Archive for May, 2020

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20/05/2020

To Restore Forests, First Start With a Seed

Human Wrongs Watch

By Emmanuel Hitimana

How did Rwanda manage to restore more than 800,000 hectares — almost half of its original pledge — in less than a decade?

Nsabimana-who-worked-in-tree-plantation-more-than-40-years-believe-that-they-have-been-considerable-seeds-improvements-1-1024x683

Emmanuel Nsabimana, a casual labourer at the National Tree Seed Centre, in Huye, in Rwanda’s Southern Province, has worked planting trees for over 40 years. He believes there has been considerable improvements in the seed quality from the centre since the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) became one of the contributors to its restoration. Credit: Emmanuel Hitimana/IPS

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20/05/2020

Post-Pandemic ‘Green Shift’ in Transport Could Create Up to 15 Million Jobs, Help Countries Move to Greener, Healthier Economies

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Transforming the transport sector to be more environmentally-friendly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, could create up to 15 million new jobs worldwide and help countries move to greener, healthier economies, according to a UN-backed report published on Tuesday [19 May 2020].

UN Photo/Evan Schneider | A bus driver in New York City wears a mask to protect himself against the Coronavirus.
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The study argues that recovery from the crisis cannot mean a return to “business as usual” for a sector that accounts for more than 60 million jobs globally.

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20/05/2020

Tropical Cyclone Amphan Threatens India and Bangladesh

Human Wrongs Watch

19 May 2020 (WMO)* —  Tropical cyclone Amphan intensified rapidly in the Bay of Bengal to become a “Super Cyclonic Storm” – the equivalent of a strong Category 4/weak Category 5 on the Saffir Simpson scale. It is expected to make landfall on Wednesday 20 May as an Extremely severe cyclonic storm (strong Category 3 equivalent), bringing dangerous winds, storm surge and flooding to coastal areas of West Bengal in India and Bangladesh.

Super cyclonic storm Amphan

Amphan (pronounced Um-Pun) is on track for densely populated areas at a time when restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic  is complicating disaster management – and making it more necessary than ever before.

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20/05/2020

Honey Bees Feel Sting of Viral Disease

Human Wrongs Watch

20 May 2020 (UN Environment)* — There’s nothing new in nature. Viruses have been around for as long as plants and animals, if not longer. Most viruses are benign to humans and other animals and in fact are essential for life. Some—as humans are finding out with COVID-19—have negative consequences.

Bee-wikimedia_commons

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

Chronic bee paralysis is a well-defined viral disease of honey bees across the world. Until recently, according to a study in Nature Communications, it caused rare, but severe, symptoms, including colony loss.

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20/05/2020

‘We All Depend on the Survival of Bees’

Human Wrongs Watch

20 May 2020 (United Nations)* — Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities.

Tn hree out of four crops across the globe producing fruits or seeds for humause as food depend, at least in part, on bees and other pollinators.
Three out of four crops across the globe producing fruits, or seeds for use as human food depend, at least in part, on bees and other pollinators. ©FAO/Greg Beals

Pollination is, however, a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems.

Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land.

Not only do pollinators contribute directly to food security, but they are key to conserving biodiversity.

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20/05/2020

‘Alarming’ Military Build-Up Underway in Libya, as COVID-19 Heightens Insecurity

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The civil war in Libya is in danger of intensifying as foreign intervention grows and the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic adds to a deepening sense of insecurity, the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) told the Security Council on Tuesday [19 May 2020].

OCHA/Giles Clarke | A detainee mother, with sleeping baby on her back, feeds her other child some bread inside the female room of a detention centre in Benghazi, Libya.

Stephanie Williams, who is also Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, said on Tuesday that while the rest of the world adjusts to life with the novel coronavirus, Libyans have dealt with almost constant bombardment and frequent water and electricity outages during the holy month Ramadan.

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19/05/2020

Why on Earth Is the U.S. Bombing Somalia?

Human Wrongs Watch

By Danny Sjursen | Independent Media Institute – TRANSCEND Media Service*

The Trump administration has quietly ramped up a vicious bombing—and covert raiding—campaign in Somalia amid a global coronavirus pandemic. Neither the White House nor the Pentagon has provided any explanation for the deadly escalation of a war that Congress hasn’t declared and the media rarely reports. At stake are many thousands of lives.

US military base in Somalia. Reuters

The public statistics show a considerable increase in airstrikes from Obama’s presidency. From 2009 to 2016, the U.S. military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced 36 airstrikes in Somalia.

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19/05/2020

Seven Ways We Are Making Ourselves Sick (And How We Can Stop)

Human Wrongs Watch

19 May 2020 (UN Environment)* — With the world in waves of COVID-19, the issue of health has dominated public attention.

kelly-sikkema-unsplash

Photo by Unsplash/ kelly sikkema

Of all the issues exposed by this pandemic, perhaps the most poignant is the fact that having neglected the elements that surround us for much of the last century, we have inadvertently made our world a less healthy place to live.

Evidence indicates that our lifestyles and behaviours have affected our living environment; and consequently, undermined our health.

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19/05/2020

FAO Seeks $350 Million to Scale Up Hunger-Fighting, Livelihoods-Boosting Activities in Food Crisis Contexts Where COVID-19’s Impact Could Be ‘Devastating’ 

Human Wrongs Watch

More and more people struggle to have access to or enough food in fragile countries.

Photo: ©FAO/Sheam KaheelIn Syria, FAO continues supporting farmers to build vegetable nurseries.

ROME, 18 May 2020 (FAO)*  – The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is seeking $350 million to scale up hunger-fighting and livelihoods-boosting activities in food crisis contexts where COVID-19’s impact could be devastating.

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19/05/2020

Building a Cinematic Bond with Refugees, in a Time of Crisis

Juan Sarmiento | During one year the documentary followed the lives of Syrian student Ibrahim (left) and Iraqi physiotherapist Qutaiba (right).
Karim Aïnouz is the director of “Central Airport THF”, a documentary which describes the situation of asylum seekers sheltered in the former Tempelhof Airport, in Berlin, and is now available on streaming platforms.

Built in the 1920s, the airport of gigantic proportions was renovated in the 1930s by the Nazi regime. Decommissioned in 2008, it served as a shelter for asylum seekers between 2015 and 2019, and has since been transformed into a public park.

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