News stories by Friday Phiri, page 3

LUSAKA, Apr 24 (IPS) - Trees are a vital component in the ecosystem—they not only give oxygen, store carbon, stabilise the soil and give refuge to wildlife, but also provide materials for tools, shelter and ultimately, food for both animals and human beings.

LUSAKA, Zambia, Feb 14 (IPS) - In the past, Lameck Sibukale only knew savings in the form of rearing chickens, goats and more importantly, cattle—a long cherished cultural heritage of the Tonga-speaking people of southern Zambia.

CHOMA, Zambia, Dec 18 (IPS) - "We have various financial obligations that push us to charcoal making. Top on the list is farming inputs and school fees," explains Arclay Moonga, a charcoal producer and chairperson of the recently formed Choma District Charcoal Association in Southern Zambia.

SAN FRANCISCO, California, Nov 12 (IPS) - As negotiators meet in Bonn to put together a deal to implement the Paris Agreement, John Holdren, a professor of environmental policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, stressed that economic development and climate change mitigation and adaptation are not ‘either-or' but must be pursued together.

PEMBA, Zambia, Nov 07 (IPS) - As governments gather in Bonn, Germany for the next two weeks to hammer out a blueprint for implementation of the global climate change treaty signed in Paris in 2015, a major focus will be on emissions reductions to keep the global average temperature increase to well below 2°C by 2020.

MONGU, Zambia, Sep 12 (IPS) - Fishing is the capture of aquatic organisms in marine, coastal and inland areas. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), marine and inland fisheries, together with aquaculture, provide food, nutrition and a source of income to 820 million people around the world, from harvesting, processing, marketing and distribution. For many, it also forms part of their traditional cultural identity.

MPUMALANGA, South Africa, Jul 06 (IPS) - The United States and Europe's preference for white meat is hurting Africa's poultry industry, says Luc Smalle, manager at the agro firm Rossgro in South Africa's Mpumalanga area.

PEMBA, Zambia, Jun 29 (IPS) - Frequent extreme weather and climate shifts pose a challenge to already vulnerable groups such as smallholder farmers in the developing world. Between 2004 and 2014, farmers are said to have endured the brunt of the 100-billion-dollar cost of climate-related disasters.

AHMEDABAD, India, May 29 (IPS) - There are nearly 420 million young Africans between the ages of 15 and 35 today. And it is estimated that within ten years, Africa will be home to one-fifth of all young people worldwide.

AHMEDABAD, India, May 24 (IPS) - Developing Africa's ‘grey matter infrastructure' through multi-sector investments in nutrition has been identified as a game changer for Africa's sustainable development.