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Today, when students file into the lunchroom at Mundika High School in western Kenya, they are greeted by a spread of nutritious local vegetables with exotic-sounding names, like spider plant. But that wasn’t always the case. Just a few years ago, that fare had largely disappeared from Kenyan plates, replaced by cheaper foreign-derived foods, like cabbage and maize meal.

Lake Bogoria in Kenya’s Rift Valley region is a soda lake – extremely salty and alkaline, unable to support fish. It has deep spiritual and cultural significance for the Endorois people, who have been its custodians for centuries. But it’s only in the last few years that they realized they are sitting on a potential gold mine.

The coast of South Africa’s Kwazulu-Natal province looks like it was pulled from a postcard, with wide, sandy beaches stretching for some 600 kilometres. International and local tourists flock here in normal times, drawn to the warm Indian Ocean waters for surfing, relaxation, and glimpses of spectacular wildlife, like loggerhead turtles.

COVID-19 lockdowns have confined people to their homes across the world. For some, this causes stress and mental anguish.  People need greenery: research shows that green spaces in and around cities have mental health benefits.

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing us to think deeply about human beings’ relationship with the natural world on which we all depend for our survival.

Water, essential to all life, plays a particularly important role in the lives of Tanzanians living near Mbarali River, part of the larger Rufiji River basin in southern Tanzania.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been working closely with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MESD), to help the country to effectively implement access and benefit sharing (ABS) mechanism/framework in accordance with the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their U

Creating the conditions for sustainable seagrass restoration in Maputo and Inhambane bays 

“People can’t think of Inhaca without thinking about seagrass,” says Salamao Bandeira of Maputo’s Eduardo Mondlane University, knee-deep in the shallow waters on the seaward side of Maputo Bay, as he points at the shores of Inhaca Island.

“The smell alone when you cross the bridge tells you something’s wrong,” says Renison Ruwa, deputy director of the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute.

The bridge in question is Mtwapa bridge, which straddles Mtwapa Creek in Mombasa, Kenya. And the smell to which Ruwa is referring stems from this very creek, into which waste from the nearby Shimo la Tewa prison—and indeed many other places—is directly dumped.

Living atop a hill in Malindza, a tiny county in eSwatini’s lush east, 56-year-old Ntombi Ndzimandze is the matriarch of her household of 11 women and children.

They call them ‘blue forests’—and they are among the most productive and valuable habitats on Earth.

Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have pockets of food insecurity. These can appear and develop for many reasons. And in some cases, simple nature-based solutions can make a significant difference to people’s lives.

With the launch of a major report by the Global Commission on Adaptation on 10 September 2019, we follow the story of an environmental hero from the Seychelles and their quest to adapt by harnessing the power of trees. #AdaptOurWorld

Flowing in shades of green and brown to the horizon from the curves of Kenya’s largest river as it approaches the sea, the Tana Delta is a paradise for wildlife.

The hills surrounding Ahbohibary Kofay used to be filled with birdsong, says Lydia, who tends a small rice paddy outside the tiny village at the bottom of Bemolanga valley. That was until this area in Western Madagascar was laid to waste by fire in the early 1990s. The fire killed the trees and the birds fell silent.

It’s close to midnight on a Sunday and the skies of Lagos hang dark over the glittering lights of the city’s 17.5 million residents. One of those lights is small fire in a field in Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State, where 24-year-old John stands, tossing cables into the flames.

The Karoo, in South Africa, is a harsh environment in which to make a living out of agriculture—the area is mostly devoid of surface water. Its name is derived from the Khoisan word meaning “land of thirst”.

When a proven ecosystem restoration method also helps reduce poverty and build economic resilience, governments will often back them as a win-win solution.

The Nigerian Government, the Global Environment Facility and UN Environment have announced a $15-million initiative to kick off a circular electronics system in Nigeria.

An ambitious new conservation programme brings six nations together to ensure the future of one of the world’s most vital ecosystems.

One of the world’s most vital ecosystems is set to take a step closer to a sustainable future, with the announcement of a US$63-million programme to stabilize forest cover, peatlands, and wildlife populations across the Congo Basin.

UN Environment has been working with a broad range of partners to better assess the health of lake ecosystems in India, Kenya and the Philippines.

Economic activity in and around Lake Naivasha, and the rapidly growing population, have placed mounting environmental pressure on this important source of freshwater in central southern Kenya.

Our four-wheel drive slides to a halt, throwing up clouds of dust as we pile out into the rising heat of the day, Zoemana and his fellow rangers taking off at full-speed towards a column of smoke in the distance.

We scramble for our cameras and trot after them, but before we’ve managed a hundred metres, they’re back, breathless, but undaunted, plumes of ash rising at every step.

“Four men,” Zoemana spits out. “Gone.”

Local handicrafts and specialties are helping build a climate-resistant future for Madagascar’s coastal communities.

“When I was younger, everything was normal, even the rain,” Vivienne Rakotoarisoa reminisces. “But nowadays everything is irregular. When we start planting, the rain doesn’t come anymore.”

How community action is helping vulnerable marine mammals stage a comeback in Madagascar.

Life is slow in Andranomavo. Here, surrounded by mudflats and mangroves, time is governed by the tides and the seasons. When to go fishing, when to plant and harvest the rice—these are the markers that matter.

Life hangs in the balance in Tsitongambarika, Madagascar’s anti-extinction frontline