As climate change and population growth bring more water scarcity, drought-hit villages are are adapting - but conflict over limited water is growing

KWAMUSI, South Africa (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A At the height of the 2015 drought that parched South Africa's eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, Julie Mkhize had to pull carcasses of dead cows from the dried riverbed near her village, after the desperate animals perished seeking water.

• A new modeling study finds that largely unrestricted “business-as-usual” Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado deforestation could result in the loss of an estimated 606,000 square kilometers of forest by 2050, leading to local temperature increases of up to 1.45 degrees Celsius, in addition to global rises in temperature.
• Under a Brazil Forest Code enforcement model, researchers predict deforestation would be limited to 79,000 square kilometers, with reforestation occurring over 110,000 square kilometers, leading to an average local increase of just 0.02 degrees Celsius.<

Abrupt climate change some 8,000 years ago led to a dramatic decline in early South American populations, suggests new UCL research.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, is the first to demonstrate how widespread the decline was and the scale at which population decline took place 8,000 to 6,000 years ago.

PRESIDENT John Mangufuli has smelt a rat in the distribution of 5,975 hectares of land repossessed from Kaunga and Mbarali rice farms and directed Mbeya regional authorities to submit the names of all beneficiaries to his office. The land in question meant for ditribution to villagers in the area but President Magufuli suspected that it could have landed in wrong hands. 

We cannot talk about traditional knowledge without talking about the right to land, territories and resources – for us, it is ecosystem-based and language-based – they are linked to each other, environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim told Landscape News.

• Widespread use of fuelwood and charcoal for cooking and heating is a notable barrier to achieving development and conservation goals in sub-Saharan Africa, yet previous attempts at introducing better fuel technologies have largely failed.
• To address energy use at the source, recent efforts are underway that seek to improve adoption of new technologies, such as solar-powered equipment or efficient cookstoves, in rural communities.

The project may prove to be biggest effort so far to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

NEW YORK - A Dublin-based company plans to erect "mechanical trees" in the United States that will suck carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, it said on Monday, in what may prove to be biggest effort to remove the gas blamed for climate change from the atmosphere.

MONROVIA – Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), a global non-governmental organization and its local partner, the National Housing Authority (NHA) have completed the first step in developing Voluntary Gender Responsive Relocation Policy Guidelines (VGRRPG) to provide a framework for planned voluntary processes, under the Cities Alliance led Liberia Country Program and supported by the University of East London.

A study conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources showed that 180 of 421 rivers and other bodies of water nationwide are so heavily polluted they may soon be declared biologically dead. The DENR study showed that the biggest culprit was domestic sewage followed by commercial and industrial wastes.

If the Philippines will not protect its rivers and rehabilitate those dying and dead ones, the people will definitely face a dire consequence: ecological catastrophe and economic debacle.

MIRI: A group of Malay villagers in Kampung Usahajaya Tukau near Miri held a peaceful demonstration Sunday (April 28) to highlight their fears over their fate.

The villagers said they have received news that a private developer had acquired a parcel of land for development and that their village will be partially affected.

Sarawak PAS commissioner Jefri Jaraiee said the villagers had approached the party to raise their concerns.

"The residents want the village to be protected. They said they have received notices that a developer had taken over their land.