Our Stories

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Cameroon community to return home after lake explosion

Nearly 1,700 people died in 1986 when Cameroon's Lake Nyos suddenly released deadly levels of carbon dioxide into the air following a build-up of the gas in the lake. Another 10,000 people were uprooted and 3,000 heads of livestock perished. "I lost more than 21 members of my family and all our more

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Fishing provides new jobs in Panama

Fishermen and women in the small fishing community of Guanábano in western Panama begin their work between three and four each morning. They fire up their boat engines and set out in search of a good place to cast their fishing nets. Once a good location is spotted, they cast their nets into the wat more

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Zambia: Villagers turn their backs on overfishing

By Ville Saikku and Sirak Gebrehiwot Sebi Nafukwe, who never had any agricultural experience before, is busy harvesting rice for the first time in Mbete village, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Zambia. She is one of 700 women who have turned their backs on fishing from the lake after ove more

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New nets help fishermen in Gaza become self-reliant

By Dania Darwish The Swedish Village, a remote village of fishermen in the far south of the Gaza Strip in the occupied Palestinian territory, is home to some 95 households living under extreme poverty. Visitors to the Village – built by the Swedish Government in the 1960s – can immediately see the p more

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Peru: Improving cook stoves and access to energy

by James Leslie Cooking on a wood fire has always required a great deal of effort for 48-year-old Pilar Valladolid. She is supported in this duty by her 8-year-old daughter, Pamela. Together they have to walk more than an hour to collect the firewood they will use to cook with during the coming days more

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Electrifying Afghanistan

Speaking from Kabul, Moqamuddin Siraj uses a word that is at a premium in Afghanistan: “Momentum.” Siraj, a programme officer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), says Afghanistan is making progress on micro-hydro-power projects that are bringing much-needed electricity to rural par more

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In Cambodia, a monk fights for the environment

What began as a Buddhist monk’s mission to halt deforestation in his native Cambodia has resulted in the legal protection of 18,261 hectares of evergreen forest. The forested area, located in northwest Cambodia, is now aptly called The Monks’ Community Forest. In recognition of this achievement, the more

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Lao villagers work together to build hydro power plant

In a remote village in northern Lao, Keupkku settles down to watch the evening news on his new color television. On the other side of the room, two of his daughters turn on the lights to continue their studies. Just a month ago this would have been impossible. But a newly installed 7.5 kilowatt hydr more

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In Brazil, UNDP steps up CFC-elimination project

Brazil, a land of great beauty and even greater potential, is an economic engine of Latin America and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. But with this great potential comes an even greater danger, as the specter of climate change looms large on the horizon. In 1993, the United Nations more

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In Senegal, access to water 'life-transforming'

12-year-old Kalla Niang is highly self-assured and energetic. She is busily preparing herself for high school, an opportunity that, until recently, would not have been available to her. Kalla lives in the village of Darou Ngaraf in northern Senegal. Like many girls in rural Senegal, Kalla and her si more