economic Order? Inga Vesper With widespread calls for green transitions in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, developing countries are predicted to remain at the bottom of the global economic ladder, a study claims. Oil prices have fallen to record lows and climate change is prompting global economic shifts, but low- and ... MORE > >