Global Scans · Life on Land · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss,

• [New] The expansion of irrigated lands and increased rice productivity, facilitated by Japan-supported irrigation infrastructure, mitigated the risks of harvest failure due to droughts and floods. Taylor & Francis
• [New] Environmental crimes like land grabbing, illegal deforestation, and poaching hinder climate action, deter investment in sustainable practices, and threaten biodiversity across major biomes worldwide. Mongabay Environmental News
• [New] By constructing new, higher land, and implementing science-based coastal protection, TCAP aims to safeguard communities and infrastructure in Funafuti, potentially becoming the only habitable area of land by 2100 - or even 2050 based on intensified climate models. Inter Press Service
• [New] While challenges and risks exist, ongoing developments in technology and regulatory frameworks point toward a future where asset tokenization becomes an integral part of the global financial ecosystem, bridging the gap between traditional and decentralized finance. Deadline News
• [New] International organizations such as the UNEP and the IUCN and financial institutions will have a key role to play in promoting environmentally sustainable wind energy projects, recognizing that development can only be considered sustainable if it addresses both the biodiversity and climate crises. OUP Academic
• [New] From a longer-term perspective, Vietnam's growth potential faces a confluence of structural challenges, including the slow development of a manufacturing ecosystem, a shortage of skilled labour, and rapid population ageing. https://vir.com.vn/
• [New] Much of the boreal forest, the Earth's northernmost forests and most significant provider of carbon storage and clean water, could be seriously impacted, along with tundra regions, treeless shrublands north of the boreal forest that play a significant role in regulating the Earth's climate. phys.org
• [New] Europe has experienced an increasing number of severe weather-related natural hazards, including droughts, forest fires, heatwaves, storms and heavy rain, over the past decade. FoodNavigator.com
• [New] There is untapped potential for Africa's vast agricultural land and the risks posed by climate change to its biodiversity. Cryptopolitan
• [New] As much as climate change is a threat to the future of life on the planet so is the reduction of biodiversity. PetaPixel
• [New] Although the UK economy's overall momentum was at best sluggish last year, the mild recession that occurred could still be classified as a relatively soft landing given the steepest rise in policy interest rates set by the Bank of England over a two-year period since the late 1990s. Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• [New] The European Parliament adopted a new law that sets a target for the EU to restore at least 20% of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. Sorainen
• [New] Climate change, deforestation, and pollution threaten the delicate balance of Earth's ecosystems. Clean the World
• [New] The Nature Restoration Law, a pillar of the European Green Deal, aims to restore at least 20% of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050, but landowners have questioned how it would be financed. .foodingredientsfirst.com/
• The landing point in Cyprus is located on the beach of Yeroskipou and will be made at an existing Primetel terminal. Submarine Telecoms Forum, Inc.
• Global environmental change - the combined effects of land use change, over-exploitation, biotic and abiotic pollution, and climate change - is having a disproportionately stronger impact on the sectors of society that present the least threat to life-supporting systems. Stanford Graduate School of Business
• Advanced Robotics will establish a supportive ecosystem for Meltio's technology in Italy, collaborating with technology centers, machine companies, academia, and industry to drive business opportunities. 3D Printing Industry
• The Indian Institute of Science research team is testing the potential of drone swarms to deal with forest fires, which have intensified globally due to the effects of climate change. Inspenet
• Despite the Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening cycle, the U.S. has exhibited exceptional growth though long and variable lags of monetary policy alongside concerns over the sustainability of the national deficit present risks to the 'soft landing' thesis. KKR
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects a global temperature increase by 1.5 ° C by 2040, which is expected to lead to significant sea level rise, population movements, and extreme climatic events (storms, droughts, floods, heat waves, and forest fires). PubMed Central (PMC)
• The World Economic Forum, a leading international business body, contends that business as usual has no future because over half of global GDP is potentially threatened by the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. PubMed Central (PMC)
• A bill to halve the use of chemical pesticides by 2030 was withdrawn, and EU farmers no longer have to set aside part of their land to foster biodiversity, under green farming measures. Eurasia Review
• Biodiversity is under many anthropogenic threats globally, including habitat degradation, habitat loss, biological invasions, overexploitation, pollution, and climate change 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Nature

Last updated: 14 April 2024