More than a fifth of the world's migrating species are at risk of going extinct as a result of climate change and human encroachment, according to this report by the United Nations. Migratory species globally are facing critical challenges, with nearly half in decline and over 20 per cent threatened …
This report provides an overview of financial transaction mechanisms and related enabling frameworks that aim to protect and restore nature. The true value of the benefits that humans gain from nature is usually not reflected in economic transactions. Attaching a monetised value to these benefits is a necessary step towards …
Soil pollution is a chemical degradation process that consumes fertile soils, with implications for global food security and human health. Soil pollution hampers the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including achieving zero hunger, ending poverty, ensuring healthy lives and human well-being, halting and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss, …
To launch the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, UNEP has released this synthesis report as a call to action for anyone and everyone to join the #GenerationRestoration movement to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. Becoming #Generation Restoration: Ecosystem Restoration for People, Nature and Climate synthesizes evidence …
Climate change will increase the risk of pests spreading in agricultural and forestry ecosystems, especially in cooler Arctic, boreal, temperate and subtropical regions warns this scientific review of the impact of climate change on plant pests released by FAO Climate change represents an unprecedented challenge to the world’s biosphere and …
Coral reefs have exceptional levels of biodiversity and provide important social and ecological services, including food, coastal protection, recreation, tourism, and cultural connections. However, local stressors and climate change are causing a sharp decline in coral reefs and the more than 230 international agreements with coral reef provisions have failed …
The report addresses the extent and future trends of soil pollution, considering both point source and diffuse soil pollution, and describes the risks and impacts of soil pollution on health, the environment and food security – including land degradation and the burden of disease resulting from exposure to polluted soil. …
This policy brief highlights how human health is directly linked to the state of biodiversity and climate change in the Asia-Pacific region. Improving human health and mitigating against future health disasters requires simultaneously addressing these causative factors in an integrated fashion.
Arctic wetlands play a number of crucial environmental roles, but they continue to be degraded and lost, with potentially dire global consequences. This report offers insights and identifies knowledge gaps, with the aim of supporting sustainable development and resilience in these areas. Arctic wetlands store an enormous amount of global …
A drastic drop in caribou and shorebird populations is a mirrored image of the dire modifications unfolding on the Arctic tundra, based on a new report from the Arctic Council. The terrestrial Arctic spans roughly 2.7m sq miles (7m sq km), marked by excessive chilly, drought, sturdy winds and seasonal …
The UNEP report is the final “report card” on the goal of protecting at least 17 per cent of land and inland waters, and 10 per cent of the marine environment, by 2020. Progress currently stands at 16.6 per cent on the first target, while the marine target stands at …
As humanity’s demand on natural resources is increasingly exceeding Earth’s biological rate of regeneration, environmental deterioration such as greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere, ocean acidification and groundwater depletion is accelerating. As a result, the capacity of ecosystems to renew biomass, herein referred to as ‘biocapacity’, is becoming the material …
Working with nature can help prevent the worst impacts of climate change, and biodiversity and ecosystem loss. Nature-based solutions offer ways to do this. Science and policy have begun to recognise their potential. The knowledge base is expanding rapidly, with gaps identified and plans to fill them. However, challenges for …
Environment statistics enumerate various aspects of the environment and human interactions with it. The scope of environment statistics encompasses all dimensions of the environment, be it Earth, Water or Air, the biotic and abiotiv matter found within the natural environment, and various concerns arising out of impacts of human footprints …
COVID-19 has led to a global crisis threatening the lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable by increasing poverty, exacerbating inequalities, and damaging long-term economic growth prospects. The report, Are We Building Back Better? Evidence from 2020 and Pathways for Inclusive Green Recovery Spending, provides an analysis of over 3500 …
This report is an assessment of the outcomes of two ecosystem-based adaptation projects from these programmes in Purushwadi and Bhojdari villages. The report shows how EbA can help build systemic resilience in ecosystems and communities. The climate crisis is particularly acute in India. The latest research predicts a rise in …
This paper explores the role of the global food system as the principal driver of accelerating biodiversity loss. It explains how food production is degrading or destroying natural habitats and contributing to species extinction. The paper outlines the challenges and trade-offs involved in redesigning food systems to restore biodiversity and/or …
This brief examines the importance of peri-urban ecosystems and outlines possible policy responses in India to preserve and manage these areas to contribute to sustainable and climate-resilient development. While the brief provides a general overview of peri-urban areas in India, acknowledge that approaches to these areas need to be sensitive …
The UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2020 finds that while nations have advanced in planning, huge gaps remain in finance for developing countries and bringing adaptation projects to the stage where they bring real protection against climate impacts such as droughts, floods and sea-level rise. Public and private finance for adaptation …
Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) has the potential to generate economic returns and provide multiple benefits, such as improved health, biodiversity protection, food security, and alternative livelihood opportunities, all of which can build resilience to climate change. With over 10 years of application in global and local contexts, EbA has emerged as …
The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation has initiated the work of compilation of environmental accounting under the “Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services” Project. Apart from compiling and releasing three publications on environmental accounts under the title “EnviStats India”, the Ministry has also set up a mechanism …
