News
Showing 226 - 250 of 598
598 results found
Nitrogen is a double-edged sword. The element is a key component in fertilizers and helps fuel the growth of essential crops like wheat and maize. But too much nitrogen can pollute the air, decimate soils and create lifeless “dead zones” in the ocean.
The ocean is home to marine life and to our food. It supports our livelihoods, cultures and economies. Marine pollution damages these aspects of our lives, and infringes on the human rights attached to them. Ensure your rights regarding oceans are being promoted, protected and respected.
A stroll along the beaches of Watamu, Kenya used to mean navigating a sea of garbage, including piles of plastic water bottles.
The trash marred what was otherwise an idyllic setting on the Indian Ocean – and it was toxic for the small town’s tourism industry.
But today, Watamu’s beaches are dramatically cleaner thanks to a novel recycling programme headed by the Watamu Marine Association, a grassroots organization.
The right to water and sanitation is recognized by the United Nations as essential to the realisation of all human rights. Water is vital for our survival and well-being. Claim your right to sufficient, safe, acceptable, accessible and affordable water for you and others.
All types of waste and pollution may impact on human rights. For instance, from their manufacturing to use, trade and disposal, hazardous waste can have adverse impacts on human health and ecosystems - infringing the rights of both. Exercise your rights and help address these adverse impacts.
Land is a cross-cutting issue that impacts directly on the enjoyment of a number of human rights.
The right to breathe clean air is one of the components of the right to a healthy environment. Air pollution negatively impacts on the enjoyment of many human rights, in particular the right to life and the right to health, especially in relation to vulnerable groups.
A safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is integral to the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including the rights to life, health, food, water, and sanitation. Without a healthy environment, we are unable to fulfil our aspirations or even live at a level commensurate with minimum standards of human dignity. At the same time, protecting human rights helps to protect the environment.
The exposure of people to toxic and harmful substances without their prior informed consent is a human rights issue. Toxic chemicals affect our rights to health, life, food, adequate standard of living and more. Duty-bearers should ensure a “non-toxic environment” for present and future generations.
Washington DC, 6 May 2021 - A Global Methane Assessment released today by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) shows that human-caused methane emissions can be reduced by up to 45 per cent this decade.
Bangkok, 20 April 2021 – The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced that it is working to fight plastic pollution using citizen science and machine learning, with technical advisory support from Google. With Google’s support, UNEP will create a new machine learning model that reveals a more detailed and accurate view of plastic pollution in the Mekong River.
For the better part of the last month the Flipflopi, a boat cobbled together from recycled plastic, has been circumnavigating Africa’s biggest lake, braving high winds and torrential rain to shine a light on pollution.
Last week, that journey came to an end as the 10-metre long vessel pulled into Mwanza, Tanzania, the last stop on a three-country, 850-kilometre voyage across Lake Victoria.
Deepika Hemrom’s parents pay her school fees with plastic. Not Master Card or Visa but actual plastic waste.
At least 155 states recognize their citizens have the right to live in a healthy environment, either through national legislation or international accords, like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Republic of Korea has recently turned to some high-tech devices in its ongoing fight against air pollution.
Last month, 5G-enabled autonomous robots began rolling through an industrial complex in the country’s south to monitor air quality. This week, thousands of miles above them, a Korean satellite began offering real-time air quality data to the public.
For much of the last three weeks, the Flipflopi, a dhow made from recycled plastic, including a helping of old sandals, has been calling into ports across Lake Victoria. The crew of the 10-metre-long vessel is on a mission to raise awareness about a tide of plastic choking Africa’s biggest lake – and to demonstrate that trash can be turned into treasure.
Nairobi, 30 March 2021 — Plastic pollution disproportionately affects marginalized communities and communities living in close proximity to plastic production and waste sites, constituting an environmental injustice, according to a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and environmental justice non-governmental organisation, Azul.
Brussels/Panamá, 29 March 2021 — The European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced common priorities for environmental cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) for the next five years, aimed at tackling the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution in the context of the region’s COVID-19 pandemic reco
Hidden in and around the muddy depths of the Mekong River is a wondrous animal world.
Here you can find catfish that weigh up to 300 kilograms and measure almost the length of a car. You might come across a dolphin that is known to communicate with humans to coordinate fishing expeditions. Or you could stumble upon something completely unknown: between 1997 and 2014, over 2,000 new species were discovered in the Lower Mekong Basin.
Globally, over 3 billion people are at risk of disease because the water quality of their rivers, lakes and groundwater is unknown, due to a lack of data.
World Water Day recognizes the value of water and the role it plays in sustaining life.
In 2018, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) joined forces with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to tackle what environmental experts call one of the world’s most dangerous addictions: single-use plastics.
The Flipflopi, a dhow made from recycled plastic, has set sail on its second voyage, taking to riverine communities in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya to highlight the importance of reversing the damage of plastic pollution to communities that depend on Lake Victoria.
Walking, cycling, picnicking in Nairobi’s lush Karura Forest, it is often hard to believe one is a mere two kilometres from the centre of one of Africa’s busiest cities. The woodlands are sprawling and serene, home to extraordinary biodiversity - indigenous plants and trees, 200 bird species, including Hawk and Africa Crowned eagles, owls, butterflies and colobus monkeys – which provide a sharp contrast to nearby fume-choked roads.
Women are playing a lead role in tackling some of the planet’s biggest environmental threats, from climate change to species loss, to pollution.
Showing 226 - 250 of 598