December 2021 — Page 2 of 17 — Human Rights & Charity

UNESCO marks semi-centennial anniversary of biosphere preservation

“This is really a programme for the people, because people are part of nature…so they are incorporated in nature protection but also in sustainable use of natural resources”, said Miguel Clusener Godt, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) MAB Programme Secretary.

Where we stand

Today 727 biosphere reserves integrate nature conservation and sustainable development in 131 countries, including 22 transboundary sites.

In Africa there are 86 sites in 31 countries; Arab States, 35 sites in 14 countries; Asia and the Pacific, 168 sites in 40 countries; Europe and North America 306 sites in 24 countries; and 132 sites in 24 Latin American and the Caribbean countries.

If bioreserves worldwide were to be put together, Mr. Godt said that they would be equivalent to about five per cent of the world’s surface, spanning 6,812,000 km² or “around the size of Australia”.

Africa

The diverse vegetation and unique fauna in Tanzania’s Gombe Masito Ugalla Biosphere Reserve is also home to the largest chimpanzee community in the country and includes the Gombe National Park, forest land reserves and part of Lake Tanganyika.

Faunal species in the area include African elephants, ornate frogs and eight primate species.

Flora there includes a species discovered in, and named after, Gombe, while the biodiversity of Lake Tanganyika encompasses over 300 fish species, 250 bird species, and reptiles, such as the water cobra and the Tanganyika water snake.

Asia and the Pacific

The Maolan in China was listed as a biosphere reserve in 1996. It lies in the Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou Province and covers an area of 20,000 hectares, with a forest coverage of 88.61 per cent.

Renowned for its “hugging trees” which cling tenaciously to the rocks of the mountain landscape, the rich biodiversity also includes pheasants, orchids and magnolias.

The local Yao, Buyi and Shui indigenous peoples value their region’s environment and cohabit harmoniously with nature. As the trees provide them with vital resources, for over 1,000 years local communities have performed ceremonial practices and rituals to care for the trees.

Arab States

Located on the western slopes of the Mount Lebanon range and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the 6,500-hectare biosphere reserve of Jabal Moussa encompasses the ‘Mount of Moses’ – an important site to Christian pilgrims – and its seven villages.

Jabal Moussa’s landscape, preserved throughout centuries, conceals the markings of a region at the meeting point of civilizations, which archaeologists are still unearthing.

Only 40 km to the north-east of Beirut, the biosphere reserve is three times as large as the city, and together with the Shouf and Jabal Rihane biosphere reserves forms an ecological corridor running along Lebanon’s mountainous backbone.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Located in south-east Uruguay, Bañados del Este harbours a remarkable complex of ecosystems, including white sand beaches, dunes and lagoons along the Atlantic coast and is home to diverse wildlife that remains almost intact both on land and at sea.

The biosphere reserve covers 12,500 km² of Uruguay’s eastern coast and is also home to the State’s highest summit, Cerro Catedral.

Hidden among the dunes, this tourist destination is among the most popular in the biosphere reserve and the perfect spot to connect with nature. Due to its remoteness, there is no connection to the local grid or landlines, but the local population is able to access mobile networks and the internet.

Europe

In Spain, transitioning to clean energy at the El Hierro Biosphere Reserve exemplifies ongoing efforts to live in harmony with nature.

The biosphere reserve covers the entire island and some of its waters, with 60 per cent of the island integrated into the core zone and buffer areas.

El Hierro is aiming to produce 100 per cent of its electricity from renewables.

Meanwhile, at least 2,604 species of flora and fauna have been recorded on the island, and the reserve is a safe-haven for species of friendly sea-faring mammals.

Central African Republic: Scores of militias forced out of Boyo

The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the CAR, known by its French acronym MINUSCA, launched an operation on Saturday to expel from Boyo, in Ouaka prefecture, around 200 members of the armed group Unity for Peace in Central Africa (UPC).

Boyo in crosshairs

According to MINUSCA, Nepalese and Mauritanian battalions arrived to support ground efforts, forcing the UPC combatants to vacate the town.

They had taken over numerous homes, including the mayor’s residence.

The Mission drew attention to more than a dozen civilian fatalities on 6 and 7 December in Boyo, which also prompted the displacement of nearly 1,500 people.

The UN peacekeepers were able to intervene to protect civilians and continue their operations throughout the city with robust patrols.

MINUSCA sent out a warning to the UPC against any attempt to re-occupy Boyo and reaffirmed its determination to ensure the protection of communities in accordance with its mandate.

“Our reinforcements are already in place and we are warning the elements of the UPC against any return to the city”, tweeted Mankeur Ndiaye, UN Special Representative in CAR and Head of MINUSCA.

Seleka versus anti-Balaka

One of the poorest countries in the world, the CAR descended into conflict in 2013 when then-President Francois Bozize was ousted by a rebel coalition called the Seleka, drawn largely from the Muslim minority.

The coup triggered a sectarian bloodbath between the Seleka and anti-Balaka militias, comprised mainly of Christian and animist elements.

Last December, on the eve of presidential elections, rebels launched a new offensive against President Faustin-Archange Touadera’s regime.

The president won re-election, and his army has now reconquered the lost territory.

2021 Year in Review: ‘We underestimate this virus at our peril’

The UN could have been forgiven for saying ‘I told you so’ when it became clear in November that a fast-spreading COVID-19 variant, named after the Greek letter Omicron, was a cause for concern, seemingly spreading far more quickly than the dominant Delta variant.

But whilst the fears were understandable, the arrival of Omicron shouldn’t have been a surprise, given the consistent warnings from the UN that new mutations were inevitable, given the failure of the international community to ensure that everyone, not just the citizens of wealthy countries, are vaccinated.

Briefing journalists in mid-December, the WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that Omicron was “spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant…Surely we have learned by now, that we underestimate this virus at our peril.”

‘A catastophic moral failure’

In January, António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, was already lamenting the self-defeating phenomenon of “vaccinationalism”, with many countries unwilling to look beyond their own borders when it comes to inoculations.

The head of the World Health Organization in Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, condemned “vaccine hoarding” which, he said, would only prolong and delay the continent’s recovery: “It is deeply unjust that the most vulnerable Africans are forced to wait for vaccines while lower-risk groups in rich countries are made safe”.

At the same time, WHO was prophetically warning that the longer it takes to suppress the spread of COVID-19, the greater the risk that new variants, more resistant to vaccines, emerge, and Tedros described the unequal distribution of vaccines as a “catastrophic moral failure”, adding that “the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries”.

As the months went by, the WHO continued to ram home the message. By July, with the emergence of the Delta variant, which became the dominant form of COVID-19, and the grim milestone of four million deaths attributed to the virus (this had risen to five million just four months later), Tedros pinned the blame squarely on a lack of equitable vaccine production and distribution.

COVAX: a historic global effort

In an attempt to support the most vulnerable, WHO spearheaded the COVAX initiative, which is the fastest, most coordinated, and successful global effort in history to fight a disease.

Funded by richer countries and private donors, who have raised more than $2 billion, COVAX was launched in the early months of the pandemic, to ensure that people living in poorer countries would not be left out, when successful vaccines came onto the market.

The rollout of vaccines to developing countries via the COVAX initiative, began with Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in March, and Yemen, a war-torn country in desperate financial straits, received its first batch of vaccines in March, a moment health experts described as a game-changer in the fight against COVID-19. By April, batches of vaccines had been sent to more than 100 countries via COVAX.

However, the problem of vaccine inequity is far from solved: the WHO announced on 14 September that more than 5.7 billion vaccines doses had been administered globally, but only 2 per cent had gone to Africans.

Education, mental health, reproductive services

As well as directly affecting the health of millions of people around the world, the pandemic has had many knock-on effects, from the treatment of diseases, to education and mental health.

Cancer diagnosis and treatment, for example, was severely disrupted in around half of all countries; over a million people have missed out on essential tuberculosis care; widening inequalities prevented those in poorer countries from accessing AIDS services; and reproductive services were upended for millions of women.

UN agencies believe that, in South Asia alone, severe disruptions in health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in an additional 239,000 child and maternal deaths last year, whilst in Yemen, the deepening impact of the pandemic have led to a catastrophic situation in which a woman dies in childbirth every two hours.

A heavy toll on children

In terms of mental health, the last year has had a major impact worldwide, but the toll has been particularly heavy on children and young people. The UN children’s agency (UNICEF) revealed in March that children were now living a “devastating and distorted new normal”, and that progress has gone backwards across virtually every key measure of childhood.

Children in developing countries have been particularly affected, with rates of child poverty estimated to have risen by around 15 per cent: an additional 140 million children in these countries are also projected to be in households living below the poverty line.

As for education, the effects have been devastating. 168 million schoolchildren worldwide missed out on almost a year of classes since the beginning of the pandemic, and more than one in three, were unable to access remote learning, when schools were closed.

UNICEF reiterated its message from 2020 that school closures must be a matter of last resort. The agency’s chief, Henrietta Fore, said in January that “no effort should be spared” to keep children in school. “Children’s ability to read, write and do basic math has suffered, and the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century economy have diminished”, she declared.

In August, following the Summer holidays, UNICEF and WHO issued recommendations for a safe return to the classroom, which included making school staff part of nationwide coronavirus vaccination plans, and for the immunization of all children aged 12 and above.

COVID-19 not ‘a one-off disaster’

Alongside calls for greater vaccine equity during the year, the UN repeatedly drove home the importance of devising a new way to respond to future pandemics, citing the patent failure of the international response to COVID-19.

A series of meetings were convened by the WHO, involving scientists and policymakers, and in May, the creation of an international hub for pandemic control in Berlin was announced, aimed at ensuring better preparedness and transparency in the fight against likely future global health threats.

In July, the G20 group of the world’s biggest economies published an independent report on pandemic preparedness, which concluded that global health security is dangerously underfunded.

The panel’s co-chair, Singaporean politician Tharman Shanmugaratnam, noted that COVID-19 was not a one-off disaster, and that the funding shortfall meant that “we are consequently vulnerable to a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, with repeated waves affecting all countries, and we are also vulnerable to future pandemics”.

However, the year has ended on a positive note with regards to international collaboration: at a rare special session of the WHO’s World Health Assembly at the end of November, countries agreed to develop a new global accord on pandemic prevention.

WHO chief Tedros acknowledged that the there is still a heavy workload ahead but he hailed the agreement as a “cause for celebration, and cause for hope, which we will need”.

Infectious diseases present ‘clear and present danger’ everywhere

“It also revealed our failure to learn the lessons of recent health emergencies like SARS, avian influenza, Zika, Ebola and others”, Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message.

“And it reminded us that the world remains woefully unprepared to stop localized outbreaks from spilling across borders, and spiraling into a global pandemic”.

Halting infectious diseases

Noting that infectious diseases remain “a clear and present danger to every country”, Mr. Guterres maintained COVID-19 would not be the last pandemic for humanity.

Even as the world responds to this health crisis, he spelled out the need to prepare for the next one.

“This means scaling-up investments in better monitoring, early detection and rapid response plans in every country — especially the most vulnerable”, he said.

“It means strengthening primary health care at the local level to prevent collapse… ensuring equitable access to lifesaving interventions, like vaccines for all people and…achieving Universal Health Coverage.”

The Secretary-General upheld that by building global solidarity, every country would have a fighting chance “to stop infectious diseases in their tracks”.

Battling as one

Earlier in the month, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, welcomed the decision of a special session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) – the UN agency’s top decision-making body – to develop a new global accord on pandemic prevention and response.

While acknowledging a long road ahead, he described the decision as “cause for celebration, and cause for hope”.

“There are still differences of opinion about what a new accord could or should contain”, he said, but the consensus has proven that “differences can be overcome, and common ground can be found”, the WHO chief said.

Spreading like wildfire

Meanwhile, as cases of the new Omicron variant continue to spread like wildfire, 70 per cent of COVID vaccines have been distributed to the world’s ten largest economies, and the poorest countries have received just 0.8 per cent, according to the UN, calling it “not only unjust” but also a threat to the entire planet.

To end this cycle, the Organization underscored that at least 70 per cent of the population in every country must be inoculated, which the UN vaccine strategy aims to achieve by mid-2022.

Although this will require at least 11 billion vaccine doses, it is doable so long as sufficient resources are put into distribution.

“An outbreak anywhere is a potential pandemic everywhere”, said the Secretary-General”.

“On this International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, let’s give this issue the focus, attention and investment it deserves”.

Myanmar: UN humanitarian chief calls for probe into ‘grievous’ attack on civilians

Mr. Griffiths said he was “horrified” by reports that at least 35 people, including at least one child, were killed in the attack, which occurred on Friday. They reportedly were forced from their vehicles, killed and burned.

Two humanitarian workers from the aid organization Save the Children remain missing, he added, having been caught up in the violence. Their private vehicle was attacked and burned.

“I condemn this grievous incident and all attacks against civilians throughout the country, which are prohibited under international humanitarian law,” said Mr. Griffiths.

He urged the government to immediately launch “a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident so that perpetrators can be swiftly brought to justice.”

Protect civilians from harm

Mr. Griffiths also called on the Myanmar army, as well as armed groups, to take all measures to protect civilians from harm.

“Millions of people in Myanmar remain in dire need of humanitarian support,” he said, adding that the UN and its humanitarian partners remain committed to providing help throughout the country.

The UN continues to monitor developments in Myanmar in the wake of the military coup in February.

Earlier this month, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said it was appalled by the alarming escalation of grave human rights abuses.

Spokesperson Rupert Colville said serious violations are “reported daily of the rights to life, liberty and security of person, the prohibition against torture, the right to a fair trial, and freedom of expression.”

Secretary-General, UN leaders, mourn Archbishop Desmond Tutu – ‘a towering global figure for peace’

The UN chief was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the anti-apartheid leader and human rights activist, who died in Cape Town, South Africa, earlier that day. He was 90.

“Archbishop Tutu was a towering global figure for peace and an inspiration to generations across the world. During the darkest days of apartheid, he was a shining beacon for social justice, freedom and non-violent resistance,” he said in a statement.

Wisdom and humanity

Mr. Guterres praised Archbishop Tutu’s relentless determination to build global solidarity for a free and democratic South Africa, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

He added that as Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Archbishop Tutu also made an immeasurable contribution to ensuring a peaceful, yet just, transition to a democratic South Africa.

“His great wisdom and experience were always communicated with humanity, humour and heart,” said Mr. Guterres.

The Secretary-General called Archbishop Tutu “a steadfast champion of multilateralism”, pointing to important roles he had, including as a distinguished member of the UN Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention, and on a High Level Fact-Finding Mission to Gaza in 2008.

Fighting for a better world

Mr. Guterres noted that in recent decades, Archbishop Tutu continued to fight passionately for action on many of the critical issues of our time, such as poverty, climate change, human rights and HIV/AIDS, among others.

“Although Archbishop Tutu’s passing leaves a huge void on the global stage, and in our hearts, we will be forever inspired by his example to continue the fight for a better world for all,” he said.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed also lamented Archbishop Tutu’s passing.

“While I will miss his presence, I celebrate his incredible life of service,” she wrote in a post on her official Twitter account. Archbishop Tutu was “always with a smile, always asking us to do our ‘little bit of good'”, she recalled, before signing off with “R.I.P.”

Truth, justice, forgiveness

The President of the UN General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, also took to Twitter to express his sorrow.

“Deeply saddened to note the sad passing away of Archbishop Desmond Tutu who led a global campaign to end South Africa’s apartheid regime and then helped in healing the nation’s wounds,” he wrote. “Our heartfelt condolences to the people and the Government of South Africa.”

The world will miss Archbishop Tutu dearly, said the President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Collen Kelapile.

“Today, we lost a true liberation struggle icon, an inspiration to men, women and youth. Archbishop Desmond Tutu spoke his mind against injustice and bad governance with out fear,” Mr. Kelapile stated in a message. “He said ‘My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.’ We will miss him dearly.”

Inger Andersen, head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), also joined the world and the people of South Africa in mourning Archbishop Tutu. Posting on Twitter, she described him as “a pillar of moral rectitude who taught all of us to walk the righteous path with truth, justice and forgiveness in our hearts.”

Archbishop Tutu had travelled to UN Headquarters in New York on many occasions over the past decades, including as a member of The Elders, an independent group of eminent global leaders working to promote peace and human rights.

He supported UN initiatives to address issues such as forced displacement, women’s empowerment and countering homophobia and transphobia.

Archbishop Tutu received countless honours for his activism and advocacy, including the Global Champion Against Hunger award presented by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in November 2012.

A month later, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced he was the recipient of the UNESCO/Bilbao Prize, honouring his role in building a universal culture of human rights around the world.

Former ‘failed State’ Somalia on fragile path to progress: A UN Resident Coordinator blog

“I arrived in Somalia in September 2019, two decades after having worked here previously. I knew that I was taking up a challenging assignment, but I was also looking forward to seeing Somalia’s progress

Afflicted by decades of conflict, recurrent climatic shocks, disease outbreaks and poverty, Somalia was often called a ‘failed state.’ The narrative is now changing and, although fragile, Somalia is on a path to stability, and the resilience of the Somali people is second to none.

That said, we are not under any illusion: significant challenges remain, and we must work even harder to preserve the gains made to date. Somalia’s upward trajectory is evident in the construction boom: as one analyst noted, the sound of the hammer is replacing the sound of gunfire in Somalia’s capital.

Six decades of UN support

The UN has been closely supporting the Somali people since the birth of the Republic in 1960. Currently, the UN’s various mandates are implemented through 26 Agencies, Funds and Programmes (both resident and non-resident), a political mission (the UN Assistance Mission to Somalia, UNSOM) and a logistical support mission (the UN Support Mission to Somalia, UNSOS).

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN marshalled support to help the Somali government respond to the virus outbreak. We continue to support the Somali authorities in seeking to defeat this pandemic and encouraging people to get vaccinated.

Elections are also on-going in Somalia. The UN is supporting the process to ensure that they are held in a peaceful and transparent manner, while at the same time advocating for a 30 per cent quota of women in the Somali legislature.

Long-standing challenges

While these are encouraging signs of progress, we must not forget Somalia’s long-standing challenges. According to UN’s projections for next year, an estimated 7.7 million Somalis (nearly half of the country’s population) will require humanitarian assistance and protection, and women and children continue to bear the brunt of Somalia’s complex humanitarian crises, especially among the internally displaced communities.

In light of the current serious droughts, the Somali government declared a humanitarian state of emergency on 23 November. Nevertheless, neither the government nor the humanitarian community has adequate resources to respond. With one month remaining in the year, the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan, which seeks US$1.09 billion, remains only 70 per cent funded.

Additional resources are urgently needed to prevent an already dire humanitarian situation from becoming a catastrophe, so we continue to engage partners on this subject. In this regard, I undertook missions to Europe in October and to the Gulf in September.

Throughout my interactions with partners, I stressed the need for additional funding to address Somalia’s escalating humanitarian crisis, and elaborated on how inaction not only risks a reversal of the gains but puts the lives of millions of Somalis in jeopardy.

During my field visits in Somalia, I have also seen first-hand the grim realities of adverse climate conditions: Somalia is no doubt on the frontline of climate change.

The recurrent droughts and floods are driving widespread displacement, rapid urbanization, hunger, malnutrition and poverty. Climate change is also increasingly seen as the driver of conflict and a threat to the country’s security, as the struggle over meagre resources deepens divisions.

In addition, the loss of traditional livelihoods makes people vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups such as Al-Shabaab. Somalia is currently experiencing a third consecutive season of below-average rainfall, with nearly 80 per cent of the country experiencing drought conditions, water shortages and livestock deaths, and one in five Somalis does not have enough water to cover their basic needs.

‘We must not fail the people’

On a positive note, as part of the efforts to mitigate the climate emergency, the government, with the support of the United Nations, have recently adopted an ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution to achieve global climate targets, with Somalia committing to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.

Somalia’s crises are multifaceted, and they require comprehensive solutions from all stakeholders. It is our collective responsibility to support the efforts of the Somali people to cope with these crises and find lasting solutions that build resilience against future shocks. We must not fail the people we pledged to serve.”

Lebanon crises increase suffering of migrant domestic workers

“The recruitment agencies and employers treat us as if we are human commodities!”, says Adanesh Worko, an Ethiopian worker who works in a house in Beirut. “Sometimes I am beaten and denied food but, because of my contract, I cannot choose to work somewhere else, or go back home. My employer said ‘I bought you. Pay me $2,000 and then you can leave wherever you want.’”

Around 250,000 domestic workers are believed to be living in Lebanon, and around 99 per cent of them are migrants on work permits. The vast majority are women from Ethiopia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, who are earning salaries ranging from from $150 to $400 a month.

The recent economic crisis in Lebanon has left many of them without a job, but those who are in work remain subject to the “kafala” or sponsorship system that has been likened to modern slavery, and puts them at the mercy of their employers.

Under this system, which has been denounced by civil society organizations and human rights associations, a migrant worker cannot terminate their work contract without the consent of their employer. The system gives employers almost complete control over workers’ lives, and makes them vulnerable to all forms of exploitation and abuse. And, if they escape, their stay in the country becomes illegal.

The workers’ most basic human rights – such as the right to work specific hours; the right to keep personal documents such as a passport or residence card; and the right to rest, move freely, communicate with friends and family, and enjoy other personal freedoms – are not respected, according to human rights sources,

UN support for an end to the kafala system

“Kafa”, a Lebanese association supported by UN Women, provides services to migrant women workers who are subjected to sexual and physical violence by their sponsors. The organization focuses on protecting domestic female workers, especially those who are exposed to violence, by providing them a shelter, and a range of legal, social, health and psychological services.

The Association believes that many of the suicides cases among migrant domestic workers are linked to ill-treatment and the lack of the most basic rights. Other reasons, according to Kafa, include a lack of legal protection, because they are not considered workers under Lebanon’s labour laws.

A report produced by several UN agencies and academic partners in June declared that the Lebanese Government is primarily responsible for addressing abuses against domestic migrant workers, and called for the kafala system to be dismantled, and legal protections created for all domestic workers in Lebanon.

This article is one of a series of multimedia features published as part of the commemorations surrounding the twentieth anniversary of the UN’s Durban Declaration, considered to be a milestone in the global fight against racism.

‘Grasp this opportunity’, Guterres says, following announcements by Ethiopia and Tigray forces

Mr. Guterres has welcomed the Ethiopian government’s announcement on Friday that the National Defence Force will pause at its current positions, Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement.

He also welcomed the message from the Tigrayan forces stating that they had withdrawn from neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions back into Tigray.

“The Secretary-General urges the parties to grasp this opportunity, cease hostilities in the year-long conflict, take all steps to ensure the provision of much-needed humanitarian assistance, the withdrawal of foreign fighters, and address political differences through a credible and inclusive national dialogue,” the statement said.

The Secretary-General encouraged the parties to continue engagement with the African Union High Representative for the Horn of Africa, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

He also underlined the UN’s full support of Mr. Obasanjo’s mediation efforts, and called on the international community to play a constructive role in supporting an end to the fighting.

Last week, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva held a special session where countries voted to establish an international expert commission to investigate allegations of violations during the conflict.

Champions of the Earth: The Sea Women of Melanesia

To most people, fins, masks and neoprene wetsuits are recreational gear. But to the non-profit group, they are the tools of change.
Clad in diving gear, the group’s 30-plus members chart the health of the fragile coral reefs that surround Melanesia.

The Sea Women work in what’s known as the Coral Triangle, which covers some 5.7 million square kilometres between the Great Barrier Reef and the island archipelagos of Melanesia and South East Asia.

Brimming with marine life, it is one of the world’s premier destinations for underwater tourism and home to a major fisheries industry. It is also exceptionally threatened by surging human populations and waste levels.

The good news is that coral reefs are resilient and can recover if the marine environment is safeguarded. The Sea Women initiative, which has worked across the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea since 2018, supports marine protected areas in the two countries, to ensure there is abundant fish life for villagers to rely on in future.

Read the full story on the Sea Women’s work, here.

Champions of the Earth

The United Nations Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth and the Young Champions of the Earth recognize individuals, groups and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment. Presented annually, the Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour.
The United Nations General Assembly has declared the years 2021 through 2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, is designed to prevent, halt, and reverse the loss and degradation of ecosystems worldwide.
It aims to revive billions of hectares, covering terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystems.
Visit www.decadeonrestoration.org to learn more.

Month: December 2021