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The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is stepping up response in Africa’s Sahel region where escalating violence has forced a rising number of people to flee their homes. Agency chief Filippo Grandi this week concluded a visit to three affected countries—Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger—expressing alarm over the rapidly deteriorating situation. “We always look at the Sahel, we think about…

Rising instability and unpredictable geopolitical tensions have led to a “wind of madness” across the world, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday during his main annual press conference for journalists at UN Headquarters in New York. Following recent flare-ups in some hotspots, the UN chief observed that although de-escalation efforts indicated progress, the situation has now…

Climate action will be both a priority and a driver of world affairs through the coming decade, United Nations Secretary-General chief António Guterres announced on Monday, during a speech at UN Headquarters in New York on Monday, in which he declared that the next ten years will be “crucial for achieving a fair globalization, boosting economic growth and building peaceful societies”.

EU launches new Forest Information System to improve knowledge on forests and woodlands The FISE web portal will provide tailor-made information products to key users including national, EU and international policymakers, experts working in the forest industry, forest owners and conservationists, as well as scientists and researchers. Data will be collected, analysed and made available…

At the start of every season, fashion magazines are full of glossy spreads encouraging consumers to splash out on brand new clothes. But at what cost? The United Nations calls the $2.75 trillion fashion industry “an environmental and social emergency”. The industry produces nearly 20% of the world’s waste water and around 10% of global carbon emissions. It takes 20,000 litres of…

This post is written by Wei Zhang, Senior Research Fellow, Environment and Production Technology Division, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). While healthy soils play a critical role in supporting agricultural productivity, climate change mitigation and resilience, and a range of other ecosystem services and are thus an integral part of sustainable food systems,…