In 2024, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) recorded 393 natural hazard-related disasters. These events caused 16,753 fatalities and affected 167.2 million people. Economic losses totaled US$241.95 billion. The year 2024 was marked by extreme temperature events in Asia that caused thousands of deaths, severe droughts in Africa affecting over 25 …
British archaeologists have found an example of extreme climate change and a bloody resource war in the disappearance of an ancient South American civilisation. The Nasca, who once flourished in the valleys of south coastal Peru and disappeared around 1,500 years ago, helped to cause their own demise by damaging …
Humanity has made enormous progress in the past 50 years toward eliminating hunger and malnutrition. Some five billion people--more than 80 percent of the world's population--have enough food to live healthy, productive lives. Agricultural development has contributed significantly to these gains, while also fostering economic growth and poverty reduction in …
In those South American countries where forest plantations are important or have potential for development, investment in them is one option for creating jobs.
The Mayans penchant for building places of worship brought their downfall In 2001, when a hurricane ripped through the jungles of northern Guatemala, an uprooted tree at the base of the ruins of a pyramid exposed stones bearing one of the longest texts of hieroglyphs ever found. The inscriptions belong …
Lack of international recognition of fundamentals of Brazilian history has arguably been a key factor leading to a clash of concepts of international responsibilities and national rights which has inhibited past conservation efforts in respect of Brazil
While developing countries face the most serious threats of any nations from the physical, economic and social impacts of climate change, there also exist enormous opportunities for these countries to adopt new technologies and sustainable development frameworks that will significantly reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The predominant view of …
The world's commercial fisheries, pressured by overfishing and threatened with possible collapse by mid-century, could be rebuilt with careful management, researchers reported on Thursday. In fact, a fisheries expert who in 2006 predicted total global collapse of fish and seafood populations by 2048 is more optimistic of recovery, based on …
Contrary to the popular assumption that the new swine flu pandemic arose on factory farms in Mexico, federal agriculture officials now believe that it most likely emerged in pigs in Asia, but then traveled to North America in a human. But they emphasized that there was no way to prove …
This publication reports on the human and economic losses caused by natural disasters in 2008 with figures based on the EM-DAT database with comparisons to previous years. It asserts that although fewer disasters occurred in 2008, events had a larger impact than usual on human settlements. In 2008 once again, …
A comparison between TRMM PR rainfall estimates and rain gauge data from ANEEL and combined gauge/satellite data from GPCP over South America (SA) is made. In general, the annual and seasonal regional characteristics of rainfall over SA are qualitatively well reproduced by TRMM PR and GPCP. It is found that …
Renewable sources accounted for 56 percent of investment dollars, worth $140 billion, while investment in fossil fuel technologies was $110 billion according to this new UN report. It highlights how investment in developing countries in 2008 had surged forward by 27 percent to $36.6 billion, and now accounted for nearly …
This new report by Greenpeace International, European Solar Thermal Electricity Association (ESTELA) and IEA SolarPACES outlines how under an advanced industry development scenario, concentrating solar power, could meet up to 7% of the world
The world's forests are at risk of becoming a source of planet-warming emissions instead of soaking them up like a sponge unless greenhouse gases are controlled, scientists said. Deforestation emits 20 percent of the world's carbon dioxide when people cut and burn trees, but standing forests soak up 25 percent …
Venezuela was hit by a 4.3 magnitude earthquake, authorities said on Sunday, though there were no reports of damage or harm to the OPEC nation's oil industry. "Fortunately we have no reports of damage. We know many people are evacuating residences, overall in Caracas, we call on them to stay …
One of the most destructive developments in agriculture over the past two decades has been the boom in soya production in the southern cone of Latin America. The corporations that led that boom are now moving aggressively into sugar cane, focusing on large tracts of land in southern countries where …
