‘Eco-warriors’ fight climate change in South Africa

11 August 2019
Climate Change


Schools in South Africa have been designating students as “eco-warriors” as part of an initiative supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), to drive environmental and climate change awareness amongst the young and old in their communities.


The youthful warriors have supported rubbish clean-up campaigns around their schools, eliminating over 1000 illegal dumping sites.

© SGP South Africa and Future Leaders of Change | Through the SGP support the Climate Change Warriors Project (CCWP) was able to establish six small-scale conservation agriculture co-operatives and coordinate youth training on sustainable agriculture. ​​​​​

Other students have established agricultural co-operatives and learnt how to farm sustainably in the face of the effects of climate change and the degradation of the environment.

On International Youth Day which is marked annually on 12 August, find out here how South Africa’s youth are mobilizing to take climate action.

The Projects in South Africa are supported by UNDP’s Small Grants Programme.

Migration and the climate crisis: the UN’s search for solutions

31 July 2019
Climate Change


Throughout human history, migration and climate have always been connected, but in the modern era, the impacts of the man-made climate crisis are likely to extensively change the patterns of human settlement.


Dina Ionesco is the head of the Migration, Environment and Climate Change Division at the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), which has been at the forefront of efforts to study the links between migration, the environment and climate.

As she explained to UN News, we are now living in an era where catastrophic climate-related events are linked to human activity, and this is likely to have a major impact on the way that we decide to migrate, and settle:



“The Atlas of Environmental Migration, which gives examples dating as far back as 45,000 years ago, shows that environmental changes and natural disasters have played a role in how the population is distributed on our planet throughout history.”

“However, it is highly likely that undesirable environmental changes directly created by, or amplified by, climate change, will extensively change the patterns of human settlement. Future degradation of land used for agriculture and farming, the disruption of fragile ecosystems and the depletion of precious natural resources like fresh water will directly impact people's lives and homes.”

The climate crisis is already having an effect: according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 17.2 million people had to leave their homes last year, because of disasters that negatively affected their lives. Slow changes in the environment, such as ocean acidification, desertification and coastal erosion, are also directly impacting people’s livelihoods and their capacity to survive in their places of origin.

As Ms. Ionesco explains, there is a strong possibility that more people will migrate in search of better opportunities, as living conditions get worse in their places of origin:

“There are predictions for the twenty-first century indicating that even more people will have to move as a result of these adverse climate impacts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the main UN authority on climate science, has repeatedly said that the changes brought on by the climate crisis will influence migration patterns. The World Bank has put forward projections for internal climate migration amounting to 143 million people by 2050 in three regions of the world, if no climate action is taken.”

“However, our level of awareness and understanding of how environmental factors affect migration, and how they also interact with other migration drivers such as demographic, political and economic conditions, has also changed. With enhanced knowledge, there is more incentive to act urgently, be prepared and respond.”
The Global Compact for Migration: a roadmap for governments

In the past decade, there has been a growing political awareness of the issues around environmental migration, and increasing acceptance that this is a global challenge.


As a result, many states have signed up to landmark agreements, such as the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Global Compact for Migration, which, says, Ms. Ionesco, marks a clear way forward for governments to address the issue of climate and migration.

“The Compact contains many references to environmental migration including a whole section on measures to address environmental and climate challenges: it is the first time that a comprehensive vision has been laid out, showing how states can handle - now and in the future – the impacts of climate change, disasters and environmental degradation on international migration.”

“Our analysis of the Compact highlights the priorities of states, when it comes to addressing environmental migration. Their primary concern is to “minimize the adverse drivers and structural factors that compel people to leave their country of origin”, in particular the "natural disasters, the adverse effects of climate change, and environmental degradation".

“In other words, the main priority is to find solutions that allow people to stay in their homes and give them the means to adapt to changing environmental conditions. This approach aims to avoid instances of desperate migration and its associated tragedies.”

“However, where climate change impacts are too intense, another priority put forward in the Compact is to “enhance availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration”. States are thus looking at solutions for people to be able to migrate safely and through regular channels, and at solutions for those already on the move.

“A last resort measure is to conduct planned relocations of population – this means organizing the relocation of entire villages and communities away from areas bearing the brunt of climate change impacts.”

“Humanitarian assistance and protection for those on the move already, are also tools states can use. Finally, states highlight that relevant data and knowledge are key to guide the decision-making process. Without knowing more and analyzing better, policies run the risk of missing their targets and fade into irrelevance.”
A range of solutions to a complex problem

Responding to the challenges of environmental migration in a way that benefits both countries and communities, including migrants and refugees, is a complex process, says Ms. Ionesco, involving many different actors.


Solutions can range from tweaking migration practices, such as visa regimes, to developing human rights-based protection measures. Most importantly, they involve a coordinated approach from national governments, bringing together experts from different walks of life:

“There is no one single solution to respond to the challenge of environmental migration, but there are many solutions that tackle different aspects of this complex equation. Nothing meaningful can ever be achieved without the strong involvement of civil society actors and the communities themselves who very often know what is best for them and their ways of life.”

"I also think that we need to stop discourses that focus only on migrants as victims of tragedy. The bigger picture is certainly bleak at times, but we need to remember that migrants demonstrate everyday their resilience and capacity to survive and thrive in difficult situations."

Turning waste into a business in the slums of Yaoundé, Cameroon

31 July 2019
Economic Development


The increasing volume and complexity of waste associated with modern economies is posing a serious risk to ecosystems and human health. Every year, an estimated 11.2 billion tons of solid waste are collected worldwide, according to the UN Environment Programme.

Gamel Djouelde and his colleague are two of 60 young men who were trained and work with Tam Tam waste management in Melen. Every morning at 6 AM, they start collecting garbage in the community., by UN-Habitat/Kirsten Milhahn

For the past 20 years, a young man from the slums of Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, has been running a local waste collection service that has had a transformative impact on the community around him. The residential area of Melen, like most teeming city’s informal settlements, is not connected to the public garbage disposal system.

Through the Tam Tam Mobile, nearly every morning at 6 a.m., a team of young men from Melen make their way through the community. At the end of their shift, they unload their full carts at a municipal waste collection point outside the slum.

The Tam Tam Mobile initiative is supported by UN-Habitat, the United Nations programme working towards a better urban future. Read more here about this unique initiative

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/07/1043541

A Call for Climate -UN

UN Women: Inclusive peace in Afghanistan means ‘women at the centre’ urges UN deputy chief in Kabul

UNAMA/Fardin Waezi
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed (left) and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (right), Executive Director of UN Women, visit a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kabul, Afghanistan. (21 July 2019)


Amina Mohammed was speaking to reporters in the capital Kabul, after leading an all-women delegation of top UN officials for an intensive two-day “solidarity mission”, focussed on women, peace and security. She was joined by UN Political and Peacebuilding Affairs chief, Rosemary DiCarlo, the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Natalia Kanem, and the head of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Fardin Waezi / UNAMA
United Nations Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed (Center -left) during a meeting with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani (center-right) in Kabul. (20th July 2019)

The Deputy Secretary-General said they had come ahead of the key presidential election, due to take place at the end of September, but also to lend their support for a peace process “which is integral to the future, and the sustainability of all the efforts and aspirations, the Government and people of Afghanistan have.”

Only a few days ago, a bomb attack just outside Kabul University, reportedly killed 10 people - students and a traffic officer - and wounded 33 others, while Taliban militants reportedly detonated a bomb outside police headquarters in Kandahar city, killing 11 and wounding nearly 90. Despite the on-going violence, Afghan political leaders held ground-breaking talks in Qatar earlier this week with Taliban representatives, with both sides calling for a reduction in civilian casualties.

“At the end of two days we have been impressed with the leadership at all levels of government from Kabul out to the local areas, where you see that there is an investment in people, in particular in women’s empowerment’, said Ms. Mohammed.

The high-level UN delegation held meetings with President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Saturday, and also met a diverse group of women, hosted by Afghanistan’s First Lady, Rula Ghani. They also met religious leaders, who have a crucial role to play in bolstering the peace process.

Fardin Waezi / UNAMA
UN Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed (right) speaks to deminers during a visit to demining site in Bamyan, Afghanistan. (21 July 2019)

On Sunday, the delegation travelled outside Kabul to the province of Bamyan, where UNFPA is running a series of support programmes and services for women of reproductive age and families, as well as tackling gender based violence (GBV). They also visited a UN demining site, and the UNESCOWorld Heritage Site of the Buddhas of Bamyan, which were dynamited and destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001, which ruled the country until the allied invasion later that year.

The deputy chief said her face-to-face conversations with Afghan women during the mission had left her with no doubt that women are “in leadership roles, decision making, they know exactly where they want to go - and what they need from us is support”, she told reporters.

“We have heard from them many messages: on the elections, that they must be credible, they must be timely, they must be inclusive, and their voices must be heard."

“On the peace process”, she continued, it had to be inclusive: “And inclusive means women at the centre”, especially when it comes to addressing the needs of victims of violence.

“You cannot address peace and its sustainability, if you cannot come to terms with reconciling the past. So this has been an incredibly important opportunity for us”, said the Deputy Secretary-General, noting that during the trip they had also been gratified to see “the gains of the investments that have been made by the UN system and its partners over the years.”
We'll back Afghan women 'at every step' - UN Women chief

The head of UN Women said that she had been struck by talking to women who had lived with the “oppressive legacy of the Taliban’s rule – which banned them from attending school, work or even speaking publicly or leaving the house without a man.”

“These same women have consistently and courageously advocated for their voices to be heard, their priorities to be addressed and their agency to be recognized”, said Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka. “And they do not stand alone, because UN Women and the UN, are here to back them up at every step.”

She said that as the momentum builds for peace talks with the Taliban, “ensuring women’s meaningful participation in the peace and reconciliation process and in the upcoming elections is more urgent than ever. Women must be able to exercise their right to define what peace means for them, and to have a seat at the table where the future of the country is being negotiated”, said the Executive Director. “Only then we will really see durable peace and democracy flourish in Afghanistan.”

Fardin Waezi / UNAMA
UN Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed (3rd right) visits the Aga Khan Hospital in Bamyan, alongside UNFPA chief Natalia Kanem (centre). (21 Juy 2019)
‘Collective responsibility’ to end gender-based violence: UNFPA

In Bamyan, around half of the women who give birth, still deliver at home without any skilled birth attendant. GBV is a critical concern in the province, with around 20% of women experiencing some form of domestic violence, said UNFPA.

The agency runs a network of Family Protection Centres together with the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, within main hospital and health facilities. They also support more than 100 Family Health Houses, providing essential reproductive, maternal and child health services to around 300,000 living in under-served areas.

UNFPA chief, Natalia Kanem, said that “ending sexual and gender-based violence is our collective responsibility. It not only affects a woman’s dignity, health and wellbeing, but prevents her from participating actively in her community and contributing to peace.”

The agency, she added, “is on the frontlines of this battle in Afghanistan, and indeed around the world, leading the UN system’s response on the ground. If we stand united in our pursuit of gender equality, human rights and justice, we can prevent this scourge one person, one community, one country at a time.”

“Despite tremendous suffering, the resilience of the women and girls I met on this visit gave me hope for the future of Afghanistan”, said Ms. Kanem. UNFPA is “dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Afghan women, laying the foundation for a life of choice and equality. We are making progress, but there is still a long way to go.”

“Only when women are safe and empowered to make decisions over their bodies and lives”, she noted, “will the country be able to achieve sustainable development and peace.”

21 July 2019
Peace and Security


The UN deputy chief issued an impassioned plea on Sunday for Afghans to reconcile with the past and put “women at the centre” of all efforts to forge a durable peace, and a truly inclusive political process where women’s voices are truly heard.

UNICEF urges ‘transformative shift’ in family-friendly work policies to reap ‘huge’ benefits

“There is no other time more critical to children’s lives than their earliest years”, said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, “which is why we need a transformative shift in how businesses and governments invest in policies and practices that not only support healthy brain development, but also strengthen the bond between parents and their children – and reap huge economic and social benefits in return.”

And yet, policies, such as paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and affordable childcare are not available for most parents around the world. Family-Friendly Policies: Redesigning the Workplace of the Future, outlines the latest evidence and new recommendations that lay the foundation for healthy development, success and poverty reduction.

Paid parental leave


According to UNICEF, a one-month increase in paid maternity leave in low-and-middle income countries has been found to reduce infant mortality rates by 13 per cent. In high-income countries, each additional week of paid parental leave is associated with more than a four per cent lower chance of single mothers living in poverty. Paid parental leave of six months also helps promote exclusive breastfeeding, according to the agency.

Moreover, it also contributes to lower staff turnover rates, lower recruitment and training costs, and retention of experienced employees. For countries that have had these policies in place for the past several decades, increases in female employment have boosted GDP per capita growth by between 10 per cent and 20 per cent.

UNICEF recommends at least six months of paid leave for all parents combined, with 18 weeks reserved specifically for mothers.

Breastfeeding

Regular breaks during working hours to breastfeed, or to express breastmilk in a supportive environment, contributes to lower rates of acute infant and chronic child illness as well as improved cognitive and educational outcomes, UNICEF says.

The benefits for mothers include lower rates of postnatal depression, improved physical health and a reduction in the lifetime risk of breast cancer. Optimal breastfeeding practices produce societal benefits in what UNICEF estimated to be a $35 to $1 return on investment.

And yet, the latest available data shows only 40 per cent of children under six months are exclusively breastfed, as recommended.

Because the workplace represents a substantial barrier to breastfeeding, with around 16 per cent of workplaces without any statutory requirements to support it, breastfeeding is another priority recommendation of the new policy manifesto.

“The gains of family-friendly policies far outweigh the cost of implementation: improved health outcomes, reductions in poverty, increased business productivity, and economic growth,” Ms. Fore asserted.
Universal childcare

Universal access to affordable, quality childcare from the end of parental leave until a child’s entry into the first grade of school is the brief’s third recommendation.

Children who receive quality and nurturing early childcare are healthier, learn better and stay in school longer, and have higher earnings as adults. Childcare provisions enable parents to meet their work obligations and be parents at home.

Child benefits

Expanded coverage of cash benefits should be part of all countries’ social protection system for young children.

​A recent analysis indicated that only one-in-three households globally receive child or family cash benefit that varied from 88 per cent in Europe and Central Asia, to 28 per cent in Asia and the Pacific, and 16 per cent in Africa.

In translation, the majority of children in the poorest countries do not yet receive cash benefits to support their development.

“Investing in our families is smart social policy, but it’s smart economic policy as well”, concluded the UNICEF chief.


18 July 2019
Women


Because the “earliest years” of life are the most crucial, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published a list of new family-friendly policy recommendations on Friday it says will likely reap “huge” benefits.


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SDGs: World ‘off track’ to meet most Sustainable Development Goals on hunger, food security and nutrition

Key parts of the Global Goals agenda linked to achieving zero-hunger are “off-track”, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday, in an appeal for much greater public investment in farming.


Four years since the international community agreed to implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals - whose objectives include tackling food insecurity and poor nutrition - FAO says that a lack of progress “is the norm”.

In a new report focusing on Goals 2 (Zero Hunger), 6 (Clean Water And Sanitation), 14 (Life Below Water) and 15 (Life On Land), the agency also warns of unsuccessful efforts to make farming sustainable, as well as the long-term management of land and ocean-based resources.


According to the study, Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania - excluding Australia and New Zealand - registered the lowest levels of investment in the agricultural sector, which includes fisheries and forests.

Key findings from the study that covers some 230 countries include data that more than 820 million people are going hungry around the world.

That number has been rising for three years in a row “and is back to levels seen in 2010-2011”, FAO says.

The percentage of hungry people has also slightly increased between 2015 and 2018, to 10.8 per cent.
Six in 10 livestock breeds ‘at risk of extinction’

Among the report’s other findings is the warning that 60 percent of livestock breeds are at risk of extinction in the 70 countries for which information is available.

This means that out of more than 7,000 breeds that are found in only one country, almost 2,000 are threatened, FAO says.

Examples include Fogera cattle from Ethiopia or Bali’s Gembrong goat, according to FAO.

It notes too that there has been "no progress” in conserving the animal DNA that would be needed to create new herds in case of extinction, with less one per cent of their genetic blueprint currently stored, with ongoing efforts to preserve these resources proving to be “inadequate".
Plant conservation more successful

While there has been more success in conserving the genetic material of plants, with global stocks held in 99 countries and 17 regional and international centres totalling 5.3 million samples, FAO cautioned nonetheless that crop diversity is still too limited.

“Efforts to secure crop diversity continues to be insufficient,” the report states, “particularly for crop wild relatives, wild food plants and neglected and underutilized crop species.”
Investing in sustainable fisheries ‘is worth $32 billion annually’

Highlighting the need to invest in sustainable fishing, the report also warns that one-third of marine stocks are overfished today, compared with 10 per cent in 1974.

“Despite some recent improvements in fisheries management and stock status in developed countries, the proportion of stocks fished within biologically sustainable levels has decreased significantly in developing countries,” the UN agency says.

Around 30 per cent of countries still have a relatively low implementation record of key international instruments designed to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, FAO maintains.

All countries should “urgently” implement transformational changes in fishery management and governance, FAO recommends, as rebuilding overfished stocks could increase annual fishery production by 16.5 million tonnes and annual revenues from fishing by $32 billion.
All continents face water stress, forest clearance ongoing

Among the report’s other findings are that water stress affects countries in every continent.

Nonetheless, the majority of countries that have registered high water stress since 2000, are mainly in Northern Africa, Western Asia and Central and Southern Asia.

In addition, between 2000 and 2015, the world lost an area of forest the size of Madagascar, owing mainly to agricultural use. Most of this loss was in the tropics of Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia.

On a more positive note, the rate of forest loss slowed down globally from 2010-2015, the FAO report notes, and this loss was partly compensated by the increase forest in Asia, North America and Europe.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/07/1042781
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