"This year, we’ve seen the worst drought ever. Usually, the rivers run dry here in this southern part of Zambia by July, but this year, they were empty already by May. The little water we have left is just enough for us- the people and the cattle. We have no water to raise any crops." - Juliette Machona, a villager living in Choma, Zambia   Juliette is 35 years old, with four kids. When she finished secondary school in Zambia, her parents couldn’t afford to send her to university, which cost USD $2,000 per year, given that the country’s minimum wage is about...

A medida que la covid-19 se sigue cobrando vidas y desestabilizando las economías de todo el mundo, es casi inimaginable pensar en las pandemias que pueden venir después de esta. Pero es precisamente lo que tenemos que hacer si queremos reducir el riesgo de futuras enfermedades que volverían a devastar vidas, perjudicar las economías y cambiar el mundo tal como lo conocemos. Al menos el 60% de las enfermedades infecciosas emergentes son de origen zoonótico, lo que significa que son causadas por patógenos que se transmiten entre humanos y otros vertebrados, en la mayoría de los casos, fauna silvestre. Cada vez hay más pruebas de...

As COVID-19 continues to take lives and disrupt economies across the world, it is almost unfathomable to think about pandemics that may come after this one. But today, on World Zoonoses Day, we need to do exactly that if we are to reduce the risks of future diseases that may once again devastate lives, damage economies, and change the world as we know it. At least 60% of emerging infectious diseases are of zoonotic origin, meaning they are caused by pathogens that are shared between humans and other vertebrates – in most cases, wildlife. There is growing evidence that human actions to...

More than 30% of the world’s land area is covered by forests. FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 found that despite a slowing of the rate of deforestation in the last decade, some 10 million hectares are still being lost each year through conversion to agriculture and other land uses. Although large-scale commercial agricultural production is the greatest culprit, local subsistence agriculture also plays a role in forest degradation and deforestation. As such, halting deforestation will require the complete transformation of agri-food systems towards more sustainable practices. The connections between food production and forestry were explored during the high-level panel, “Forests...

Chile's forests cover 19 percent of the country's territory and represent a valuable biological treasure that has sustained native peoples for generations. As ecosystem threats become more pressing, Chile is now taking significant steps to protect and preserve this treasure.  Through the CONAF-led National Strategy on Climate Change and Vegetative Resources (ENCCRV), and in collaboration with numerous partners, Chile is addressing the climate crisis through measures focused on the proper management of vegetative resources. In this framework, Chile also aims to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) and subsequently, drought, desertification and land degradation.  In November, 2019, the Board of...