Originally published in July 2021, this story has been updated to include the latest facts, figures and references.
It's visible in satellite images from just off Sri Lanka's coast: a thin grey film that snakes three kilometres out to sea before disappearing into the waves.
Marker buoys have been deployed around the periphery of X-Press Pearl to create a 50-meter safe zone around the wreck.
Among the knock-on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN has noted a dramatic increase in world hunger. According to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, one tenth of the global population – as many as 811 million people – were undernourished in 2020, an increase of 118 million from 2019.
More and more countries are joining the Clean Seas campaign to fight against marine litter and plastic pollution. Over 60 countries - both coastal and landlocked - have signed up to this global movement with ambitious pledges and commitments.
When leaders gather for the resumed session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) next week, part of their discussions is expected to focus on the problems with humanity’s food systems.
International tourism is headed back to pre-pandemic levels, with double the number of people travelling so far in 2023 than in the same period last year.
The plants and animals that live along the world’s coasts are coming under increased pressure from pollution tied to harbours, agriculture, and fish and shrimp farming warns a new report from the International Resource Panel.
It was announced today that the theme of the second annual International Day of Clear Air for blue skies, facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will be “Healthy Air, Healthy Planet.”
Picture this: 1,000 timber houses on stilts are clustered on the shore of a tropical island. There is no sewer system underneath them. So, raw sewage plummets directly into the sea, the ebb and flow of the tides mixing it with household trash and plastic debris. The stench, not to mention the risk of disease, is overwhelming.
On World Oceans Day 2021, UNEP’s Clean Seas Campaign renews its global efforts to tackle marine litter and plastic pollution, now with a focus on how individuals can use both national and international laws to push for change.
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have agreed to jointly boost the role of the circular economy towards achieving sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12), in the green recovery and transition, through a set of common policy and political actions.
