In a bid to curb the unprecedented loss of the world's species due to human activity – at a rate some experts put at 1,000 times the natural progression – the United Nations is marking 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, with a slew of events highlighting the vital role the phenomenon plays in maintaining the life support system on Planet Earth. “Humans are part of nature's rich diversity...

The melting of Himalayan glaciers has been a bone of contention between international environmentalists and the Government of India. The government believes that some perceptions of the international environmentalists are alarmist. Now a new global report has sought to set aside that controversy by measuring the rate at which the Himalayan glaciers are melting. (The report enclosed below) The Himalayan glaciers are melting faster than the global average and the rate...

The United Nations today launched a pilot project to provide fuel-efficient stoves to some 150,000 women in Sudan and Uganda to cut the risks of murder, rape and other violence they face in gathering firewood, while at the same time protecting the environment. The Safe Access to Firewood and Alternative Energy in Humanitarian Settings (SAFE) stoves initiative organized by the World Food Programme (WFP) and other UN agencies, will be...

As one of its first steps towards reducing its greenhouse gas footprint, the United Nations – after one of the most wide-ranging and painstaking exercises in its history – announced today that it emits 1.7 million tons of carbon dioxide annually worldwide. That amount, more than half of which is generated by peacekeeping operations, represents just 3.3 per cent of emissions generated by New York City, the host city of...

World leaders arriving at the United Nations conference in Copenhagen next week will be greeted with over100 real-life stories demonstrating the devastating impact global warming has on lives and livelihoods of people around the world. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today installed the UN Climate Wall - high-tech touch-screens broadcasting the sights and sounds of a changing climate - near the conference hall where the majority of the world's heads...