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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).

  IPS Pictures in www.flickr.com
On a drought-hit farm in Syria. Credit: Caterina Donattini/IPSUnsustainable use of natural resources. Credit: Claudius/IPSRisk evaluation is a first step towards a climate change adaptation plan. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPSIn the wake of a hurricane in Surgidero de Batabanó. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPS
She hopes and believes the water won't reach her new house. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPSPeople living in low-lying coastal areas are most exposed to sea-level change. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPSLabour and other activists flood the streets of Porto Alegre in environmental protest. Credit: Clarinha Glock/IPSEnvironmental activists from around the world will be gathering in Porto Alegre this month. Credit: Clarinha Glock/IPS
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IPS environment and science correspondent Stephen Leahy appears on Vancouver's Radio Ecoshock to discuss climate change, the future of the oceans, and why leading scientists are hitting the streets to demand policy changes.
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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
Part of the Guardian Environment Network
Climate South: Developing Countries Coping With Climate Change
Climate Solutions: Women's answers to climate change
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
Subsidies
Sustainable Development
Agriculture
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News in RSS
/CORRECTED REPEAT**/: Social Media Shows Support for Africa's Oldest Community Station
Will 2014 World Cup Take Football from Brazil's Masses?
U.S. Weighs Options As Syrian Violence Intensifies
U.N. Security Council Remains "Neutered" by Five Big Powers
Despite Rhetoric, Women Still Sidelined in Development Funding
Mines Test Colombia's Commitment to Sustainable Development
EUROPE-DEVELOPMENT: The "Indignados" Still Have Wind in Their Sails
Philippines Seeking U.S. Help Against China's Bullying
Israel and Iran Agreed on Nuclear Ambiguity
Senegalese Students Call for President to Step Down
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The contents of this news coverage, including any funded by the European Union, are the sole responsibility of IPS and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

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Mines Test Colombia's Commitment to Sustainable Development
By Helda Martínez
IBAGUÉ, Colombia - "In the Andes, and all over the world, mining on mountains should be banned. Distinguished scientists and papers in the most prestigious journals are saying this," a regional planning expert in Colombia told IPS.
MORE >>
 

EUROPE-DEVELOPMENT
Mapping Out the EU’s Harmful Projects
By Bari Bates
BRUSSELS - Dozens of European Union-funded projects across several countries are ‘environmentally or socially unsound’, according to a map created by a joint effort between CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe.
MORE >>
 

Chinese Feed Illegal Ivory Trade
By Cam McGrath
CAIRO - The illegal trade in ivory continues in Egypt, with ivory products sold openly in local tourist markets by traders who operate with impunity, a new study by the conservation group Traffic has found.
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ARGENTINA
Fair Trade Going Strong Amid Global Crisis
By Marcela Valente
BUENOS AIRES - With a steady growth in production and exports, fair trade in Argentina is proving that socially and environmentally sustainable practices can be much more than a refuge from external crises.
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UNICEF Funding Falls Short Leaving Millions of Children at Risk
By Bari Bates
BRUSSELS - If the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had 1.28 billion dollars it could help 97 million people around the world.
MORE >>
 

Spate of Spills at Sea for Brazilian Oil Industry
By Fabiana Frayssinet
RIO DE JANEIRO - An accident at an ultra-deepwater drilling platform spilled 160 barrels of crude off the coast of Brazil this week, deepening fears about safety in this new frontier of oil and gas production.
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WEST AFRICA
Water Shortage Threatens Wildlife
By Brahima Ouédraogo
OUAGADOUGOU - The story of a pair of buffalo aggressively prowling the edges of a village in eastern Burkina Faso is a warning sign of severe water stress in the region which threatens humans and wild animals alike.
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2011 - A Year of Weather Extremes, with More to Come
Analysis by Janet Larsen and Sara Rasmussen*
WASHINGTON - The global average temperature in 2011 was 14.52 degrees Celsius (58.14 degrees Fahrenheit). According to NASA scientists, this was the ninth warmest year in 132 years of recordkeeping, despite the cooling influence of the La Niña atmospheric and oceanic circulation pattern and relatively low solar irradiance.
MORE >>
 

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OP-ED
After Durban, Latin America Looks Towards Rio+20
By Ede Ijjasz-Vásquez*
WASHINGTON - After the climate change negotiations in Durban, South Africa in December, there is space to continue advancing in the short and medium term. Now the attention of Latin America and the rest of the world is turned towards the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development taking place this June in Rio de Janeiro.
MORE >>
 

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NICARAGUA-HONDURAS
Re-Greening the Border
By José Adán Silva*
MANAGUA - Ignacia Matute looks back nostalgically on the days when the hills around her home in northwestern Nicaragua were blanketed in green, and she woke every morning to the sounds of birds singing in the treetops and the rushing waters of the nearly Coco River.
MORE >>
 

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CUBA
Adapting to Climate Change Proves a Complex Challenge
By Patricia Grogg
SURGIDERO DE BATABANO - No one who lives in this fishing village on the south coast, 70 km from the Cuban capital, can forget the devastation wrought by hurricanes in 2008.
MORE >>
 

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Thematic Social Forum Awash with Criticism for Green Economy
By Clarinha Glock*
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil - Critical voices raised against what was dubbed "the gospel of green capitalism" resonated in every discussion and street march held during the Thematic Social Forum, which brought thousands of activists to the capital city of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil.
MORE >>
 

U.N. Panel Launches Blueprint for Sustainable Development
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - A long-awaited report by a U.N. high-level panel on global sustainability recommends several far-reaching proposals, including the establishment of new institutions and the creation of global indicators, aimed at protecting the world's environment and strengthening the U.N.'s sustainable development strategy.
MORE >>
 

THEMATIC SOCIAL FORUM
Working Towards a Never-Ending Democracy
By Antonio Martins
PORTO ALEGRE - For five centuries, Europe has taken it upon itself to enlighten the world, teaching it ways to address and overcome crises, from ideas and wars to missionary work and genocides.
MORE >>
 

ARGENTINA
Drought Threat Looms Again
By Marcela Valente
BUENOS AIRES - The low humidity in Argentina's most agriculturally productive region has already caused a decline in grain yield - in particular corn and soybean - with ensuing losses for producers and the government.
MORE >>
 

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AFRICA
Miracle Tree is Like a Supermarket
By Kristin Palitza
CAPE TOWN - When a food crisis hits the continent, African countries tend to look to the international donor community to mobilise aid. But a fast-growing, drought- resistant tree with extremely nutritious leaves could help poor, arid nations to fight food insecurity and malnutrition on their own.
MORE >>
 

ARGENTINA
In Famatina, Water Is Worth Far More Than Gold
By Marcela Valente
BUENOS AIRES - Thousands of people in the northwest Argentine province of La Rioja are mobilising to stop an open-cast gold mining project in the Nevados de Famatina, a snowy peak that is the semi-arid area's sole source of drinking water.
MORE >>
 

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Shale Gas a Bridge to More Global Warming
By Stephen Leahy
UXBRIDGE, Canada - Hundreds of thousands of shale gas wells are being "fracked" in the United States and Canada, allowing large amounts of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, to escape into the atmosphere, new studies have shown.
MORE >>
 

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Only Civil Society Can Save Rio+20, Say Activists
By Mario Osava*
RIO DE JANEIRO - Large-scale social mobilisation, including street protests and parallel activities, is the only thing can save the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) from ending in nothing but frustration, according to activists and analysts.
MORE >>
 

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PUERTO RICO
Cleaner Energy Sources Prove Divisive
By Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero*
SAN JUAN - As Puerto Rico seeks to lower soaring utility rates while simultaneously shifting toward cleaner energy sources, it faces grassroots opposition to two major projects even though at least one is 100-percent renewable.
MORE >>
 

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Britain Boosts Economic Ties with the Caribbean
By Peter Richards
ST GEORGE'S, Grenada - As China sees its influence continue to grow in this part of the world, a delegation from the United Kingdom arrived in Grenada last weekend with a proverbial carrot for its former colonies, vowing to create new opportunities for trade, investment and innovation "in our respective economies".
MORE >>
 

CHILE
Recovery from Forest Fire Could Take 80 Years
By Pamela Sepúlveda
SANTIAGO - "It's extremely serious, a full-blown environmental catastrophe," environmentalist Sara Larrain told IPS, describing the impact of the fire that has been raging through the Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia since Dec. 27.
MORE >>
 

JAPAN
Tsunami Brings Sea Change to Tohoku
By Suvendrini Kakuchi
MINAMI-SANRIKU, Japan - Yumi Goto, 60, lives with her husband in a temporary shelter on a windy hill that overlooks vast stretches of tsunami-devastated seacoast where her home was once located.
MORE >>
 

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GERMANY
While Some Waste, Others Feast
By Julio Godoy
HAMBURG - Shortly before midnight last Saturday, Alexander, a 24-year-old law student, stepped out of his small apartment in Hamburg and set off for a jaunt around the local supermarkets to pilfer their garbage containers.
MORE >>
 

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The Green Economy, Boon or Menace?
By Emilio Godoy*
MEXICO CITY - The development of the green economy is the subject of pitched debate among specialists. While some believe it will deepen social inequalities and increase corporate control over natural and biological resources, others highlight its potential role in protecting the environment and creating employment.
MORE >>
 

 

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