The world will never be the same after COVID-19. Social behaviors have permanently changed as have consumer patterns. Trends in international trade have shifted, as have investment priorities. After two months in lockdown, nations must restart their economies in an environment that has changed drastically.

The silver lining is that it revealed the weaknesses in our institutions and our economies. As we rebuild, we must do so with an intent to reinvent, especially for us in the Philippines. We must work to make the nation stronger, more resilient and self-sufficient.

This year, as the world celebrates World Earth Day on the 22nd April 2020, Fairtrade Africa is highlighting its stakeholder collaboration towards climate action.

Cadasta Foundation is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day by signing onto Interaction Forum’s NGO Climate Compact: Commitments Toward Environmental Action and Sustainability. 

The NGO Climate Compact represents a pledge by over 75 non-governmental organizations’ CEOs to urgently address climate change and our recognition that the environment is central to achieving our missions to serve the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.  

The Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve, located in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, is one of the world’s largest areas of reforested mangroves.

BY MICHAEL TATARSKI ON 21 APRIL 2020

Mongabay Series: Global Forests

The Ministries of Environment, and Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction have listed the Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary in Koh Kong province and Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri province as state land to eliminate land grabbing offences.

The operations have gained support from community members who expect forest crimes to decline with the move.

A notice by the Ministry of Environment seen by The Post on Sunday said it is listing two natural protected areas – Peam Krasop Wildlife and Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuaries as state land.

IMPROVING agricultural processes and supporting small holder growers is only part of the puzzle as buyers and private sector support are critical, the World Bank says.
The World Bank said in a statement that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), as the largest global development organisation working with private sector in developing countries, had been working with wholesaler and retailer, Tininga, in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, to improve farmers’ productivity and get produce more quickly to shelves in Port Moresby.

As all eyes, hearts and minds focus on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) garnered attention on Tuesday when a new UN report revealed that only ten countries in the European region have levels of air pollution below the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended limit. 

One of the many recommendations made by President Hage Geingob’s High-Level Panel on the Namibian Economy (HLPE) is that Namibia implements its comprehensive national policy on climate change released in 2011. 

The goal of the national policy on climate change is to contribute to the attainment of sustainable development in line with Namibia’s Vision 2030, through strengthening national capacities to reduce climate change risk and build resilience for any climate change shocks.

A study by the Global Mechanism of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has examined how SDG target 15.3 on achieving a land degradation neutral world contributes to the strategic objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The study identifies several layers of convergence between the two Conventions.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has said that tenure rights to land and other natural resources are fundamental to food and shelter, which are the key elements of social and cultural practices underpinning Tanzania’s economic growth.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam recently, FAO Tanzania’s National Land Officer, Beatha Fabian, pointed out that security of tenure on natural resources such as land, fisheries and forests was very key since food security of billions of people in the world depends on it.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) has begun taking inventory of all excavators that have been seized from illegal mining sites since the fight against illegal mining (galamsey) began in 2017.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, explained that the measure was to ensure that all confiscated mining equipment was handed over to the ministry, in accordance with the country's mining laws.

Green Scenery a Civil Society Organisation working on environment issues has issued a press release calling for government to halt all logging and exporting of timber. Green Scenery is anxious to see the Government of Sierra Leone put behind logging and log exporting as a means of revenue generation.