General News

Healthy soil “enables” life on earth and is one of the biggest bulwarks against climate change, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

About a third of the world’s soil has been degraded; the impacts of which range from food shortages and drought, to landslides and floods.

Soil degradation particularly affects subsistence farmers, according to FAO soil international consultant Lucrezia Caon, speaking ahead of World Soil Day, which falls on 5 December.

The former King of Thailand’s focus on improving soil quality can help “families of farmers around the world” reach the Sustainable Development Goals, the internationally agreed targets to fight poverty.

That’s according to Thailand’s ambassador to the UN, Virachai Plasai, speaking ahead of World Soil Day, marked each December 5.

Unprecedented levels of suffering not seen since the end of the Second World War has prompted a US $22.2 billion appeal for funds - the biggest humanitarian appeal yet by the United Nations.

Launching the appeal in Geneva, the UN’s aid chief Stephen O’Brien said that the objective was to help 93 million people with immediate needs.

From Yemen to Syrian and from South Sudan Lake Chad to Syria, the appeal covers a total of 33 countries.

Daniel Johnson has more.

Duration: 2'30"

Housing that is “fast, affordable and absolutely green” will free up cities of the future to build without using any concrete.

That’s according to the chairman of a Spanish environmental housing company, which built one of their new homes in just 32 days, as part of the UN’s recent Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecuador.

The construction relies on a mix of wood and plastic recycled materials, minimal use of steel, with a focus on energy-efficiency and insulation.

One of the ways to break down the stigma faced by persons with disabilities is to make cities more accessible to them.

That’s the view of Victor Calise, Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, who oversees accessibility projects throughout the “Big Apple”.

Mr Calise became involved with protection of the rights of disabled persons after he sustained a spinal cord injury 22 years ago.

This Saturday, 3 December, is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Space exploration is the story of “very passionate people that do ground-breaking stuff” and is not only about rockets and satellites, according to a social media specialist who works in the industry.

Remco Timmermans spoke about the connection between social media and space during a recent forum in Dubai organized by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the United Arab Emirates.

The celebrated music icon, Stevie Wonder delivered a powerful message to people with disabilities at the UN on Friday, through the lyrics of his song: “Fear Can’t Put Dreams Asleep”.

The musician and UN Messenger of Peace, from the United States, stated that raising awareness about people with disabilities is as important as “us taking the next breath.”

The “full inclusion and effective participation” of persons with disabilities in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals is vital if they are to succeed.

That’s the message from UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday, speaking at a High Level Panel discussion on the 10th anniversary of The Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Safeguarding a traditional Cambodian music style called “Chapei Dang Veng” is important to the country’s heritage according to Phoeung Sakona, Cambodia’s Minister of Culture and fine arts.

The ancient art form has been recently added to the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

Chapei lost its popularity under the former Khmer Rouge regime, which ruled Cambodia during the 1970s.

Do you think it’s possible to create just a single litre of rubbish in a year?

Zero waste activist Béa Johnson has been doing just that for the last decade, with the help of her very own 5R formula: Refuse, Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Rot.

She’s been giving a talk about her sustainability crusade at the UN in Geneva.

It gave UN Radio the idea of checking where we stand on the sustainability index.