Environment
Tripoli’s Troubled Waters
The Abu Ali River in Tripoli, Lebanon, once a vital part of the city, is now a polluted symbol of its deep-seated environmental, social and economic divisions.
The Roots of Dispossession
What could be wrong with planting trees? In Madagascar, community groups in one region are fighting an Italian multinational’s attempts to turn their grazing grounds into carbon offsets. But a complicated legacy of land rights is standing in their way.
Kenya’s Traditional Healers Work To Preserve the Rainforest
Forest-dwelling communities in Kenya are facing environmental degradation as economic hardships force people to cut down trees to eke out subsistence livelihoods. But some in the underserved Luhya communities of Kakamega County are now turning to traditional medicine for remedies, regenerating their preservation of the forest.
Kazakhstan’s Growing Role in the Global Energy Transition May Come at a Cost to Local Communities
Kazakhstan is positioning itself as a key player in the global green energy transition, thanks to its abundance of minerals. Yet for residents of the town of Zhezkazgan, shaped by copper mining for over a century, that might not mean improvements in well-being or the local environment.
Local Communities Are Leading the Rehabilitation of a Malaysian River
In Kuala Lumpur and its environs, many berate the public for lacking commitment to sustainability and tolerating river pollution. Yet people’s apathy feeds on a belief that the government doesn’t work for the common good or for the country, leading to mistrust and inaction.
Desertification in an Iraqi Bread Basket
The Basra region has been the bread basket of Iraq. But because of salinization of lands, decrease of water flow into rivers due to upstream damming, climate change and pollution, farmers are increasingly unable to farm. People dependent on fish and buffaloes in the marshlands are in competition for food.
In Algeria, I Found Peace in Picking Olives
We took a big risk when we left the life we had known and returned to our ancestral village, guided by the desire to reconnect with nature and the land. Our new life amid the olive trees leaves us physically exhausted every day. Our minds, however, are finally at peace.