New York, US (PANA) - Eight countries, including three from Africa, identified as the most affected by the illegal trade in ivory, have submitted national action plans to the UN-backed treaty for the conservation of endangered species. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The Malian government will ban the production, importation, possession, sale and use of non-biodegradable plastic bags, under a law passed in 2012, PANA reported from here Friday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN on Wednesday called on the world’s business community to incorporate disaster risk management in their investment strategies to avoid further losses, warning that economic losses from disasters had spun out of control. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A new UN study has said that less than one per cent of all patent applications relating to clean energy technology (CET) have been filed in Africa. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - As an estimated 50 billion birds commence their annual migrations, the critical staging areas they need to complete these journeys continue to be degraded or are disappearing completely, the UN warned on Saturday. Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) – The European Union (EU) has granted Togo 16.7 million euros (CFAF 11 billion) to support efforts by the West African country to provide its people good drinking water and clean environment in semi-urban areas, PANA reported here Friday, quoting an EU statement. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has granted Congo F CFA 108.5 million (US$217,500) for the implementation of a project aimed at supporting the formulation of a forest policy, according to an official statement issued here Friday. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - The latest round of climate talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) started Monday in the German city of Bonn, against a background of steeply rising global greenhouse gas emissions and a growing sense of urgency to take action to stave off the worst effects of climate change. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Representatives from governments in Africa and Asia have formed a network to support their efforts to factor climate change into their development plans, according to a statement issued Friday by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan, has commiserated with President Xi Jinping and the people of China over the massive devastation and loss of many lives caused by the earthquake which occurred in the country’s Sichuan Province Saturday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – The UN Forum on Forests concluded its 10th session in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday after agreeing on a series of measures to improve the sustainable management of forests and deciding to consider setting up a voluntary global fund to support this endeavour. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the World Bank Group President, Jim Yong, on Friday named members of the Advisory Board for the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, which is expected to kick off a major new phase of activity for this global public-private partnership. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Partial narratives that underpin policy making prevent people in arid regions from fulfilling their potential to provide food and sustain resilient livelihoods in a changing climate, according to findings of an international study published Friday by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The African Development Bank (AfDB) has unveiled a US$ 9.04 million grant for Zimbabwe's Urgent Water Supply and Sanitation Rehabilitation Project (UWSSRP) Phase One which aims at increasing the ''reliability, quality and availability of water'', PANA reported Wednesday. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Kenya can meet the UN's requirement of a 10 percent forest cover even before the set deadline of year 2030 through concerted efforts from the government, corporate organisations and individual efforts, says Green Belt Movement Executive Director Pauline Kamau. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Sweden is to provide US$6.7 million over four years to support West Africa's programme to reduce the region’s vulnerability to climate change. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF), on Friday opened calls for applications for “Momentum for Change: Financing for Climate-friendly Investment.“ Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - A downpour this week in the Nyabihu district in north-west Rwanda has caused massive flooding that damaged farms and destroyed 42 houses, the public radio reported on Friday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A political activist working to safeguard the Amazon rainforest and a businessman considered the "grandfather" of the Turkish environmental movement are among the winners of UN awards honouring individuals who have done extraordinary work to spotlight the special relationship between forests and people. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A massive fire fighting operation, mounted by a coalition of Libyan, Italian and British operatives, has brought the devastating forest fire in Libya's mountainous region of Ras Al-Hialal under control, the Libyan Prime Minister, Ali Zeidan, told a news conference here Monday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - From 9-12 April, 2013, the World Bank and Alcantara will co-host a series of panel discussions, entitled "Alcantara Dialogues - Connect4Climate: Re-think, Re-Design, Re-new", at the Temporary Museum for New Design during Milan's Design Week (April 9-14, 2013) in Italy. Full text...

Ebène, Mauritius (PANA) – The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) has launched three surveys in a bid to strengthen public policies and coordinate civil security, draft exceptional emergency procedures and improve the management of natural risks in the south-west islands of the Indian Ocean, official sources told PANA on Friday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - People who feel wronged by large scale land deals in Africa are taking a variety of steps to seek justice, according to new research that examined the accountability of public authorities that preside over such deals and asks whether legal empowerment offers citizens scope to expect fairer outcomes. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN member states and observer nations will meet in Istanbul, Turkey, from 8-19 April under the auspices of the UN Forum on Forests for its 10th session to consider a range of measures to improve sustainable forest management, a UN statement in New York said on Thursday. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The Congolese government and the World Bank - through the International Development Association (IDA) - Thursday in Brazzaville launched a forest and economic diversification project, estimated to cost US$32.6 million . Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Policies to increase food security in the global South focus too much on rural food production and not enough on ensuring poor people can access and afford food, especially in urban areas, said a report published Thursday by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Indian and Kenyan officials have agreed to strengthen their ties in wildlife conservation and management after talks between the Indian High Commissioner here, Sibabrata Tripathi, and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Director, William Kiprono. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - On the first International Day of Forests, celebrated by the UN Thursday, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva has proposed that countries support a Zero Illegal Deforestation target. Full text...

Balaclava, Mauritius (PANA) – A three-day experts’ meeting on climate change, sponsored by UNESCO, kicked off Wednesday in the northern Mauritius city of Balaclava. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - New systems for tracking the social impacts of efforts to adapt to climate change could soon be in place in Africa and South Asia, according to the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Full text...

Port Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - A UNESCO Regional Expert Meeting on Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development and Adaptation in Africa will hold at the Intercontinental Resort, northern Mauritius, 20-22 March. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - A new international alliance of research institutes has identified eight major shifts that must take place for humanity to achieve sustainable development, the UK-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) said Wednesday. Full text...

Washington, DC, US (PANA) - Young winners from 14 countries including Kenya, Malawi and Morocco have been honoured at a Connect4Climate (C4C) event in Washington DC, US, aimed at using music, photographs, videos to combat climate change. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) Wednesday began hosting a two-day meeting in Tunisia for the Board of Programme Directors of the ''Climate for Development in Africa Initiative (Clim-Dev). Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Experts in forest governance from ten countries in Africa and Asia are due to meet this week in China to take stock of their successes and frustrations over the past decade and learn how their hosts handle issues in the sector. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – The Congolese government is to build 300 houses at Mpila, in north-east of Brazzaville, the capital, where ammunition explosions took place on 4 March, 2012, according to the Congolese Minister of Territory Planning, Jean Jacques Bouya. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan and former US President Bill Clinton arrived in Nigeria's economic nerve centre of Lagos Thursday for the dedication of the new 5-million-square-metre Eko Atlantic City. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has written to Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure enforcement of the ruling by the ECOWAS Court of Justice in a case related to oil pollution in the Niger Delta. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Environment Ministers have gathered in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, to discuss the state of the world's environment, amid worries over the intensified poaching of elephants, rhinos and illegal trade in wildlife. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudan was on Monday elected chair of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Governing Council. Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) – Togo on Saturday launched a four-year project for an integrated management of disasters and lands. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – The Spanish Ambassador to Congo, Antonio de Maxarambroz Bernabeu, on Friday announced that the Spanish private company, Toxa, which specializes in forest management, will help Congo manage its forests, PANA learnt here from the Congolese ministry of Forestry and Sustainable Development. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat and the East African Development Bank (EADB) have signed a partnership agreement to establish a regional collaboration centre in Kampala, Uganda, in an effort to increase participation in clean development mechanism (CDM) projects. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Heavy rains which started on Tuesday evening, pounding the length and breadth of Mauritius, has virtually crippled the Island nation, according to a PANA Correspondent here. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Experts from 19 African countries on Tuesday began a three-day Pan- African conference aimed at taking stock of the sustainable management of land resources and the protection of natural forests and ensure sustainable fisheries, official sources in Kigali told PANA. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN on Monday launched the International Year of Water Cooperation, which seeks to provide a platform for countries to collaborate in the management of this precious resource in the interest of peace and development. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Republic of Chad has ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), becoming the 159th State to do so, a UN statement said on Monday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - US Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes has cautioned Tanzania’s wildlife management authorities about the sharp rise in illegal wildlife poaching across the country. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - In a landmark ruling, a court in Western Cape, South Africa, has convicted and sentenced a man for killing a Great White shark. Full text...

Monrovia, Liberia (PANA) - Nobel Peace Prize winner and Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, on Wednesday warned that economic losses, due to poor water and sanitation access globally, are costing US$ 260 billion every year. Full text...