New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday called on all governments and peoples to play their part to ensure that the world’s oceans were protected for future generations, warning that they (oceans) face major threats in the years ahead. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Harmful practices such as bush fires, excessive cutting of timber and occupation of forest reserves in Mali are causing economic losses of about 61.2 billion FCFA per year, or 1 8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to the country, the Ministry of Environment and Sanitation disclosed to PANA here Wednesday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Ms. Christiana Figueres, on Monday called on governments to make progress in the fight against global warming, as well as build on commitments made last year. Full text...

Grand Baie, Mauritius (PANA) - Mauritian Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Deva Virahsawmy, Monday launched the concept of "zero plastic" to minimise the use of this product in the island. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The Congolese President, Denis Sassou Nguesso, here Friday urged the countries of the Amazon, Congo and Bornéo-Mékong river basins to unite if they are to take up the challenges of biodiversity conservation, environmental degradation, poverty and development. Full text...

New York,US (PANA) - UN Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro on Friday appealed for greater political will in both developed and developing countries to make the transition to the "green economy" a reality. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - A new study obtained by PANA here Friday has matched future climate change “hotspots” with regions already suffering chronic food problems to identify highly-vulnerable populations, mostly in Africa and South Asia, where in fewer than 40 years, the prospect of shorter, hotter or drier growing seasons could imperil hundreds of millions of already-impoverished people. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – The presidents of the Central African Republic (CAR), Sao Tome and Principe and Equatorial Guinea arrived in Brazzaville on Thursday to participate in the first summit of heads of state and government of the three tropical basins in the world slated for Friday in the Congolese capital. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – President Amadou Toumani Touré of Mali will Monday officially launch the 12th edition of the country's Environment fortnight, sources close to the environment and sanitation ministry revealed here. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) –The Congolese government has banned the production and importation of plastic bags, the country’s Minister of Communication, Bienvenu Okiémy, announced in Brazzaville, the capital, Thursday. Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) - The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Tuesday granted Togo FCFA 2,140,000,000 to enable the West African country build structures aimed at protecting and stabilizing its coastline, threatened by erosion, PANA learnt from official sources in Lomé. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - About 10 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from countries of the Congo Basin on Monday in Brazzaville condemned the non-involvement of local communities and autochthonous populations in the discussions of the summit of the three tropical forest basins of the world, whose meeting began here. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – Experts from the three basins of the world's tropical forest - the Amazon, Congo and Borneo Mekong - began here Monday to prepare grounds for the summit of heads of State and Government of the member countries of the organisation, scheduled for 31 May to 3 June. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - A summit on the three basins of the world's tropical forest - the Amazon, Congo and Borneo Mekong - will be held from 31 May to 3 June in Brazzaville, according to organisers. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Mali on Friday launched a project to construct six simple water supply systems in rural Dioro Farkou and Massa in the centre of the country. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday cancelled his scheduled trip to France for the Summit of Eight Industrialised Nations (G-8), a news release issued by Presidential Spokesman Ima Niboro disclosed. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The fifth Regional Consultation on flood preparedness and other natural disasters will hold 1-3 June in Cotonou, on the initiative of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for West and Central Africa (OCHA), according to an official statement. Full text...

Rabat, Morocco (PANA) - The Royal Air Morocco (RAM) traffic to European countries, which accounts for half of the company's routes, will not be disturbed in the coming days by Grimsvoetn Icelandic volcanic ash, PANA learnt in Rabat. Full text...

Toubacouta, Senegal (PANA) - The impact of climate change will vary depending on geographic location but will be most felt in Africa, the Chairman of Senegal National Committee on Climate Change, El Hadji Mbaye Diagne, said Tuesday inToubacouta, Fatick region (west-central Senegal). Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - An earthquake, measuring 2.5 on the Richter scale, struck several parts of Rwanda and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) early Monday but no damage or human loss was recorded, PANA learnt from the Volcano Observatory of Goma (OVG). Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - Congo wants to plant, over the next 10 years, one million hectares of forests to enhance its forest area and carbon sequestration, the head of the National Afforestation and reforestation programme (NARP ), Mrs. Rosalie Matondo, said here Saturday. Full text...

Niamey, Niger (PANA) - Niger's National Assembly on Friday passed a bill on the regeneration of ecosystems and the development of the Niger Valley, PANA learnt from parliamentary sources in Niamey. Full text...

Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - Two active volcanoes in Dr Congo are not monitored closely because of the poor state of the monitoring equipment, Kacho Karumu, the director of the Goma Volcano Observatory (GVO), told reporters on Thursday. Full text...

Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - Twenty elephants and nearly 100 monkeys were killed by poachers in the Okapi reserve in the north-eastern DR Congo (DRC) during the first quarter of this year, according to the District Commissioner of Ituri, Freddy Bosomba. Full text...

Niamey, Niger (PANA) - Niger will build 14,000 modern water points in rural and urban areas over five years for a total cost of 600 billion CFA francs, according to an official statement issued Thursday in Niamey. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) – A Ghanaian company, Toyola Energy Ltd, has been short-listed as one of the world’s eight finalists from Africa, India and Pakistan for the green energy prize for sustainable energy pioneers. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - The steering Committee of the Interim Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystems (GCLME) began a two-day meeting in Accra on Tuesday to deliberate on the next steps of implementing GCLME Strategic Action Programmes (SAP). Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Ms. Christiana Figueres, on Friday urged governments to step up the pace of negotiations on further reduction of emissions of hazardous greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged governments around the world to intensify efforts to minimize the road accidents by coming up with innovative plans to reduce their occurrences. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Kenyan authorities Tuesday demanded the formation of a joint water management committee before the Ethiopian government can begin the construction of a major hydro power project that could affect the flow of water into Lake Turkana. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – The French government is to grant Congo 200,000 euros to help organise a summit of the Three Basins of the World scheduled to take place from 30 May to 3 June in Brazzaville. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Thursday said an international arrangement that channels investment into clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction technology in developing countries has registered its 3,000th project. Full text...

Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Large parts of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, and its satellite towns were without water Thursday due to low production as a result of power shortages. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – The Congolese government and a US NGO, Congo Conservation Company, have signed an agreement for the development of ecotourism in the national park of Odzala-Kokoua, in northern Congo. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The world population is projected to reach seven billion on 31 October, according to the 2010 Revision of World Population Prospects, the official population projections prepared by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - As governments prepare to spend up to US$100 billion annually by 2020 to limit climate change and prepare for its impact, Transparency International (TI), the international anti-corruption society, is warning of the corruption risks of climate finance flowing through new, untested channels and recommends strengthening governance systems to tackle them. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Friday called for increased assistance to an estimated two million people affected by drought in Ethiopia. Full text...

Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - Alhagie Momodou Canteh, Director and Coordinator of Technical Services Network (DSTN) at the Gambian National Environment Agency (NEA), has said that the production and use of chemicals are fundamental to the economic activities and the development of all countries, whether industrialized or developing. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN/AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Wednesday said the residents of eight villages in Darfur will be among the first in the arid Sudanese region to have easy access to water under an initiative introduced by the mission. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro on Wednesday called on countries to embrace ``a low-carbon, resource-efficient, pro-poor economic model, which will ensure progress while also promoting harmony with nature''. Full text...

Ebène, Mauritius (PANA) - An international three-day conference on the conservation and use of medicinal plants in the developing small islands in the Indian Ocean and Madagascar opened Wednesday in Ebène, central Mauritius. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Mali and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Wednesday signed an agreement for the implementation of the Programme to Support the Promotion of Environment and Sustainable Development (PAGEDD), PANA learnt from official sources here. Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) - The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and the Togolese government, here Monday signed a financing agreement, to the tune of US$ 300,000, to support the National Laboratory of Building and Public Works (LNBTP) project, official sources told PANA Tuesday. Full text...

Libreville, Gabon (PANA) - The Gabonese government has banned the installation of communication antennas in protected areas, which can hinder the "Green Gabon policy of President Ali Bongo Ondimba". Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Friday announced the selection of a 40-member committee tasked with designing an international fund to manage resources mobilized to enable developing countries to address Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The French Development Agency (FAD) and the town council of Kayes (500 km from Bamako) Wednesday signed a contract, under which the French agency will grant Mali CFAF 295 million to clean up Kayes, an official source told PANA here. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Cocoa producers in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the world's top two cocoa producers, are to benefit from improvements in their productivity, while also contributing to the conservation of biodiversity in their regions. Full text...

Port Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Mauritian Minister of Energy and Utilities Rashid Beebeejaun said Wednesday that China would grant Mauritius 580 million yuan to enable the country to build a dam aimed at proving potable water for residents of Bagatelle, in the central part of the island. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Two initiatives aimed at protecting the environment in Rwanda are among 10 winners a programme initiated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN environment agency has said. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - A five-day workshop on the theme: "Restoration, conservation and valorisation of plant biodiversity in Africa", bringing together African and European researchers, political decision makers, as well as representatives of research organisations, and international institutions in the agricultural sector, began Monday in Dakar, Senegal. Full text...