HORIZON INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS SITE

More than 5,000 farms and organizations joined forces with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to accelerate the phase-out of an agricultural pesticide that damages the ozone layer, the Earth’s protective shield.

 

Methyl bromide has been used by farmers to kill pests in the soil before planting crops like tomatoes, strawberries, melons and flowers.

 

The provision of safe water and sanitation in African cities will benefit from $500 million in funding from the African Development Bank (ADB) in coming years under a landmark Memorandum of Understanding signed with the United Nations agency entrusted with promoting socially and environmentally sustainable cities.

Most countries in Africa are currently falling behind in attaining the

A new international effort to "green" the multi-billion dollar building and construction sector was launched in Paris on February 21, 2006 with some of the biggest names in the business. Construction giants Lafarge and Skanska are among the founding members of the  Sustainable Building and Construction Initiative  (SBCI), which aims to promote environmental friendly practices across this vast industry.

Countries and cities that adopt air pollution busting measures can make significant economic savings, the latest GEO Year Book by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says. Economic gains include cuts in premature deaths and lower health care costs, as the toll from pollution-related diseases is brought down.

Other benefits come from reduced damage to agriculture and ecosystems like forests, along with less damage to infrastructure and public buildings from corrosive pollutants.

The UNEP Convention on Migratory Species signs a contract with other partners to undertakes initiative for the conservation of Gorillas in 10 African States on February 7,2006.     

Problem/Challenge:

Artisans in developing countries lack access to local and international markets to sell their handicrafts.

Track and field fans around the world will have a unique chance next week to buy their own piece of sporting history when the personal mementos of some of athletics' most famous moments go on Internet auction, with the proceeds to go to three United Nations humanitarian agencies. 

A filter that removes arsenic from water and that could save tens of millions of lives was launched today at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Simple and ecologically sound, the filter uses an absorbent recycled by-product available at no cost almost everywhere in the world. It was developed by the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education*. Arsenic in drinking water is both a natural phenomenon and the result of human activity (mining, extraction of minerals, coal-burning electricity production). There is no medical treatment for intoxication by arsenic-contaminated water.

Introduction

Since 1998, a promising partnership for health has been forming in Saidpur and Parbatipur municipalities in Northern Bangladesh. Under a Child Survival Programme (CSP), a tripartite partnership has developed between Concern, two municipal authorities, and 24 ward health committees (WHC). The CSP’s goal is to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity, and increase child survival by developing a sustainable municipal health service.