Twenty years ago, on 29 January 2000, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The Cartagena Protocol entered into force on 11 September 2003. The Cartagena Protocol is a milestone achievement under the Convention on Biological Diversity, making a significant contribution to protecting biodiversity by requiring the safe…
Reforestation may not be sufficient for fighting climate change
In early July, a study in Science made global headlines: Earth could carry 4.4 billion hectares of canopy cover, which is 900 million more than today. Through reforestation, 205 gigatons of carbon dioxide could be removed from the atmosphere and climate change effectively slowed down. Scientists at the University of Bonn and World Agroforestry consider these figures strongly…
Uganda: Wildlife Rangers trained on combating trafficking
A training workshop to increase the expertise of law enforcement officers to combat wildlife trafficking began today in Entebbe, Uganda. The training workshop hosted by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in partnership with International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) aims to equip officers stationed at the Entebbe International Airport from: the wildlife authority, customs, immigration,…
West Africa to experience a rise in climate-induced rainfall
Results from a study carried out by scientists from World Agroforestry (ICRAF), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and Université de Ouagadougou indicate that West Africa will experience an increase in the number of extreme rainfall events in the 21st century, thanks to climate change. These results of the study funded by the…
Bamboo the next frontier of conservation, health and Nutrition
By Checky Abuje Bamboo is one of the most versatile and sustainable plants grown today. And as the world marks Bamboo day, the message remains “bamboo growing” is the new frontier in environmental conservation and preservation. In Sub Saharan Africa, bamboo growing is taking shape, with Research showing that Bamboo is the fastest growing plant…
Securing jobs and growth from natural resources
Africa’s plant species is a high-growth economic sector capable of creating skilled and unskilled jobs, stimulating technology development, protecting the environment and biodiversity, and generating valuable foreign exchange from exports. According to representatives of more than 40 African meeting in Cape Town, South Africa recently, Africa’s biodiversity is in high demand internationally for their health,…
Water holds the key to restore degraded land
The international community has been urged to set up a global water action agenda as the central theme to achieve land degradation neutrality. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India announced at the ministerial segment of the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification that opened in…
Africa bans live elephants exports
The Parties at the 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP 18) of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) voted last Sunday 17 August to end the trade in the live African elephant’s exports, a common practice in Zimbabwe and Botswana. For Foundation Franz Weber (FFW), an organization that…