Forest, desertification, land degradation & biodiversity

Photo: Aberrahim is the caretaker at the Akrich nursery, the first of the High Atlas Foundation's fruit tree nurseries built on land lent in-kind by the Moroccan Jewish Community

High Atlas Foundation Grows Trees in Nurseries Built on Moroccan Jewish Community Land

By Yossef Ben-Meir, President, High Atlas Foundation

MARRAKECH (IDN) – On World Religion Day, January 17, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) celebrates its interfaith fruit tree nurseries, which are built on land lent in-kind by the Moroccan Jewish community and are enhancing livelihoods for Muslim farming families around Morocco. These nurseries champion the notion that Morocco’s multicultural past and present, and the preservation of it, should necessarily advance the sustainable development of the country by providing a tangible and vital pathway for the social and economic benefit of generations of Moroccans to come, said HAF in a media release.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 16 January 2021

Photo: Screenshot of UN Chief addressing the UN Open Summit on January 11. Source: France TV04 /YouTube

Humanity Needs to Take a Course That Does Not Conflict with Nature

By Kwame Buist

NEW YORK (IDN) – The process of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic offers the chance to change course and put humanity on a path which is not in conflict with nature, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said January 11, urging greater efforts by everyone to protect biodiversity and step up action to counter climate change.

Guterres was addressing world leaders at the virtual One Planet Summit hosted by France, which came in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference scheduled for November in Glasgow, Scotland.

: Phil Harris; UN INSIDER; 12 January 2021

Human Exploitation of the Biosphere Threatens Mass Extinction

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – According to a recent United Nations report, more than a million species of plants and animals are currently threatened with extinction because of human activities. Rates of extinction today are as much as 1,000 times greater than the normal background rate.

As the greenhouse gas emissions of human society push the earth towards catastrophic climate change, rates of extinction in the biosphere will certainly become higher.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 06 December 2020

Australia: Environmentalists' Market 40 Years on Going Strong

By Kalinga Seneviratne

CHANNON (IDN) – At the peak of the hippie movement in the West, in 1976, the traditional farming village here in this scenic setting was a battleground between loggers and environmentalists who had travelled from across Australia, to stop the clear-felling of the rainforest at Terania Creek close by. This was the first direct action protest in Australia.

Many of the environmentalists decided to settle in the region, buying cheap agricultural land and setting up communities with a "back to the land" philosophy.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 17 November 2020

Photo: Fire at Kilimanjaro National Park, United Republic of Tanzania. Credit: TANAPA/TANAPA

Kilimanjaro Threatened by Fires Which Shaped It

Viewpoint by Andreas Hemp*

BAYREUTH (IDN) – In October 2020, firefighters in Tanzania had to tackle a number of fires on Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain and the largest free-standing mountain in the world. The mountain and surrounding forests fall into Kilimanjaro National Park, named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Andreas Hemp provides a glimpse into the mountain’s natural environment and the challenges it faces.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 15 November 2020

Image credit: Convention on Biological Diversity.

Corporations Morally Obliged to Protect Biodiversity

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – A new report finds that consumers have an increasing awareness of the planet’s biodiversity and want corporations to protect it. They feel that "companies have a moral obligation to ensure that they have a positive impact on people and biodiversity". However, more than 70 per cent suggested their trust is higher when a brand’s commitment to the ethical sourcing of biodiversity is independently verified. The report, commissioned by the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT), released on November 11, is based on a survey. The data was published in the 2020 UEBT Biodiversity Barometer, an ongoing set of research updated each year, that has covered more than a decade.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 11 November 2020

Photo credit: United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards.

Agribusiness Interests Hijack 2021 UN Food Systems Summit

Viewpoint by Anuradha Mittal *

OAKLAND, USA (IDN) – This World Food Day (October 16) amidst the ongoing pandemic and the devastating impact of the climate crisis, a Food Systems Summit is being planned a year from now by the United Nations, to fulfil the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. As the Summit takes shape, it is obvious that it does not intend to trigger the deep systemic changes necessary to address the massive challenges that we face. The Summit will do more of the same – green and poor wash – to preserve and perpetuate interests of agribusiness and agro-chemical corporations at the expense of people and the planet.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 14 October 2020

Faith Leaders Criticise Bill Gates for A 'Highly Problematic' Agricultural Project

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – African faith leaders are calling on Bill Gates to reconsider his foundation’s “highly problematic” support of genetically engineered foods, crops and agrichemicals against the interests of non-corporate farmers in countries throughout Africa.

“We write out of grave concern that the Gates Foundation’s support for the expansion of intensive industrial scale agriculture is deepening the humanitarian crisis,” says the sign-on open letter coordinated by the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI).

SAFCEI, based in Cape Town, South Africa, is comprised of African traditional healers, members of the Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, and Quaker faiths, and a wide range of Christian denominations.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 05 October 2020

Photo: Allison et al. 2017. Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world. Global Environmental Change 43, 51-56.

Cool News in a Warming World: Why Invest in Future Forests

Viewpoint by Finn Grundmann *

GÖTTINGEN, Germany (IDN) – Forests capture more than carbon! While plants are experts at retrieving carbon dioxide from the air, they have also perfected strategies to retain water in their natural surroundings. When thinking of the benefits of future forests, it is crucial to think beyond the tree level.

Tree roots loosen the soil, and by creating macropores, they drastically increase infiltration rates and help recharge groundwater levels. The effect of just one tree on those soil properties can be measured within a radius of 25 meters around the tree crown. Therefore, by planting just a hundred trees, an area as big as 32 full-size football fields can be restored.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 01 October 2020

Actions Needed to Protect Wild Species and Natural Habitats

UN Summit on Biodiversity Provides an Opportunity

Viewpoint by Amy Fraenkel

The writer is Executive Secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

BONN (IDN) – The UN Summit on Biodiversity was meant to galvanize commitments to stop the impending biodiversity crisis, and to underscore the need for effective actions in a new Global Biodiversity Framework. Few could predict that it would take place in the middle of a deadly global pandemic -- which in all likelihood was brought about by human activities that exploit wild animals and nature.