Decisive action is needed to address the financial challenges facing developing nations, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Tuesday in remarks to the Second Preparatory Committee for the Forth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4).

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Syria’s status quo has been “radically altered” in a matter of days, with a surge in fighting resulting in an “extremely fluid and dangerous” situation, the UN Special Envoy for the country warned on Tuesday.

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From planting a billion trees in Zimbabwe, in southern Africa, to exporting products from the moringa tree in Mali and developing a climate action-focused board game called “Rescuing Penguins," in Costa Rica, a group of young people has been recognized by the UN for making a positive impact in the fight to counter desertification, land degradation and drought.

Read the full story, “Meet the ‘Land Heroes’ who are fighting desertification”, on globalissues.org →

NAIROBI, Dec 03 (IPS) - The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ (IPBES) first Plenary session in Africa is a “crucial acknowledgement of Africa’s important contribution to biodiversity conservation, which is a global public good, a heritage that Africa has the privilege to share with the peoples of the world,” says Dr. Luthando Dziba, from South Africa, co-chair of the IPBES Multidisciplinary Expert Panel.

Read the full story, “Focus on Africa: IPBES Plenary Session Makes Inaugural Visit to Biodiverse Continent”, on globalissues.org →