The signing of the treaty is a significant step in a global effort to protect the high seas, areas of the ocean beyond national borders. The high seas encompass two-thirds of the world’s oceans, but only about 1% currently have any kind of protected status.
The G20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, along with the EU, addressing major global economic issues. The African Union now has the same status as the EU offering a greater voice to African perspectives and interests.
The first doses are expected to arrive during the last quarter of the year, with rollout set to start in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone and Uganda by early 2024.
The Clean and Healthy Oceans strategy from the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization aims to curb land-based pollution of our oceans through policy and regulatory innovation, infrastructure investments, and nature-based solutions.
Nearly seven million deaths from COVID-19 have been reported to WHO, However, for more than a year the pandemic has been on a downward trend, allowing many around the world to largely return to relatively normality.
The advisory opinion, spearheaded by youth activists from Vanuatu, could impact thousands of lawsuits filed worldwide against governments for their inaction in addressing the crisis.
More than 190 countries have approved the UN High Seas Treaty, establishing a framework for creating new protected areas and includes provisions on transferring technology, sharing scientific findings, and coordinating the study of environmental threats.
The measure adopted by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission is seen as a major and potentially precedent-setting win for conservationists.
The Methane Alert & Response System, part of the UN Environment Programme’s International Methane Emissions Observatory, will be the first-ever publicly available global database of methane hot spots.
Launched two years ago, this first-of-its-kind initiative, known as Mikoko Pamoja (‘Mangroves Together’), raises money for its mangrove conservation by selling carbon credits to people and organizations eager to shrink their carbon footprint.
