An IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems
As more frequent droughts and floods threaten the global food supply, humans are increasing their demands on water and land,... The New York Times reports.
Data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report:
• 500 million people are living in areas that are becoming desert.
• Soil is depleted at 10X-100X the rate it’s being formed.
• More than 10% of the global population is undernourished.
Major threats include the risk of “multi-breadbasket failure”—simultaneous food crises on several continents—and migration triggered by food shortages.
Good News/Bad News: Catastrophe can be avoided, but it would require massive changes to agriculture, food systems and behavior.
A Key Action: Eat less meat. Cattle production is driving deforestation, consuming huge amounts of water, generating methane and causing other impacts, notes Nature.
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The present report, which covers the period from January to December 2018, is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2427 (2018). The preparation of the report involved broad consultations within the United Nations, in the field and at Headquarters, and with relevant Member States. It hig...hlights global trends regarding the impact of armed conflict on children and provides information on violations committed from January to December 2018, as well as related protection concerns. Where possible, violations are attributed to parties to conflict and, pursuant to resolutions of the Council, the annexes to the present report include a list of parties that, in violation of international law, engage in the recruitment and use of children, the killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, attacks on schools and/or hospitals and attacks or threats of attacks against protected personnel,1 and the abduction of children.
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Supplement October 2010
HIV/AIDS, security and conflict: making the connections
Food Security in Indonesia
Water security, or having the right amount and quality of water in the right place at the right time, fosters social and economic progress. Where water is sufficient to meet demand, it can promote economy wide growth and enable countries to reach their food security, energy security, and human devel...opment goals. Where it is scarce, excessive, or unclean it can exacerbate multiple dimensions of poverty. Neither of these two worlds is protected from future water crises, which are heavily influenced by changing local circumstances
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Conceived as part of the CWS-A/P project on regional security and risk management, this book presents a
collection of testimonies from aid workers in some of the most insecure and volatile environments in the world.
The participants recount a broad array of security incidents, such as kidnappings,... suicide bombings, mob
violence, road ambushes, and point-blank range shootings. Their narrative provides valuable information on
how organizations can manage security risks and streamline safety policies.
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Effective risk communication requires the alignment of complex factors including trust between the communicator and the audience(s), audience involvement, and emotional responses to risk. Risk communication is especially challenging now as new media changes the landscape for both
communicators and... their audiences. Viewed as a discussion of the most important findings for risk communicators and managers, this report delves into research-driven recommendations for effective risk communication practices.
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Urban poor communities including the homeless, residents of informal settlements, residents at risk of being evicted, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), undocumented persons, low-income renters, as well as homeowners are perhaps at greatest risk from both COVID-19 and the response interventions to... it.
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This report presents three scenarios on the impact of COVID-19 in Africa using economic growth forecasts, mortality and efforts to ameliorate impact through social grants. Likely effects are examined on per capita income, poverty and the attainment of selected Sustainable Development Goals targets. ...Africa’s development trajectory has suffered a severe setback, with extreme poverty rising in all the scenarios. The pandemic threatens Africa in several ways, and the report provides policy recommendations to reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience.
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This policy brief examines the implications of COVID-19 and the government’s preventative measure for political stability,9 especially in the short to medium term. It argues that in the short term the disease and the preventative measures could make the country less vulnerable to organised politic...al violence and more vulnerable to riots. In the medium and long term, however, vulnerability to both types of violence could increase, depending on the capacity of political forces to instigate and manage conflict and on their willingness to work together.
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Food and nutrition security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is subject to the relentless impact of conflict, epidemics and climate events that have persisted in the country for decades, further compounded by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Lack of infrastructure and investment in agriculture, ...health and human capital development combine to impede progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17. While there are several legal instruments and policies that promote food and nutrition security, poor coordination, weak national capacity and exponential population growth present serious obstacles to the achievement of zero hunger. Political instability and siloed sectoral responses to humanitarian and development needs have also affected results to date.
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Interconnected Disaster Risks is a new science-based report for the general public from United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security. It was first published in 2021, and is set to become an annual report.
The Greater Horn of Africa is experiencing one of the worst food insecurity situations in decades. It is estimated
that more than 37 million people are in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)1 phase 3 or above and approximately 7 million children under the age of five are acutely mal...nourished in the region. While finding food and safe water is the absolute priority, the health response is essential to avert preventable disease and death.
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Medical care for people caught up in armed conflict and other insecure environments saves lives and alleviates suffering. It is one of the most immediate and high priority needs of an affected population and is often the first type of response activated and/or requested by authorities and affected c...ommunities. Medical teams working in armed conflict and other insecure environments
frequently face serious threats to their security and safety, challenges to patient access, and at times limited acceptance by affected communities in which they work and parties to the conflict. Such difficulties are likely to increase (6) and
thereby creating a critical need to establish contact and trust with all sides in conflicts and in other insecure environments to ensure operational continuity. This trust can best be achieved when all sides perceive the medical teams to be neutral, impartial, and independent, and specifically not aiding (or being perceived to aid) any one party to achieve a military, political or economic
advantage. For medical teams that are deploying increasingly closer to the frontlines, the implications of and consequences for both staff and patients of teams not being fully prepared, and/or not fully comprehending the context in which they work, can be severe. Medical response can easily be hindered or compromised by intentional or unintentional acts and the behaviour and
conduct of the teams themselves
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Climate-induced water insecurity poses one of the biggest threats to humanity and will lead to more hunger, disease and displacement
Oxfam water engineers are having to drill deeper, more expensive and harder-to-maintain water boreholes used by some of the poorest communities around the world, mo...re often now only to find dry, depleted or polluted reservoirs.
Today, during World Water Week, Oxfam publishes the first of its series of reports, “Water Dilemmas”, about the growing water crisis, in large part driven by global heating from greenhouse gas emissions. The report describes how climate change will impact water security in different regions, leading to more hunger, disease and displacement.
Carlos Calderon, Humanitarian Advocacy and Partnerships Lead for Oxfam Aotearoa said, “This new Oxfam research is focused on the global Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) situation, but it paints a picture that illustrates the complexity of elements that, combined, will continue to increasingly affect women, girls, boys and men in the decades to come. Changing weather, poverty, inequality, gender-based violence, political instability and conflicts are impacting the availability and quality of adequate water systems. All governments, particularly those from rich countries, should responsively take action at a global scale. The clock is ticking. Our children will judge us for our actions today, or for the lack of them.”
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