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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | DURBAN (IDN) — Record-breaking levels of rainfall threaten a new round of flooding and landslides in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal. Already, the calamity has taken over 400 lives, left some 40,000 homeless, with an economic cost yet to be tallied.
Weather forecasters and climate scientists, speaking to the Daily Maverick news outlet, are predicting a repeat of such events, potentially sooner than expected.
By Maria Bystedt
Maria Bystedt is Strategy Lead at H&M Foundation, a non-profit foundation, privately funded by the Stefan Persson family, founders and main owners of the H&M Group, working to fast-track the achievements of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, to safeguard humanity and the planet.
Viewpoint by Robert Sandford
Robert Sandford is a Global Water Futures Fellow at the UN University's Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), which is supported by the Government of Canada and hosted at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. The Institute marks its 25th anniversary in 2021.
HAMILTON, Canada (IDN) — The outdated treaties, compacts, bilateral agreements, acts, laws, policies and hardened institutions globally that stand in the way of effective, just and resilient 21st century transboundary water management likely number in the thousands.
Viewpoint by Jayasri Priyalal *
SINGAPORE (IDN) — The new normal has become a famous phrase with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This new normal could become an eternal abnormality if lessons learned about inequality in the globalized world economy exposed by the COVID-19 are not recognized and acted upon.
Today, people feel frustrated about adjusting to the health crisis's eternal uncertainties with looming confusions and contradictions between the normality of the past and not the usual present.
Viewpoint by Dr. Kakha Shengelia
The writer is President of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) and President of Caucasus University (CU). The following is the text of Dr Kakha's Foreword to Striving for People, Planet and Peace, 2021 Joint Media Project Report of the Non-Profit International Press Syndicate Group with IDN as flagship agency in partnership with Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.
TBILISI, Georgia (IDN) — It was in the year 2015 when the world convened and defined 17 concrete objectives to achieve till 2030 that would improve everyone’s lot around the globe. Touching on every aspect of human existence, from social inequalities to the planet we live on.
Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*
COPENHAGEN (IDN) — I have attempted to explain the vital relationship between water and life in my new freely downloadable book, which can be circulated, from the link: http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Water-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf
Also, on its home page for World Water Day, commemorated on March 22 this year, the United Nations explains what water means to people, its true value and how we can better protect this vital resource.
KHARTOUM (IDN) — Sudan has declined an Ethiopian offer to share data on the second filling of a giant dam before reaching a legally binding agreement. Egypt has adopted a similar position.
Ethiopia’s foreign ministry on April 9 said it has formally requested Sudan and Egypt to "nominate dam operators to exchange data before the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) commences in the upcoming rainy seasons in Ethiopia".
Viewpoint by James Milner*
OTTAWA (IDN) – December 2019 was a time for cautious optimism for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). They were celebrating the results of the first Global Refugee Forum, during which a wide range of states and other actors made pledges to enhance refugee support and share good practices.
Only a year later, on its 70th anniversary, the UNHCR issued a statement saying it was “in no mood to celebrate” given that conditions for refugees were getting markedly worse, not better.
By EEPA
BRUSSELS (IDN) – More than two million children in Tigray do not have access to food, water and safety and may have been displaced. While there is a severe humanitarian situation regarding 100.000 Eritrean refugees in Tigray; full humanitarian access has not been given.
Viewpoint by Vincent Casey
The writer is Senior WASH Manager – Water, WaterAid UK
LONDON (IDN) – WaterAid’s newly released water security research has uncovered an alarming lack of global governance and grave mismanagement of the world’s precious groundwater reserves, needlessly putting millions of lives at risk.
Hundreds of millions of people rely on groundwater for their daily water needs. As global populations continue to grow and climate change threatens water security, groundwater extraction seems the obvious answer to boosting food production and industry.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.