A UN-sponsored conference on space and sustainable development has inspired the creation of an award for women scientists in Nepal.
That’s according to Manisha Dwa with the Nepal Astronomical Society, based in the capital, Kathmandu.
Ms Dwa attended the first High Level Forum looking at how the global space sector can contribute to efforts to combat challenges such as climate change.
Many of the world’s biggest cities are exposed to rising sea levels but scientists and Mayors can work together to protect millions of people from the threat, climate experts said on Friday.
According to the UN partner the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), more than 100 million people live just one metre above the current high tide mark.
The problem is the focus of the Open Science Conference at the UN in New York from 10 to 14 July, as Robert Sparrow of WCRP told Daniel Johnson.
Duration: 3’13”
The launch of a Global Action Programme on Food Security and Nutrition in the Small Island Developing States or SIDS has been welcomed by the UN.
Peter Thompson, the UN General Assembly President, made the remarks in his opening statement during a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) conference in Rome, Italy.
UN Member States need to “put aside short-term national gain” in order to protect the ocean, which represents “the lifeblood of our planet”.
That’s the impassioned plea from UN chief António Guterres, in his opening remarks to The Ocean Conference which runs throughout the week at UN Headquarters in New York.
This year is “very likely” to be the world’s hottest year on record according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Preliminary data released by the UN agency shows that 2016’s global temperatures are approximately 1.2 Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Petteri Taalas is the Secretary-General of the WMO.
Daniel Dickinson asked him how concerned he was by the new figures, which were released as the international community met for climate talks in Morocco.
Duration: 3'12"
One of world’s worst humanitarian crises underway in the Lake Chad Basin is “struggling for attention” according to the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Jan Eliasson.
Nine million people urgently need humanitarian aid across the region with some 6.3 million not getting enough to eat.
On the margins of the UN General Assembly debate, leaders from the region got together to discuss what needs to be done to improve the situation.
Daniel Dickinson’s report begins with the words of Jan Eliasson.
Duration: 3'44"
Climate change is a major cause of displacement in Latin America, including in Mexico, a UN independent expert has said during a recent visit to Mexico City.
People in the Central American country are leaving certain areas affected by extreme changes in the weather according to Chaloka Beyani, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons.
One young Ugandan studying agriculture in Central America has big plans to return home and help African farming become more climate-friendly.
Tom Okot, who was internally displaced from his war-torn home region of Northern Uganda, is a student at Earth University, in Costa Rica.
He was one of the 60 winners of a multilingual essay contest who visited UN Headquarters in July, to take part in a global youth forum.
Floods, drought and other extreme weather events triggered by the current El Niño phenomenon are affecting an estimated 60 million people worldwide, the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) reports.
While countries have been appealing for US$3 billion to respond to this challenge, a huge funding gap remains.
The UN joined affected countries, aid groups and donors in Geneva on Tuesday to call for action to address the crisis and to support communities to withstand future climate-related emergencies.
Climate change is the “biggest threat” to people’s access to water according to the president of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
President Ameenah Gurib is one of ten Heads of State and Government, who have been appointed to the UN’s High-Level Panel on Water.
It aims to mobilize the international community to ensure access to water and sanitation for all people, one of the key targets of the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs.