Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Rwanda Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugees Affairs on Thursday warned of heavy rains and possible flooding especially in areas with rivers and landslide in the mountainous areas. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Heavy rains in several parts of Rwanda have left at least 41 persons dead and destroyed about 3,194 homes since mid-March when the rainy season started, authorities revealed Tuesday in Kigali. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, on Tuesday condemned the deadly attack perpetrated on 9 April against staff of the Virunga National Park in which six guards and their driver died. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - In 2017, solar energy dominated global investment in new power generation like never before, according to a new United Nations-backed report, which shows a steady move away from fossil fuel-based power production to ‘green’ power sources. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Authorities of Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Thursday strongly condemned the murder of a forest ranger by poachers, calling for drastic measures against wildlife criminals. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Climate change “is still moving much faster than we are,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Thursday, calling for the political will, innovation and financing to cut global emissions by at least 25 per cent over the next two years. Full text...

Gambia, Gambia (PANA) - Hundreds of youths from a Gambian coastal fishing town, Gunjur, about 25 kilometres from Banjul, on Thursday protested against a Chinese company that they allege is polluting their environment and the sea. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The United Nations on Thursday launched a decade for action on water that seeks to forge new partnerships, improve cooperation and strengthen capacity to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Full text...

Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - Hurricanes, monsoon floods and continuing severe drought made 2017 the costliest year ever for severe weather and climate events, according to a new report by the United Nations weather agency launched on the eve of World Meteorological Day. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The second African Climate Talks opened in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Thursday with participants discussing issues of climate governance and Africa’s participation in global climate negotiations, weather and climate information services, among other topics. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) – Recalling that the right to safe drinking water is a human right essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights, the European Union (EU) on Wednesday reaffirmed that all States are expected to fulfil their obligations regarding access to safe drinking water, which must be available, accessible, safe, acceptable, and affordable for all without discrimination. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Thursday hosts the second edition of the African climate talks under the theme, ‘Contributing to the Talanoa dialogue’, on the initiative of the African Centre for climate policy of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Centre for environmental sciences of Addis Ababa University. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - With two-thirds of the world’s population expected to live in urban areas by 2050, forests are critical part of the solution to the unprecedented demand for water, food and energy that these cities will face, senior United Nations officials said on Wednesday, on the International Day of Forests. Full text...

Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire (PANA) - Though Africa hosts a considerable number of timber-exporting countries, most of these exports are primary products, with little value addition, according to a new report by the African Natural Resources Centre of the African Development Bank. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The World Bank, through the International Development Association (IDA), has released US$ 27.8 million (about 14.9 billion CFAF), half of which is a loan and the other a donation, for the economic and environmental renovation of the Niger River. Full text...

Brasilia, Brazil (PANA) - The report by the High Level Panel on Water (HLPW), presented at the ongoing 8th World Water Forum (WWF) in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, has warned that nearly 40% of the world's population, or 2.5 billion people, live in regions facing water scarcity. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - Investing in green spaces can help transform cities into more sustainable, resilient, healthy, equitable and pleasant places to live, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as it celebrates International Day of Forests on Wednesday. Full text...

Brasilia, Brazil (PANA) - Global water use has increased by a factor of six over the past century, twice the rate of population growth, and its scarcity is now a looming human challenge due to a host of factors ranging from climate change and pollution to lack of capacity and infrastructure. Full text...

Washington, US (PANA) -- The worsening impacts of climate change in three densely populated regions of the world could see over 140 million people move within their countries’ borders by 2050, creating a looming human crisis and threatening the development process, according to a new World Bank Group report released on Monday. Full text...

Brasilia, Brazil (PANA) - The World Water Council (WWC) on Monday renewed its appeal to governments of all countries to make of the access to water for every human their first priority through the increase in investment budgets in water sustainable infrastructure. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Five people died on Thursday after being swept away by flash floods while attempting to cross River Enziu in Kitui County, eastern Kenya, as heavy rains pounded the country. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A High Level Panel on Water consisting of 11 Heads of State and a Special Advisor has issued a New Agenda for Water Action calling for a fundamental shift in the way the world manages water so that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular SDG6, can be achieved. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Lightning, flash floods and rainstorms have claimed at least 33 lives in Rwanda since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs said here on Wednesday. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Heavy rains, triggered by strong winds, on Tuesday pounded the Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali, knocking down trees and power lines and leaving behind several damages, PANA reported here. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The Minister of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Zweli Mkhize, on Tuesday declared that the drought that has gripped the country has been declared a national disaster. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The Kenyan Government is gazetting 70 water towers in different parts of the country in order to ensure that water production is boosted for now and posterity. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Kenya government on Wednesday launched an ambitious project aimed to extend the country’s forest cover from 7 per cent to 15 per cent by 2022. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – Cape Town, which has experienced a major drought on Wednesday, received a welcome reprieve with news that its taps will not run dry this year. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - The Rwandan Government, in collaboration with the Rwanda Red Cross, has distributed about $18,000 worth of humanitarian aid to flood-affected households and schools in Rubavu, a district about 160 km from Kigali, in northwest Rwanda, according to an official statement released on Tuesday in Kigali. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday appointed Michael R. Bloomberg, the former Mayor of New York City, as his Special Envoy for Climate Action. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Monday launched a new online platform for reporting on the status and trends of the world's forest resources. Full text...

Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) - Significant strides made in wildlife conservation in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region face severe threat from high levels of commercial poaching and illegal trade, fuelled by the growing demand in the illicit market, the grouping’s Executive Secretary, Stergomena Lawrence Tax said on Saturday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Big cats, the planet’s most majestic predators, are under increasing threat – mostly caused by human activities – and on this year’s World Wildlife Day, the United Nations is joining the world in raising awareness to their plight and galvanizing support for the many actions already under way to safe these iconic species. Full text...

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (PANA) - Côte d'Ivoire's Vice President, Daniel Kablan Duncun, will head the Ivorian delegation to the inaugural summit of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) due to take place from 9-12 March in New Delhi, India, an official source here told PANA on Thursday. Full text...

Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - Gambian minister of environment, Lamin Dibba, has said that the government is committed to protecting the natural environment in a bid to contribute to the socioe-conomic development of the country. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board meeting in Songdo, South Korea, has approved a combined total of US$ 84.5 million for two Zambian project proposals in agriculture and energy that Zambia submitted and triggers additional financing. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – In the aftermath severe rainfall deficits recorded by the end of January 2018 across the Southern African region, countries are undertaking assessments to ascertain the impact, which is expected to be significant, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said on Tuesday. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) – A three-day International Conference on Lake Chad opened on Monday in Abuja with the Nigerian government reiterating its commitment towards all programmes and policies to restore the Lake Chad Basin. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is embarking on a project aimed at rehabilitating wetlands and wildlife corridors of Lake Chad. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) -The Kenya Government on Wednesday began translocating 21 elephants from the Mount Kenya region to the Indian Ocean coast in a bid to end human-wildlife conflict. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Heavy rains have damaged large acres of crops, destroyed 26 houses and affected dozens of people in Ntoma, a village in northeastern Rwanda, officials said on Wednesday. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - As many countries prepare to mark Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is calling on people to end their “toxic relationship” with single-use plastic and find “new love,” with more environmentally sustainable options. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Eleven years after 540,000 litres of toxic waste were dumped in Côte d’Ivoire’s economic capital, Abidjan, victims are still in the dark about the potential long-term impacts on their health, Amnesty International said Wednesday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Persistent drought, complex conflict and political dynamics continue to drive high humanitarian needs and serious protection concerns in the Horn of Africa, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in a new report released on Monday. Full text...

Port Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Torrential rains have since Wednesday night lashed Mauritius, flooding hundreds of homes in various parts of the island, PANA reported on Thursday. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The Western Cape, which is facing its worst drought in history, has called on President Jacob Zuma to declare a national disaster if the city of Cape Town runs out of water. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Elephants, giraffes, rhinos and other magnificent mammals targeted in wildlife conservation areas of Central Africa are under threat of extinction, caught in the crosshairs of armed groups and highly-militarized poachers, the United Nations environment wing warned on Friday. Full text...

Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) – The upward trend in global temperatures marked by record-shattering warmth in 2015 and 2016 kept pace last year, with the United Nations weather agency warning Thursday that continued pressure on the Arctic in 2017 will have “profound and long-lasting repercussions on sea levels, and on weather patterns in other parts of the world.” Full text...

Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) – Three independent experts appointed by the UN have expressed concerns about recent reports that indigenous Sengwer peoples in western Kenya have been attacked and forcibly evicted from their homes. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - A team of researchers at University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology (CST) has developed a new bottom–up modeling approach to climate change that will focus on improving the country's research capacity in Astrophysics, Space, an official source confirmed on Monday to PANA in Kigali. Full text...