News stories by Fabiola Ortiz

RIO DE JANIERO, Brazil, Apr 03 (IPS) - On the earthen floor, to the sound of a single-string percussion instrument called a Berimbau, Congolese children stand in a circle practicing rhythmic movements with their arms and feet and chanting.

NADOR, RABAT and CASABLANCA, Morocco, Jan 06 (IPS) - With a stable economy and a peaceful political climate, Morocco – which has always been a transit country for migrants -- is becoming a potential new destination for settlement. The elusive dream for most of those who cross the Sahara, though, is still Europe.

MARRAKECH, Nov 21 (IPS) - With climate change posing growing threats to smallholder farmers, experts working around the issues of agriculture and food security say it is more critical than ever to implement locally appropriate solutions to help them adapt to changing rainfall patterns.

MARRAKECH, Nov 18 (IPS) - The world has been too slow in responding to climate events such as El Niño and La Niña, and those who are the "least responsible are the ones suffering most", Mary Robinson, the special envoy on El Niño and Climate, told IPS at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakech (COP22).

AIDA CAMP, West Bank, Oct 10 (IPS) - Over almost five decades of Israeli occupation, the number of Palestinian refugees has grown with every generation, saturating basic services in the 19 camps that are home to about 200,000 people in the West Bank run by the United Nations.

WASHINGTON, Apr 24 (IPS) - Investing in new entrepreneurs who bring a holistic approach to food sustainability is one way that the food movement can overcome mounting global challenges from environmental degradation to food waste.

PUNTA LEONA, Costa Rica, Nov 20 (IPS) - Private voluntary nature reserves in Latin America should be seen as allies in policies on the environment, climate change mitigation and the preservation of biological diversity in rainforests, say experts.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 24 (IPS) - Latin America's largest economy, Brazil, has succeeded in lifting 36 million people out of extreme poverty over the past 12 years. But it has still a long way to go towards promoting inclusive and sustainable growth.

PARIS, Jul 23 (IPS) - African countries would do well to take their own lead in finding ways to better adapt to and mitigate the changes that climate may impose on future  generations instead of relying only on foreign aid.

PARIS, Jul 07 (IPS) - The cost of inaction is high when it comes to climate change and, so far, countries' commitments to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are not enough, says Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).