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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Food & Agriculture
New sustainable palm oil rules win consensus amid RSPO credit price slump
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s updated standards aim to improve smallholder inclusion as EUDR kicks in. But decline in credit prices – which growers heavily rely on to recoup certification costs – sparks fears of financial strain.
Global Witness warns that mining for green energy is fuelling conflict and human rights abuses in Asia and elsewhere, urging tougher standards and protections.
Environmental activists say they see no letup in fossil fuel burning and environmental degradation under Indonesia’s new president, Prabowo Subianto.
Ocean issues cut across all three major UN conferences taking place at the end of 2024.
Carbon & Climate
Focus on rainforest conservation can neglect other key ecosystems
Policy & Finance
Indigenous women are on nature's front lines but get little funding
Opinion
Carbon & Climate
How climate change feeds our wars
A twin crisis faces the people of Myanmar, but while the war could end tomorrow, climate change will still shape the futures of millions.
The playful and pudgy mammal lives the life of a superstar in a Thai zoo enclosure, but widespread deforestation and constant disturbance have made it difficult for her fellow pygmy hippos to survive in the wild.
Diwali season in India is also "pollution season" and the fight against air pollution is hardest at this time of the year. India needs to quickly identify which technology solutions can effectively ensure clean air for its people.
Given their outsized economic role, strengthening the resilience of coastal communities is not just a regional or national priority but a global imperative.
Carbon & Climate
Hurricanes and climate change: A wake-up call ahead of COP29
Policy & Finance
Investments in nature will decide our future
Policy & Finance
The delay to EU deforestation rules must help people transition
Carbon & Climate
Nature conservation is a public good, not a market
Videos
The Green Mortician is the city-state's first water cremation service, which has a small carbon footprint compared to traditional funeral options.
Carbon & Climate
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.
Carbon & Climate
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.
Food & Agriculture
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.
Podcasts
Food & Agriculture
‘We revised the standard because we should’: What RSPO’s new rules for sustainable palm oil mean for people and planet
EB Studio
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has released new criteria for certifying responsibly grown palm oil. What's changed and how does RSPO respond to criticism that the new standard lowers the bar for deforestation?
Goumbook launched a regional oceans network that brought discussions on the blue economy to the forefront at the last COP summit. Founder Tatiana Abella tells the Eco-Business Podcast why healthy oceans are important for the Middle East.
Carbon & Climate
‘A 1.1°C warmer world is already a matter of life and death’: Climate scientist Winston Chow
The Singapore scientist, recently elected to the UN's top climate body, tells the Eco-Business Podcast about the precarious state of climate adaptation in developing Asia. The region is not well-prepared to manage the cascading risks of extreme climate events, he says.
The stories of Malaysia’s indigenous tribes are now being captured through the fresh lenses of young female filmmakers. In this bilingual podcast recorded in English and Bahasa Melayu, they tell Eco-Business why they've picked up the camera.
