Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - USAID Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), David Harden, has announced a further US$127 million to deal with a deteriorating humanitarian situation caused by the El Niño extreme weather phenomenon in several parts of the Southern African region. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Friday marked the "International Tiger Day", with a call for urgent action to protect tigers and combat illegal trade in wildlife across the world. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Secretary-General of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), John Scanlon, on Friday said many African elephants continued to face serious threats to their survival from the illegal trade in ivory and unacceptable high levels of poaching. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) on Thursday warned of a possible rise in heatwave deaths globally, due to climate change, calling for measures to reduce mortality from the natural hazard. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Mangroves are rare and vital ecosystems that help to protect coastlines and mitigate the effects of climate change, but their survival is being jeopardized, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on Tuesday. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Africa’s environment leaders and experts have pledged to restore 100 million hectares of degraded forest lands by 2030 at a High Level roundtable underway in Kigali. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Wrapping up a visit to southern Africa, UN deputy humanitarian chief, Ms. Kyung-wha Kang, on Friday called for urgent action to assist millions of people across the region where local coping capacities have been impacted by the worst El Nino-induced drought in 35 years. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Two UN agencies have issued a technical handbook to assist humanitarian workers in addressing multifaceted problems related to cooking fuel for refugees and displaced people. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Global temperatures for the first six months of this year reached new highs, setting 2016 on track to be the hottest-ever on record, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - Forests have an acclaimed role as a carbon sink needed to tackle climate change, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) assured here but warned "Less known is how their contribution can be scaled up even after a tree has been logged." Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The lives and livelihoods of more than 60 millions people around the world have been turned upside down by the extreme weather events linked to the El Nino phenomenon, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said late on Tuesday, calling for a scaled-up, unprecedented response that goes beyond humanitarian action. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday invited leaders from all countries to attend a special event on 21 September at the UN headquarters in New York, to deposit their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - More than half of the world’s fragile coral reefs are under threat and most of major fish stocks are now over-exploited, according to the latest global assessment on the state of world’s high seas and large marine ecosystems, launched on Thursday by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The environment campaign group, Greenpeace Africa, has revealed that the DR Congo government has secretly breached its own moratorium on new logging titles by granting three concessions on a total of 650.000 hectares. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction Robert Glasser on Monday launched a new multi-year campaign that aims to reduce disaster losses, improve management of disaster risk, and save lives. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A new report by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Friday said that, while the 2015-2016 El Nino has ended, its devastating impact on children is worsening, as hunger, malnutrition and disease continue to increase following the severe droughts and floods spawned by the weather phenomenon. Full text...

Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) – Botswana has set aside plans to introduce an environmental levy on plastic shopping bags, while the debate on banning them continue. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Mr. Robert Glasser, has hailed an announcement by Canada, Mexico and the US that they will take sweeping action to achieve 50 per cent clean power generation by 2025 and cooperate on reducing disaster risk around the world. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson on Monday in New York said that healthy oceans are critical to maintaining life on the planet, noting their connection to sustainable development. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - One of the strongest El Nino events ever recorded has placed the lives of 26.5 million children at risk of malnutrition, water shortages and disease in 10 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Monday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Marking the Day of the Seafarer, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday highlighted the role of the shipping industry in moving forward the international agenda on sustainable development and climate change. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - The European Council late on Monday adopted a statement on the ratification of the Paris Agreement, the global legally-binding agreement on climate change adopted in December 2015. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim on Monday said that climate action should be everyone’s concern, at the opening of a two-day “Women’s Forum” 2016 in Mauritius attended by 350 local and foreign participants that include scientists, policy makers and business leaders from Africa, Europe and Asia. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Nearly 800 million people are undernourished as a direct consequence of land degradation, declining soil, fertility, unsustainable water use, drought and biodiversity loss, requiring long-term solutions to help communities increase resilience to climate change, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said on Friday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All), the global, multi-stakeholder platform that played a core role in putting universal access to modern energy services at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Paris climate agreement, is focusing on a new five-year strategy that will drive action and deliver on those promises. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - International wildlife charity, Born Free Foundation, has welcomed the Zambian authorities’ decision to suspend a highly controversial cull of 400 hippopotamuses a year over the next five years in the Luangwa River Valley, following a high-profile campaign led by Born Free and supported by international experts and Zambian nationals. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - A new UN report has confirmed that corrupt officials are at the heart of wildlife crime in many parts of the world, rather than terrorist groups or tribal peoples who hunt to feed their families. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Mauritius will host on 20 and 21 June 2016 the Women’s Forum global meeting which is a platform for highly influential women and men to reflect upon and share ideas and views on the crucial need to transform economies and societies across the world, PANA learnt on Saturday from official sources in the Mauritian capital. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A UN-backed partnership fund has approved an additional US$40 million to expand its support of a global programme fighting against illegal trafficking to a total of 19 countries in Africa and Asia. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) late on Thursday in New York released details of a new scientific tool tagged: "UN Sample of Cities", that measures the rate of global urbanization, its characteristics, and the potential effect of urban sprawl on the quality of life for city dwellers. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday commended a joint statement on climate change made by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama, announcing their support for early entry into force of the Paris Agreement, and encouraged all countries to accelerate their domestic processes to join or ratify it. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday stressed the need for meaningful action to protect future health of oceans, noting that, healthy oceans are critical to sustaining life on Earth, by regulating the climate and providing a wide range of services, including natural resources, nutritious food and jobs that benefit billions of people. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - International wildlife charity, Born Free Foundation, has condemned Zambia’s plan to kill 400 hippopotamuses a year over the next five years in the Luangwa River Valley, an area world-famous as a wildlife stronghold. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - To highlight growing concern for the health of the world’s marine Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yukiya Amano on Monday said the agency’s activities in promoting the peaceful application of nuclear science and technology would help UN member states to achieve their development goals, as well as in enhancing nuclear safety and security and implementing safeguards. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Marking the World Environment Day, which this year focuses on the Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Friday approved a resolution urging governments to adopt a single global carbon offset mechanism to address carbon emissions from international aviation at the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) later this year. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The multinational oil giant Shell must not be allowed to palm off its responsibility to clean up decades of oil pollution which continues to blight the Niger Delta, human rights watchdog Amnesty International has said ahead of the Nigerian government’s long overdue clean-up of Ogoniland, due to begin on Thursday. Full text...

Lomé, Togo (PANA) - Togo's Minister of Social Action, Advancement of Women and Literacy, Tchabinandi Kolani Yentcharé launched Tuesday at Tandjoaré in the Savannah zone, an operation to support victims of disasters which will cover three regions of the north, namely, Savannah, Kara and Central. Full text...

Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) – Botswana has announced plans to continue supporting the development of cultural and heritage sites across the country. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said it will launch a major Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Senior UN officials late on Thursday in New York said climate change plays a direct role in Africa's Sahel region’s security, development and stability by increasing drought and fueling conflict. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PAAN) – The first UN climate change meeting since governments adopted the landmark Paris Agreement ended Thursday in Bonn, Germany, amid a suite of positive outcomes that will support the treaty’s widely anticipated early entry into force and stronger, sustained action worldwide into the future. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya said Thursday the recent burning of tonnes of ivory was a pledge to end the trade while announcing plans to seek a total ban on ivory products globally. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Two UN entities have launched a global initiative to advocate for public policy to promote the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a catalyst for the transition to smart sustainable cities. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Environment ministers from around the world have Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Backed by A-list celebrities from across the globe, the United Nations on Wednesday launched an unprecedented campaign against the illegal trade in wildlife, which is pushing species to the brink of extinction, robbing countries of their natural heritage and profiting international criminal networks. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) – Environmental degradation and climate change are already moving millions of people from their homes every year and this trend will intensify without a collective response from the international community, William Lacy Swing, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned on Wednesday. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - The Mauritian Agro-industry Minister Mahen Seeruttun on Tuesday told Parliament that a total of 30,938 bats were culled during the period 6 November to 4 December 2015. Full text...