Archive for July 27th, 2021

27/07/2021

‘Mangroves Play an Essential Role as Carbon Sinks, Sequestering Atmospheric and Oceanic Carbon for Long Periods of Time’

Human Wrongs Watch

Support mangrove conservation, UNESCO chief says

UNDP/Yuichi Ishida | A woman plants mangrove trees in Timor Leste.

(UN News)* — The world is waking up to the importance of mangroves, a senior UN official said on Monday [26 July 2021], underscoring the need for everyone to support restoration and protection of these crucial habitats.

Audrey Azoulay, Director General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), made the appeal in her message for the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, observed on 26 July.

27/07/2021

Mangroves Are Disappearing 3 to 5 Times Faster than Overall Global Forest Losses…

Human Wrongs Watch

International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem – 26 July

 

26 July 2021 (UNESCO)* — Mangroves are rare, spectacular and prolific ecosystems on the boundary between land and sea. These extra ordinary ecosystems contribute to the wellbeing, food security, and protection of coastal communities worldwide.

They support a rich biodiversity and provide a valuable nursery habitat for fish and crustaceans.

Mangroves also act as a form of natural coastal defense against storm surges, tsunamis, rising sea levels and erosion. Their soils are highly effective carbon sinks, sequestering vast amounts of carbon.

read more »

27/07/2021

A Holistic and Coordinated Approach ‘Urgently Needed to Transform Agri-Food Systems’

Human Wrongs Watch

FAO Director General, QU Dongyu, urges global leaders at Rome gathering to change policies, mind-sets and business models to transform agri-food systems

Photo: ©FAO/Giuseppe Carotenuto

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu addressing the Pre-Summit opening ceremony. Seated in the front row (l-r) Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, International Fund for Agricultural Development President Gilbert Houngbo, World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley.

read more »

27/07/2021

Afghanistan: Record Number of Women and Children Killed or Wounded

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — More women and children were killed and wounded in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021 than in the first six months of any year since records began in 2009, a United Nations report revealed on Monday [26 July 2021].

UNAMA/Dilawar Khan Dilawar | A record number of children and women have been killed or wounded in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021.
.
A particularly sharp rise in casualties occurred in May when international military forces began withdrawing from the country and fighting intensified following the Taliban offensive to take territory from Government forces.
27/07/2021

Israel-Palestine: What Peace Looks Like

Human Wrongs Watch

By Prof. Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service*

johan-galtung-300x300-1

Johan Galtung

With the Israeli government in permanent coma, the Palestinian house split against itself, the US and Israel sharing the bad karma of being built on stolen land, pushing the inhabitants into bantustans or worse, the Washington voice has been absent, silent on peacebuilding and supporting the Zionists in detriment of the Palestinians.

But peacebuilding is not sufficient; we need also peacemaking–a political solution–and peacekeeping.  And here the EU enters: not only as a mediator, but as model, brilliantly accommodating a Germany that had made itself very difficult to digest by surrounding countries. Yesterday.  Like Israel. Today.

Starting with the beginning, the only place to start, with a constructive approach to the future, the thesis is that a sustainable solution to Israel-Palestine has three levels:

read more »

27/07/2021

Free, Fair Palestinian Elections, Must Include East Jerusalem: UN Independent Human Rights Experts

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Landmark elections in the Occupied Palestinian territory must be rescheduled soon and include East Jerusalem, three UN independent human rights experts said in a statement on Monday 26 July 2021.

Rafique Gangat | The market in Old City of East Jerusalem.

The first parliamentary and presidential elections in 15 years were scheduled to take place in May and July, respectively.  But they were postponed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on 29 April, amid concerns about the ability to vote in East Jerusalem.

read more »

27/07/2021

UN Climate Science Talks Open amid Heatwaves, Floods and Drought

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Negotiations began on 26 July 2021 to approve a UN science report which will anchor high level summits later this year, charged with boosting climate action worldwide.

UNDP Tuvalu | The low-lying archipelago, Tuvalu, in the Pacific Ocean is reclaiming land as it fights the effects of climate change.
.
The assessment comes as record-breaking heat waves, devastating floods and drought struck across three continents in recent weeks.
“This report has been prepared in exceptional circumstances, and this is an unprecedented IPCC approval session,” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair, Hoesung Lee, told the opening session of the meeting.

%d bloggers like this: