15. Life on land
Forests cover 30 per cent of the Earth’s surface and in addition to providing food security and shelter, forests are key to combating climate change, protecting biodiversity and the homes of the indigenous population. Thirteen million hectares of forests are being lost every year while the persistent degradation of drylands has led to the desertification of 3.6 billion hectares.
Deforestation and desertification – caused by human activities and climate change – pose major challenges to sustainable development and have affected the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the fight against poverty. Efforts are being made to manage forests and combat desertification.
Read our stories to learn more about SDG Goal 15: Life on land
To adopt SDG 15 Life on land, in support of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, please contact us at partners@eco-business.com
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Karbon & Cuaca
Is the tide turning for ocean protection? UN conference ends with record attendance and momentum for high seas treaty
A record number of world leaders gathered in Nice to chart a path forward on ocean protection, with growing support for the High Seas Treaty and new pledges for sustainable marine governance.
In the Marshall Islands, local priorities matter as much as data when it comes to ‘looking into the future, together’ for the environment.
Polisi & Kewangan
Agri-food giant Japfa’s new sustainability-linked loan overlooks deforestation risk: NGOs
While the US$150 million loan, backed by DBS and Rabobank, targets reducing water and coal use, the “forest-risk” firm still lacks commitments to end deforestation and human rights abuses across its supply chains, say environmental groups.
Water tests from the Kok and Sai rivers near Thailand’s border with Myanmar have revealed elevated arsenic levels, leading Thai officials to warn citizens to avoid contact with river water.
Pendapat
Polisi & Kewangan
Indigenous knowledge is a living science, stop stealing it
More recognition, private sector investment is needed to protect Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge that preserves nature.
Polisi & Kewangan
How to defuse the climate-debt time bomb for small island states
We need innovative solutions to allow small island nations to manage debt and build climate resilience as global funding declines.
Polisi & Kewangan
Indigenous forest peoples can finally control nature finance
At COP30, Brazil will launch the Tropical Forest Forever Facility to fund communities on the frontlines of the nature crisis.
The treaty, signed in 1996, expires next year, and there are unresolved issues with regards to water sharing arrangements. Both Bangladesh and India will need to negotiate a more thorough, equitable and climate-resilient deal.
Polisi & Kewangan
Philanthropy in an era of declining development aid
Polisi & Kewangan
Shake it up, don’t shoot it down: the case for reforming US aid
Pengangkutan
Can the shipping industry decarbonise?
Bandar-bandar
India needs to redefine 'urban'
Video
The Green Mortician is the city-state's first water cremation service, which has a small carbon footprint compared to traditional funeral options.
Karbon & Cuaca
Lending forests a voice with primatologist Andie Ang
Amid competing concerns such as urban development and tackling climate change, keeping biodiversity conservation in people's minds can be a challenge. Eco-Business asks primatologist Andie Ang how that can be tackled.
Karbon & Cuaca
Climate spiral: what 141 years of global warming looks like
As planetary temperatures reach an all-time high, a climate scientist has designed a new way to show how global temperatures have changed every month since the start of the industrial revolution and 2021.
Makanan & Pertanian
Pandemics and the exploitation of wildlife — what’s the connection?
The origin of Covid-19 is believed to be a market selling live wild animals. Eco-Business asked Anbarasi Boopal of Singapore-based animal welfare charity Acres about the link between the exploitation of animals and pandemics, and what can be done to curb the illegal wildlife trade.
Audio
Bandar-bandar
‘Listen to ecologists – don’t bury nature under cement’: Hong Kong faces acute biodiversity loss as megaprojects loom
A new report predicts Hong Kong could lose one quarter of its wildlife to new developments. WWF Hong Kong conservation head Dr Bosco Chan and Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden's Dr Stephan Gale tell the EB Podcast that developers must build in ways that protect nature and bolster climate resilience.
Karbon & Cuaca
America’s attack on climate science could affect adaptation capacity in Asia: climate scientist Ben Horton
The sea-level rise expert has moved to Hong Kong – now seen as a gateway to more collaboration with China on climate science. But he tells the EB Podcast that data from US agencies is still critical for calculating climate defences in Asia.
The chief executive of World Resources Institute also told the Eco-Business Podcast that the gutting of USAID is less of a concern than how to unlock private capital for climate and nature in developing countries.
Karbon & Cuaca
The challenges of the environment beat: A conversation with journalists in Southeast Asia
The Eco-Business Podcast speaks to reporters Nadiah Rosli, Adelia Dinda Sani, Gerald Flynn and Hannah Alcoseba Fernandez about funding limits, data access, and reporting against the odds in one of the world's most climate-vulnerable regions.
