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Beekeeping relieves land degradation in Kyrgyzstan
Biodiversity
Persistent organic pollutants in the marine food chain
Marine mammals are a window on the pollutant concentration trends affected by global changes.
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Behind the number — Our world at 7 billion
Looking behind the global population figure reveals different worlds, many challenges and a raft of contradictory policies to address them.
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Food
Future of food in Japan
Uncertainty clouds the future for healthy food-loving Japanese. Can food self-sufficiency be increased?
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Biodiversity
Can the commons move from margins to mainstream?
An expert explains the history and significance of the commodification of the commons and offers strategies for 'commoners'.
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Oil
Converting geothermal knowledge into megawatts
A Ph.D. Fellow at the UNU Geothermal Training Programme explains why geothermal energy is key for developing nations like hers.
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Climate
Scientists denounce climate change denial, censorship
Canadian media coverage of climate change has fallen by 80% due to the conservative government's restrictive policies.
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Climate
What ever happened to the Green New Deal?
Nearly three years since the signing of the G20 Global Green New Deal, a UNU-IAS Ph.D. Fellow surveys action on the plan.
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Climate
Revealed: fossil fuel reserves match climate negotiating positions
Recent fossil fuel data suggests that an overlooked correlation may explain why we’re not solving climate change.
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Biodiversity
Fishy decision: Herring stock depletion in Canada
Illustrating stock mismanagement in perhaps many corners of the globe, naturalist Briony Penn looks at one fishery that is close to her heart.
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Oil
Why the energy-industrial elite has it in for the planet
Tom Engelhardt of TomDispatch.com introduces an essay by Bill McKibben on the global "carbon bubble" and how the fossil fuel industry profits.
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Climate
Communicating climate science online
Communication of scientific research in all areas is being transformed by the web and social media.
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Oil
From melon to haircuts, prices rise for Nigerians
Nigerian journalist Armsfree Onomo Ajanaku looks at the link between Nigerian fuel subsidies and the recent food price protests.
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Biodiversity
Can no-take fishery reserves help protect our oceans?
Fish stocks are being overfished and important habitats are being lost or degraded at an unprecedented rate.
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Biodiversity
From mountain to sea: A vision for the rebuilding of Tohoku
An oyster farming author shows how tsunami-hit Tohoku should rebuild by tapping into the region's rich traditions.
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Biodiversity
Put people at core of sustainable development: UN report
A new report by a high-level panel urges leaders to focus on the long-term resilience of planet and people.
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Biodiversity
Revitalising socio-ecological production landscapes
In dealing with today's sustainability challenges, what can we learn from millenia of harmonious interactions between humans and nature?
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Mind the gap: Development options for Delhi’s metro
Despite its carbon credentials and fast progress, Delhi's metro has been a controversial issue of urban policy-making.
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Biodiversity
Green economy and growth: Fiddling while Rome burns?
A UNU-IAS research fellow argues that a truly green economy can't hinge solely on technology but must be a revolution of democracy and equality.
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Biodiversity
Debate 2.0: Shark fin or sharks finished?
Do you think a blanket ban on harvesting shark fins can be considered culturally insensitive?
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Oil
Indian villagers’ lives transformed by new energy delivery system
Solar micro grids set up by a social enterprise are helping the poorest to stay connected and stop relying on kerosene.
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Biodiversity
Creating visibility for forests worldwide
UN Forum on Forests Director speaks about her highlights from the International Year of Forests in 2011.
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New visions of sustainable development governance
A team of scholars and policymakers is identifying reform options for sustainable development governance.
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Oil
Danger waters: Top spots of potential conflict in the geo-energy era
As demand rises and supply dwindles, we are entering an era in which disputes over resources will predominate.
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Food
Sahel’s food crisis gets swift response but no long-term answers
Governments are acting earlier this time, but this region's food insecurity is destined to continue.
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Oil
Responding to North Korea’s ecological vulnerability
The UN can place a greater emphasis on incentivizing the DPRK government to embrace sustainable development.
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Food
Creating an ecology of hope
In a candid Q&A, author Frances Moore Lappe talks about how to shift our mental map so as to sync human nature with nature’s rhythms.
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Climate
Investing in global climate solutions
In his ‘Sustainable Planet’ column, Jacob Park explores the United Nations climate convention-sponsored Green Climate Fund.
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Oil
Sustainable energy for all
The United Nations General Assembly has declared that 2012 is the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.
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2011 — The year of living dangerously
The Our World 2.0 editors take a look back at the momentous year that was.
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Climate
Climate change is not child’s play
A new UNICEF study looks at the climate vulnerability of children in the East Asia and the Pacific.
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Climate
Climate change diplomacy and small island developing states
Developed countries should contribute to transparent and fair mechanisms to help small island developing states adapt to climate change.
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Biodiversity
Beyond the ‘resource curse’
Expert Raphael Kaplinsky discusses why industrialized and low- and middle-income countries need to look past their current idea of resources.
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Biodiversity
Biodiversity in Kanazawa: Winter’s lesson
A look at many features of Kanazawa’s cityscape that have developed in response to the winter climate.
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Climate
Why is it so hard to save the biosphere?
Agreements to bail out banks happen in days – but despite some good progress at Durban, we still don't have a legally binding deal to bail out the planet.
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Oil
Is oil fueling the rise in US political partisanship?
Could discontent sparked by an uptick in volatility in oil prices be one reason behind why American politics of late seems to have gotten so much nastier?
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Biodiversity
Lessons from the seasons: Biodiversity in Kanazawa
An innovative UNU multi-media project explores how biodiversity influences cultural traditions in a Japanese city.
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Biodiversity
Permaculture pioneers — Stories from the new frontier
A new book featuring 25 permaculturists illustrates that ordinary people need not wait for experts and governments to lead the way to sustainability.
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Climate
Mali in the frontlines of climate change
A Young Scholar from the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre discusses climate change adaptation in one of the world's most vulnerable countries.
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Biodiversity
Ethics and environmentalism: Costa Rica’s lesson
Global environmental indicators all seem to be heading the wrong way and yet positive trends continue to emerge from a small Central American nation.
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Biodiversity
Education is the answer to sustainable development
The right information and education can change people’s values and behaviours, encouraging them to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.
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