Durban

Growing up in California’s Silicon Valley, African-American Derrick León Washington took note of the socio-economic disparity around him, and knew early on, there was something unjust about what he saw.

Given the opportunity to explore dance as a teenager, he saw most weren’t so lucky, leading him on a mission to explore how he could be of service to his community and beyond.

The expanse of the world’s forest land is shrinking, but at a slower rate than ever before, according to a new report by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

FAO’s annual “Global Forest Resources Assessment” study reveals that 129 million hectares of forest have been lost since 1990 as populations grow and forest land is converted to agriculture and other uses.

But the rate of net global deforestation has slowed down by more than half.