International Conservation & Development

From Milakovsky's Journal: Welcome to my blog! My name is Brian Milakovsky, I'm an American but I've been living and working in Russia and Ukraine for the past six years.

The call today by Pope Francis in his transformational papal encyclical on the environment, reminds us that climate change is first and foremost about people, and it’s the poorest among us that will suffer the most.

Ethiopia has made an ambitious commitment to curb its greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2030. As one of Africa’s most vulnerable nations, and the first least developed country to submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the UNFCCC, Ethiopia communicated its plans to cut emissions below 2010 levels from 150 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) in 2010 to 145 MtCO2e in 2030. This represents a major shift, since conventional economic growth would more than double Ethiopia’s greenhouse emissions by 2030.

Ryan Carle has been blogging about his work in Chile with threatened seabirds. Read his blog and learn more about the Switzer Leadership Grant funding his work.

The nexus between energy poverty and climate change are now momentously driving the aims of international development. Hundreds of international leaders are meeting this week at the United Nation's Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Forum to forge next steps. In this context, decentralized renewable energy (DRE) solutions can bring sustainable electricity access to un-electrified and impoverished

Angel Hsu, an expert on China’s environment at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, said Chinese officials severely restricted research into the relationship between air pollution and public health until 2013, when public pressure to confront the issue became too great to ignore. "I think the fact that people from foreign institutions are now able to do these kinds of studies is significant," she said. "[Officials] were trying not to be specific about the health implications of unfettered growth for such a long time."

Santa Cruz-based Community Agroecology Network’s (CAN) Food Security & Sovereignty in Las Segovias, Nicaragua project was selected as a finalist for the 2015 Specialty Coffee Association of America Sustainability Award. Read more

“In 2003 researchers predicted that most of this area would be reforested by 2020,” explained Jefferson Hall, director Agua Salud. “But it’s already 2015, and we’re not seeing that happen. People aren’t stupid. They won’t give up their farms to plant teak on infertile soils.” Read more