'Unseen' News and Views
The municipality of Corumbá, located on the border between the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and Bolivia, is the most damaged. | Photo: AFP
One year has passed since the world was shocked by the images of the fires blazing across the Amazon in Brazil. But since then, the forest hasn’t stopped burning —and 2020 could be even more devastating for the rainforest and the Indigenous Peoples who call it home.
Temperatures in Siberia have been more than 5°C above average from January to June, and in June up to 10°C above average.
A temperature of 38°C was recorded in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk on 20 June. Temperatures in parts of Siberia the week beginning 19 July again topped 30°C.
UNITED NATIONS, New York/ KATETE, Zambia/ OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, 20 July 2020 (UNFPA)* — “As a female traditional leader, my aim is to be a role model within my chiefdom. I want to ensure that we collectively challenge social and traditional norms and practices that negatively affect our women and girls,” said Kawaza, chieftainess of the Chewa people.
– The world is in the midst of the Great Migration Clash, a bitter struggle between those who “want out” of their countries and those who want others to “keep out” of their countries. More than a billion people would like to move permanently to another country and no less than a billion people say fewer or no immigrants should be allowed to move into their countries.
Credit: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNOHCR).
.
23 July 2020 (UN Environment)* — UN Environment Programme has created immersive digital experiences for its #WildforLife campaign. These four ecosystem-based “journeys” show the magic of interconnected natural systems and inspire people to take action to protect these distinct ecosystems.
The first is Marine Journey. This aquatic adventure informs and inspires people to conserve coral reef, seagrass and mangrove ecosystems.
The upcoming digital journeys include savannahs, forests and peatlands.
Nairobi, 24 July 2020 (UN Environment)* – For many coastal communities, including those in the Western Indian Ocean region, mangroves are critical to economic and food security. A new set of guidelines on mangrove restoration for the region aims to support the restoration of its degraded mangrove ecosystems and support recovery from the economic impacts of COVID-19.
Mangrove forests are among the most powerful nature-based solutions to climate change, but with 67 percent of mangroves lost or degraded to date, and an additional 1.0 percent being lost each year, they are at a risk of being destroyed altogether.
Without mangroves, 39 percent more people would be flooded annually and flood damage would increase by more than 16 percent and US $82 billion.
(UN News)* — The immediate introduction of a Temporary Basic Income for the world’s poorest people could slow the current surge in COVID-19 and enable close to three billion people to stay at home, according to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report released on 23 July 2020.
Temporary Basic Income: Protecting Poor and Vulnerable People in Developing Countries, estimates that it would cost governments upwards of $199 billion per month, to provide what UNDP describes as “a time-bound, guaranteed basic income, to the 2.7 billion people living below or just above the poverty line in 132 developing countries.”
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 