EUROPE TO RESTORE LAND
The European Union has agreed to a Nature Restoration Law that will require member states to begin restoring 20 percent of the bloc’s land and sea ecosystems by 2030.
More than 80 percent of European habitats are in “poor shape,” according to the European Parliament, but the law will help repair the damage and meet biodiversity and climate goals.
To accomplish this plan, member nations must restore at least 30 percent of the “poor condition” types of habitat to a “good condition” by the end of the decade, with an increase to 60 percent by the end of the following decade and 90 percent by 2050.
Source: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, Eco watch, Nov. 13, 2023.
RUSSIA “UNSIGNS” TEST BAN TREATY
On November 2, 2023, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin revoked his country’s ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), saying that he did so to bring Russia into line with the United States, which had signed but not ratified the treaty. Besides the US, the treaty has not yet been ratified by China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran and Egypt.
It is unclear whether the revocation will result in Russia’s resuming testing nuclear weapons. Putin explicitly declined to say, though Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov had stated that Moscow would resume testing only if the U.S. does so.
With the abandonment of the CTBT, the last remaining bilateral nuclear weapons treaty between Washington and Moscow is New START, under which the two nations used to regularly inspect each other’s nuclear facilities and limit warheads. Russia suspended the treaty in February, and it will expire in early 2026.
Source: Aljazeera, Nov. 2, 2023
COUNTRIES SUFFERING MOST FROM FOOD CRISIS
According to UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, fifteen countries have been areas of ‘highest’ and ‘very high’ concern as hunger hotspots in 2023. In these countries there are higher than usual levels of acute malnutrition. Some families stave off starvation with such coping strategies as selling off their livestock.
In Afghanistan, nearly 20 million people suffer food insecurity because of conflict in the region, high food prices, floods, and droughts. That country has been consistently classified among the world’s ten worst food crises since 2016. In 2023, 46 percent of the country’s population was experiencing crisis conditions.
In Nigeria, 25.3 million people experienced food insecurity or worse. The Boko Haram insurgency in the northeastern states and banditry and conflict between farmers and pastoralists in the country’s northern and central states have been key factors in the crisis. A currency crisis and fuel shortage are making things worse, A currency crisis and fuel shortage were making things worse.
In Somalia, 6.5 million people were suffering from hunger because of recurring drought, high food and water prices, and conflict. The country has a. long history of food crises. A famine in 2011 caused nearly 26,000 deaths. Since then, more than 1.3 million people have been forced from their homes, with outbreaks of cholera and measles because of poor water, sanitation, and nutrition. Ongoing conflict is predicted to continue, hurting livelihood activities, access to markets and trade.
These three countries are comparable to twelve other states that are also undergoing the world’s worst food crises. They are South Sudan, with 7.8 million people suffering acute food insecurity or worse; Yemen, with 17.4 million people so affected; Haiti, with 4.9 million; the Sahel (Burkina Faso and Mali) with 4.6 million people; Sudan, with 19.1 million; Pakistan, with 8.6 million; Central African Republic with 3 million; Ethiopia, with 23.6 million people; Kenya, with 5.4 million; Democratic Republic of the Congo with 24.5 million people; Syria with 12.1 million; and Myanmar, with 15.2 million people experiencing acute food insecurity or worse.
Almost always, there are multiple, converging causes of these crises. Wars and other conflicts, combined with climate change to create shortages, high prices, and (inevitably) widespread hunger and disease.
Since the publication of the World Vision article to which we refer here, the war in Gaza has been raging. Journalists are reporting that the famine in Gaza is far worse than any of those described above.
Source: World Vision. Aug. 17, 2023.
COUNTRIES SUFFERING MOST FROM FOOD CRISIS
According to UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, fifteen countries have been areas of ‘highest’ and ‘very high’ concern as hunger hotspots in 2023. In these countries there are higher than usual levels of acute malnutrition. Some families stave off starvation with such coping strategies as selling off their livestock.
In Afghanistan, nearly 20 million people suffer food insecurity because of conflict in the region, high food prices, floods, and droughts. That country has been consistently classified among the world’s ten worst food crises since 2016. In 2023, 46 percent of the country’s population was experiencing crisis conditions.
In Nigeria, 25.3 million people experienced food insecurity or worse. The Boko Haram insurgency in the northeastern states and banditry and conflict between farmers and pastoralists in the country’s northern and central states have been key factors in the crisis. A currency crisis and fuel shortage are making things worse, A currency crisis and fuel shortage were making things worse.
In Somalia, 6.5 million people were suffering from hunger because of recurring drought, high food and water prices, and conflict. The country has a. long history of food crises. A famine in 2011 caused nearly 26,000 deaths. Since then, more than 1.3 million people have been forced from their homes, with outbreaks of cholera and measles because of poor water, sanitation, and nutrition. Ongoing conflict is predicted to continue, hurting livelihood activities, access to markets and trade.
These three countries are comparable to twelve other states that are also undergoing the world’s worst food crises. They are South Sudan, with 7.8 million people suffering acute food insecurity or worse; Yemen, with 17.4 million people so affected; Haiti, with 4.9 million; the Sahel (Burkina Faso and Mali) with 4.6 million people; Sudan, with 19.1 million; Pakistan, with 8.6 million; Central African Republic with 3 million; Ethiopia, with 23.6 million people; Kenya, with 5.4 million; Democratic Republic of the Congo with 24.5 million people; Syria with 12.1 million; and Myanmar, with 15.2 million people experiencing acute food insecurity or worse.
Almost always, there are multiple, converging causes of these crises. Wars and other conflicts, combined with climate change to create shortages, high prices, and (inevitably) widespread hunger and disease.
Since the publication of the World Vision article to which we refer here, the war in Gaza has been raging. Journalists are reporting that the famine in Gaza is far worse than any of those described above.
Source: World Vision. Aug. 17, 2023.
CHINA BUILDS GIANT SOLAR PLANT IN UAE
In the desert outside Abu Dhabi, Chin has built the largest solar farm on earth, with 4 million panels. It has already produced 3.6 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity since it started full operations in April 2023. This was a project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and was successfully completed rapidly to be ready for the opening of the UN’s COP 28 climate conference in Dubai.
Source: South China Morning Post, 24 November 2023.
