Africa

Highlights from the Opening Plenary at the seventh session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi, Kenya. CREDIT: UNEP / Ahmed Nayim Yussuf

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Dec 9 2025 (IPS)

“There will never be a better time than now to invest in a stable climate, thriving ecosystems, and resilient lands, or in sustainable development that delivers for all,” said Amina J. Mohammed, the deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, during the opening plenary of the seventh meeting of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) taking place from December 8 to 12, 2025.

“Coming so soon after the conclusion of COP30, we must carry forward the momentum generated in Belém, demonstrating that when countries, civil society and youth come together, real progress is possible, from protecting forests to increasing climate finance to advancing the rights of Indigenous peoples and women.”

UNEA is the primary global forum for setting the agenda and making critical choices about the Planet’s health. Delegates heard that insufficient ambition has set the world on track to overshoot the 1.5°C red line set in the Paris Agreement to limit the Earth’s temperature and avoid the worst climate impacts. The overshoot will happen within the next decade and steer the world towards 2.3-2.5°C warming by century’s end.

Against this backdrop, Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Amri, President of UNEA and President of the Environment Authority of Oman, said, “This week, we are called upon to make decisions that will define our joint trajectory for the year ahead.”

But the current trajectory is more concerning and less promising.

UNEA-7 is exploring innovative solutions to meet complex challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation and pollution. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

Mohammed, who also chairs the UN’s Sustainable Development Group, said despite some notable progress, efforts to achieve the UN’s SDGs are significantly off track, with dangerous consequences, as “20 to 40 percent of the world’s land has been degraded, affecting over 3 billion people.”

“One million species are at risk of extinction. And 9 million people a year die prematurely due to pollution.”

She was speaking to nearly 6,000 participants from 170 Member States, including 79 ministers and 35 deputy ministers gathered at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting’s theme is Advancing Sustainable Solutions for a Resilient Planet.

UNEA is the top global body for environmental decisions, bringing together all 193 UN Member States.

As the world’s highest-level environmental decision-making body, it unites all UN members to set global environmental policies and catalyze action against the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Importantly, it seeks to forge multilateralism or cooperation among many nations, backed by scientific evidence.

Inger Andersen, the executive director of UNEP, called on the assembly to consider the world at this unsettled time.

“This Assembly must delve deeply, given the world’s turbulent geopolitical waters, which intensify stress and strain on multilateral processes.”

Ali Al-Amri said UNEA was created to be the “conscience of the global environment.”

Overall, sessions dwelled on many diverse but interconnected issues, from driving compliance and enforcement against illegal traffic; protection of the High Seas and transboundary water cooperation; and rapid global reductions of deadly methane emissions to artificial intelligence.

Delegates heard about a new AI-driven tool developed by researchers at UC Berkeley in partnership with the UN that will help countries slash climate emissions by as much as 5 percent by 2040. Kigali Sim is an interactive, open-source tool that can also explore different policy interventions.

It simulates substances and equipment related to the Montreal Protocol (an international treaty to protect the earth’s ozone layer) and the Kigali Amendment, which amends the Montreal Protocol to combat climate change by reducing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse emissions that significantly worsen climate change.

HFCs are widely used in air conditioners, refrigerators, aerosols, and foam. Kigali Sim was built to support researchers and policymakers like those working on Kigali Implementation Plans. It is offered as a free, open-source project that prioritizes agency and privacy.

This software provides an easy-to-use interface where you can enter country-level modeling data and policies under consideration to quickly simulate potential impacts on emissions, energy, substance consumption, and equipment across multiple scenarios. It can also be used to explore various substances, such as HFCs, and sectors, including commercial refrigeration.

Global carbon markets featured prominently in the Assembly. These are trading systems where participants buy and sell carbon credits, which represent a reduction or removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. They are a tool to help achieve climate targets cost-effectively by putting a price on carbon emissions.

They can be compliance markets, where trading is a mandatory response to government-set limits, or voluntary markets, where companies and organizations voluntarily offset their emissions.

A session dubbed “High-Integrity Carbon Markets: Impact and Path to Accelerated Climate Action” brought together delegates, private sector partners, civil society representatives, and technical experts to discuss the latest developments in market integrity and pathways for scaling global carbon markets.

Earlier, Ali Al-Amri stressed that success throughout the week would depend not only on the outcomes adopted but also on how they are reached, pointing out the value of trust, transparency, the spirit of compromise, and inclusiveness and promising that every voice will be heard.

Martha Korere, from an Indigenous community in Kenya’s Rift Valley region, told IPS that while the representation of Indigenous people and communities at UNEA-7 is satisfactory, “the assembly must accelerate the momentum around their rights, and specifically land rights that started at COP30.”

She called for transparency and integrity where carbon markets intersect with Indigenous people.

Overall, she was also pleased with the representation of young people. UNEA-7 was preceded by the Youth Environment Assembly, which saw more than 1,000 youth delegates from across the world come together to agree and issue the Global Youth Declaration, which put forward youth priorities for UNEA.

In all, urgent action and cooperation are the connecting threads across all sessions in light of multiple, complex challenges. Expert representations that included insights from farmers, followed by discussions with the audience, explored responses to issues such as invasive species, encouraging the collaboration of a wider audience of stakeholders from science, governments, NGOs, universities, farmers, and conservationists.

Central to these discussions were the increasing and accelerating negative impacts and threats of invasive species and biological pollution on marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems around the world, resulting in biodiversity loss, famine, pestilence, and pandemics in human, plant, animal, and microbial populations.

In the corridors of the Environmental Assembly, Newton Omunga from the Civil Society told IPS that they sought to bring these issues to the attention of UN systems and platforms for international discussion, cooperation, resolution, and coordinated action.

Since 2014, UNEA has held six sessions, during which 105 resolutions have spurred action on critically important issues, including air pollution, biodiversity, health, financing for development, plastic pollution, and climate change.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Plotters misjudged the national mood and Benin's neighbours learnt from past errors, says analyst Paul Melly.

Plotters misjudged the national mood and Benin's neighbours learnt from past errors, says analyst Paul Melly.

Plotters misjudged the national mood and Benin's neighbours learnt from past errors, says analyst Paul Melly.

Nigeria denies the violation saying the aircraft made an emergency landing due to a technical issue.

Ali Kushayb led the Janjaweed, a group whose campaign of terror led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Two years ago, a Karam tree branch brought from another district was being planted in the SAMS office premises along the Shyamnagar-Munshiganj road, but it didn't survive. Credit: Rafiqul Islam Montu/IPS

By Rafiqul Islam Montu
SATKHIRA, Bangladesh, Dec 9 2025 (IPS)

A dried karam tree branch stands on the bank of a pond in a field in Datinakhali village adjacent to the Sundarbans. Despite many efforts, the tree could not be saved.

For two years, the Munda community in Bangladesh’s Sundarbans had been fighting to save the Karam tree so that they could bring back their traditional Karam festival—once the biggest festival in their community. Many trees are unable to survive due to the effects of salinity—this list includes the Karam tree, which is the main ingredient in celebrating the festival.

Bhakta Sardar, a priest from the Munda community, says the festival of the indigenous Munda community would be incomplete without the branches of the Karam tree

“We believe that our prosperity and well-being are hidden in the branches of the Karam tree. We pray to God to achieve our prosperity around this festival. But frequent cyclones and salinity have killed the Karam trees.”

“Now we celebrate this festival in its name only for the prosperity of the community. We cannot leave the festival for the next generation,” added Bhakta Sardar, referring to a smaller festival where the community uses fig tree branches as an alternative.

While the debate about how to integrate non-economic losses and damages due to the impact of climate change continued during the 30th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, the Munda community is looking for ways to revive the Karam festival, a symbol of their prosperity. A recent study emphasized that these non-economic losses and damages included the loss of religious and cultural practices.

The study says that climate risks are increasing on the coast of Bangladesh. The risk is even higher in the southwest. If this situation continues in the future, small communities like the indigenous Munda community will be in even greater crisis. The study called for policy and financial reform to assist communities like this to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

In Search of the Karam Tree

The scientific name of the Karam tree is Mitragyna parvifolia. This tree in the Asian region is also known as Kelikadam. It mainly blooms before the monsoon. As the Karam tree has disappeared, the indigenous Munda community of Bangladesh now celebrates a similar festival on a smaller scale, with branches of a fig tree. The scientific name of this tree is Ficus religiosa.

There were once many Karam trees in the villages of southwestern Bangladesh. Datinakhali, adjacent to the Sundarbans in the Shyamnagar upazila (subdistrict) of Satkhira district, is one such village. This village celebrated the Karam festival with a grand event, with people from the Munda community from different areas joining in.

In addition to their time-honored religious tradition, the community in this village on the banks of the Chuna River faces economic difficulties.

The indigenous Munda community lives in several villages adjacent to the Sundarbans in Koyra upazila (sub-district) of Khulna district in southwestern Bangladesh.

Shukkuri Rani Munda used to attend the Karam festival organized in the courtyard of Fulsingh Munda’s house in Uttar Haztakhali village.

“To everyone now, the festival feels like a myth. A storm has swept away the entire festival. The next generation will forget the name of the Karam festival,” she says.

Munda Young Balai Krishna Sardar (38), president of the Sundarban Adivasi Unnayan Sangstha of that village, cannot recall attending the festival. Rangalal Munda’s 60-year-old father, Fulsingh Munda, witnessed a small-scale celebration five years ago. After Fulsingh’s death a year ago, no one in the village now knows how to initiate the Karam festival.

Geeta Rani Munda, 42, lives precariously in Datinakhali village, adjacent to the Sundarbans. She wants the Karam festival to return for her prosperity. Credit: Rafiqul Islam Montu/IPS

‘A Symbol of Our Faith’

The Munda community holds the belief that the branches of this tree conceal prosperity and well-being. They believe that the Karam festival ensures their good health and the well-being of future generations. Various tribal communities in Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Bihar, India, celebrate this festival with the same beliefs. Indigenous communities like Munda, Mahato, Kurmi, Matato, Santal, Orao, Baraik, Singh, Pahan, Mahali, Bhumij, etc., all celebrate the Karam festival.

“The Karam festival is our faith. Perhaps our economic condition is gradually deteriorating because we cannot follow our religious instructions,” said Anandini Rani Munda of Datinakhali village, articulating the belief that religious and economic wellbeing are intrinsically interlinked.

Nilkant Pahan, a priest of Burigoalini village in Shyamnagar upazila (sub-district), had been conducting the puja (religious ceremony) of the Munda community for eight years. He has organized the Karam festival several times following the ancestral tradition. But they were small events.

“Celebrating the Karam festival is our religious tradition. Our ancestors observed this tradition. We are trying to maintain its continuity. We are facing a much greater socio-economic and cultural crisis than before. We do not know what this crisis is because we cannot observe religious traditions,” Pahan says.

Impact of salinity

During Cyclone Aila in 2009, the entire area was submerged in the wave of salt water that broke the dam. The land was submerged in salt water for a long time, and the Karam trees could no longer survive. Many elderly Munda citizens believe that not only Aila but also other cyclones, especially a strong cyclone that hit the region in 1988, helped reduce the number of Karam trees.

GM Mostafizur Rahman, Chief Scientific Officer of Khulna Soil Resources Institute, said, “Both the intensity and extent of salinity in soil and water are increasing due to climate change; 81 percent of land in Shyamnagar is affected by varying degrees of salinity.”

Professor Saleh Ahmed Khan, Department of Botany, Jahangirnagar University, said, “The tree that the Munda community calls the ‘Karam’ tree is ‘Kelikadam.’ We did not find it among the 528 species under our research. The tree may not have survived due to the spread of salinity.”

Fight To Bring Back the Karam Festival

The Sundarbans Adivasi Munda Sangstha (SAMS) and leading members of the Munda community are working to bring back the Karam tree. They are trying to bring back the Karam festival by bringing branches of the Karam tree from other districts.

Two years ago, a branch of the Karam tree was planted in the SAMS office premises on the Shyamnagar-Munshiganj road, and another branch was planted in the Munda-dominated Datinakhali village. But it was not possible to save the tree. They will try again next year.

“We celebrate the Karam festival for our prosperity. We are trying to save the Karam trees for the festival. But due to salinity in the soil, the Karam trees cannot be saved. As an alternative, we use the branches of the fig (Ficus religiosa) tree,” said Geeta Rani Munda of Datinakhali village.

Krishnapada Sardar, Executive Director of SAMS, said it wasn’t enough that this festival only survives in the stories of elders.

“It was a major event in the rural culture of this community, which is proud of its identity. Climate change has changed the food habits of the Munda community, and the opportunities for livelihood have narrowed. The families of the community are facing an extreme economic crisis.

“Our lost festivals can be brought back by restoring the Karam tree. We want to return to our lost traditions. We want to return to our roots.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Following the publication of the US government's new National Security Strategy, Europe is struggling to find an appropriate response. The document states that Europe is facing 'civilisational erasure' and that America will assist its political allies in Europe in correcting the current course. Commentators warn against US interference in European domestic politics.

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2025 - EP

Für eine Reise in den Süden reicht der Zug nach Rapperswil – dank dem Lake and Sound Festival, das bereits seine ersten Acts angekündigt hat.

Seit dem UKW-Aus boomen Privatradios und ausländische Radiosender. Derweil verzeichnen die Sender von SRF einen Hörerverlust. Nun hat der Ständerat entschieden: Die UKW-Konzessionen werden erneut verlängert. Was denkst du darüber? Nun bist du gefragt!

There is a large police presence in major cities and the authorities have encouraged people to stay home.

Az EU belügyekért felelős tanácsa hivatalosan elfogadta az európai védelmi ipari programot (EDIP), amely azt a célt szolgálja, hogy javuljon az EU védelmi készültsége, és lendületet kapjon Európa védelmi iparának fejlődése - közölte az uniós tanács.

Hétfőn Szenc és Egyházfa között két személygépkocsi és egy autóbusz ütközött, ketten sérültek meg. Délután Lozornónál is történt egy buszbaleset.

On 30th November 2025 in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Army rescue boats transported villagers stranded near the Kelani River to safer locations. People boarded the boats carrying their essential items, hoping to escape the dangerous flood levels surrounding their homes. Credit: UNICEF/InceptChange

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 9 2025 (IPS)

In late November, Cyclone Ditwah made landfall in Sri Lanka and southern India, bringing heavy rainfall that triggered widespread flooding and devastating landslides. The storm caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and resulted in a significant loss of life. Communities have been severely impacted, with limited access to essential services, while humanitarian agencies face challenges in reaching the most vulnerable populations.

According to figures from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), approximately 1.5 million Sri Lankans are estimated to have been impacted by the cyclone, including over 275,000 children. Additionally, updated reports from the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator (UN RC) in Sri Lanka indicate that 474 people have been killed, 356 are still missing, and around 201,875 individuals from 53,758 families are taking shelter in 1,564 government-supported shelters.

“UNICEF remains deeply concerned about the destruction the cyclone has caused to children and the vital services they depend on for their safety and well-being,” said Emma Brigham, UNICEF Representative in Sri Lanka. “Children urgently need help. It is a race against time to reach the most vulnerable families who (urgently) require lifesaving services. And while the cyclone may have passed, the consequences have not.”

The actual figures are projected to be even higher as communication disruptions and blocked entry points for humanitarian aid hinder accurate reporting and assistance efforts. Initial assessments from the UN RC in Sri Lanka show that more than 41,329 homes have been partially or fully destroyed, alongside the damaging of at least 10 bridges, the disruption of 206 roads rendered impassable, and sections of the rail network and power grid affected, and an inundated substation.

The Gampaha, Colombo, Puttalam districts are among the hardest-hit, with each district reporting north of 170,000 affected civilians. The Mannar, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Badulla, and Matale districts have also reported considerable damage to civilian infrastructure and livelihoods as a result of flooding. The UN RC in Sri Lanka also notes that water levels in Colombo and the Kelani River region are beginning to slowly recede. However, northeast monsoon conditions are projected to gradually increase over the coming days, with heavy rains expected across several areas.

Furthermore, over 200 deadly landslides have been reported across several areas, with most occurring in the central highlands of the nation. The Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Badulla districts recorded a significant loss of life, structural damage, and high volumes of civilian displacement, with landslide alerts extended until December 3.

“The people of Sri Lanka have not seen such widespread destruction in years,” said Kristin Parco, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Chief of Mission in Sri Lanka. “Communities have been uprooted and many families are now sheltering in overcrowded, temporary spaces while facing immense uncertainty. We are entering a critical phase of this emergency, and mobilizing humanitarian assistance is essential to reduce the suffering of those displaced by Cyclone Ditwah and to ensure their safety, dignity, and access to basic services during this difficult time.”

Figures from IOM show that more than 209,000 Sri Lankans have been displaced in the days following the cyclone’s landfall. Additionally, IOM describes the ensuing floods as some of the most severe the country has experienced in almost two decades, noting that all 25 districts of Sri Lanka have been inundated, with 150-500 mm of continuous heavy rainfall and winds reaching 70–90 km/h over three days.

These challenges have significantly hampered both relief efforts and the ability to assess the full scope of the damage. IOM reports widespread power outages, blockages of critical access points, and severe disruptions to communication networks across the country. Additionally, several high-risk areas, such as Polonnaruwa, Kegalle, Kurunegala, and Colombo, to name a few, have been placed on red alert, with additional emergency evacuation orders being issued for communities along landslide-vulnerable slopes and low-lying river basin areas.

The UN RC for Sri Lanka reports that the country’s electricity and water infrastructure have sustained significant damage, which has had severe implications for public health and further strained the already collapsing national healthcare system. Numerous areas have already reported a near-total lack of clean drinking water, while health facilities continue to operate under severe shortages of essential supplies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed deep concern over the severe flood conditions, underscoring the heightened risks of vector-borne, food-borne, and water-borne diseases. The agency has called for increased public awareness around mosquito-bite prevention, safe food handling, and the importance of drinking safe, clean water.

Additionally, WHO has been in the process of delivering urgent support to Sri Lanka’s overwhelmed healthcare system, which has been severely strained by the influx of new patients following the cyclone. The agency, in partnership with WHO Southeast Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF), is supporting mobilization and deployment of emergency public health teams who are positioned to deliver urgent care for trauma, as well as referrals for hospital care for pregnant women, children, elderly, and others.

Furthermore, WHO has pledged USD $175,000 to support emergency health services and continues to collaborate with national authorities and humanitarian partners to reach the most vulnerable populations with lifesaving care. “The funds will be used for rapid response teams to support essential health services for the affected communities, and for strengthening health information management and surveillance, key for timely detection of disease outbreaks to facilitate appropriate response,” said Dr Rajesh Pandav, WHO Representative designate to Sri Lanka.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Ancillo Canepa präsentiert an der FCZ-Generalversammlung die Finanzen für das Geschäftsjahr 2025/26. Der Präsident und seine Frau Heliane mussten erneut einen Millionenbetrag einschiessen, um die Kosten des Klubs zu decken.