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Textiles are fundamental to our society, providing us with clothing, shoes, carpets, curtains, furniture, etc. for homes, offices and public buildings. The textiles industry employs millions of people worldwide, making it among the largest in the world and an important part of Europe’s manufacturing industry. However, textile production and consumption cause significant environmental, climate and…

An interactive online tool encourages landscape restoration initiatives by calculating how much pollution is removed by planting trees and related public health cost savings. “Pollution Removal by Vegetation,” ­developed in Britain by scientists at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) and environmental economics consultancy eftec, aims to help local governments, non-governmental…

World Wetlands Day 2020 Wetlands and Biodiversity is the theme for 2020. Wetlands are rich with biodiversity and are a habitat for a dense variety of plant and animal species. Latest estimates show a global decline of biodiversity, while wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests. This year's theme is a unique opportunity to highlight wetland biodiversity, its status,…

Water is essential for all life on Earth. Fresh water is used for drinking, sanitation, agriculture, transportation, electricity generation, and recreation. Freshwater habitats—like lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands—house more than 10% of all known animals and about 50% of all known fish species. One of these freshwater habitats, wetlands—a place where the land is covered by water…

Can a mighty 'green wall' of trees transform sub-Saharan Africa, hold back the desert, reverse climate change and put a stop to the waves of migration to Europe? Joe Shute meets the people betting $8 billion on it. Photographs by Simon Townsley Water is life in the Lake Chad basin. For centuries the lake was the largest reservoir in the Sahel – the semi-arid belt spanning Africa…

In the village of Kyzart in Naryn Province, Kyrgyzstan, little was known about the transformative power of vegetable farming. A simple change to the diets of rural households—a smidge of horticulture added to the carbohydrate- and protein-intensive diets—has resulted from the determined farming efforts of self-help groups of rural women. Testimonies of how balanced diets are positively impacting…