By Athar Parvaiz
NEW DELHI, Apr 16 2025 – Late in February, India’s noted ornithologist and conservationist, Asad Rahmani, wrote a letter to a wildlife warden in north India expressing his satisfaction about the availability of water in four important wetlands in Kashmir, where migratory birds from central Asia and Europe arrive annually for wintering.

This letter was in sharp contrast to Rahmani’s earlier concerns about the “deteriorating health” of wetlands in Kashmir and elsewhere in India. Conservationists, activists, and newspaper editorials in India have long been expressing concerns about the “decline” and “neglect” of wetland ecosystems across India. A recent editorial in a prominent English newspaper in India emphasized the importance of action-oriented measures by the federal and state governments for protecting wetlands.

In its Living Planet Report 2024, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) flagged the disappearing wetlands in the south Indian metropolitan city of Chennai (in the chapter “Tipping Point”) as a warning sign of rapid ecosystem destruction, which is not only resulting in acute water shortages but is also making Chennai more vulnerable to floods.

Wildlife enthusiasts such as Rahmani look at wetlands from the perspective of wetlands as wildlife habitats, particularly for birds.  “I reiterate that if we guarantee sufficient and timely supply of water, Kashmir wetlands will again support lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of birds in each wetland. They also have great potential to attract tourists and birdwatchers,” Rahmani, who has also served as the Director of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), wrote in the letter seen by IPS.

“Hokarsar [wetland] is important for both resident and migratory waterfowl. As many as 64 species in and around the wetland have been reported during bird ringing studies. The [wetland] is particularly important as a wintering area for migratory ducks and geese and as a breeding area for herons, egrets, and rails,” Rahmani noted.

In his earlier communications in the past few years, Rahmani has expressed serious concerns about the deteriorating health of wetlands and their shrinkage.

Vanishing wetlands in India

On the occasion of this year’s World Wetlands Day on February 2, India designated four new Ramsar sites in three different states, taking the tally of Ramsar sites wetlands to 89 in India.

However, despite adding more Ramsar sites almost every year and celebrating these conservation efforts, many wetlands across India are unraveling and disappearing at an alarming rate—the country has already lost nearly one-third of its wetlands to urbanization since 1940, according to the available data.

Quoting data from the written response of India’s environment ministry to a Right to Information (RTI) application, a report in one of India’s national newspapers on March 24 (this year) revealed that out of India’s estimated over 200,000 wetlands, only 102 have been notified and even these are concentrated in three states and one Union territory. When a wetland is notified by the government in India, it means the demarcation of the wetland’s boundary, its ecological importance, and the need for its conservation are officially recognized and are also made available for public knowledge.

Wetlands are the lifelines that provide freshwater, food, and building materials; regulate floods; recharge groundwater; and even help combat climate change through carbon sequestration, experts say, adding that expanding agriculture, pollution, and unchecked water extraction are pushing these fragile ecosystems—and the species that depend on them—toward crisis.

Rahmani told IPS that there are scores of laws and conservation policies introduced by the federal and state governments in India for the protection of wetlands across the country, but, he said, they “have failed” to ensure their protection.

“We have the Wetland Authority of India and state wetland authorities that have identified wetlands for conservation. But there is hardly anything significant these so-called authorities have done so far for wetland protection. Sometimes the officials of these authorities have no basic idea of the functioning of a healthy wetland,” Rahmani observed.

He said that the Government of India has started several good conservation schemes and projects, such as the Amrit Sarovar project, under which each district will protect 75 wetlands for which money was also given. “[But] this good scheme is mostly used to carry out unnecessary construction in wetlands, such as cemented works in the name of wetland management and tourism development,” he said.

Protecting wetlands

“No wetland should be ‘beautified.’ Nature is beautiful. Keeping local ecology and naturalness in mind, most wetlands can be revived very easily with little funds… no natural wetland lives in isolation… catchment area is extremely important for wetlands revival and conservation,” Rahmani said.

According to Rahmani, small wetlands, important for biodiversity and local people, “are neglected,” and larger wetlands (some of them man-made lakes and reservoirs) “are under threat of hedonistic” tourism.

Faiyaz Ahmad Khudsar, senior scientist, Biodiversity Parks Programme, University of Delhi, said that wetlands are unfortunately often seen as wastelands.

“If there are any specific places for dumping of solid or liquid waste, they are wetlands and streams… similarly, near cities you have wetlands getting encroached upon for construction of houses and other infrastructure,” Khudsar said.

He observed that there has to be a focus on restoration ecology if the degraded wetlands are to be protected. This, he said, can be done by supporting the degraded ecosystems to recover, which needs to be supported by communities, scientists, and the government together. “We have to understand how the restoration is carried out scientifically—looking at the ecological history of the site and reference ecosystems is very important to find out the reasons for degradation,” he said.

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By Danielle Nierenberg
BALTIMORE, Maryland, Apr 16 2025 – Last year, 343 million people were experiencing acute food insecurity, according to the World Food Programme (WFP). That’s 10 percent higher than in 2023.

And in the midst of a food insecurity crisis around the world, funding is being slashed for programs on the front lines of delivering food aid, fighting for humanitarianism, and literally saving lives.

We’re seeing this play out not only in the United States, as we’ve discussed in this newsletter and reported on at Food Tank, but worldwide. WFP is facing a 40 percent drop in funding for 2025 compared to 2024. This has created what WFP calls an “unprecedented crisis for tens of millions across the globe reliant on food aid.”

“For the past two years, despite the generosity of many governments and individual donors, WFP has experienced a steady decline in funding. These cuts are pushing tens of millions of people who depend on WFP toward catastrophic hunger,” said Barron Segar, World Food Program USA President and CEO.

“Never have the stakes been higher. We urgently need an infusion of support from individuals and the private sector here in the U.S. to help continue WFP’s lifesaving work.”

On social media, WFP did not mince words: Putting food aid in jeopardy “could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation.”

WFP’s current funding situation puts more than 58 million people at risk of losing life-saving assistance in the agency’s 28 most critical crisis response operations. This hits children especially hard: Sweeping cuts to global nutrition funding could result in a staggering 369,000 additional child deaths every year, per a new analysis published in Nature.

I want to highlight some of the work that WFP conducts globally, including emergency assistance in conflict areas, social safety programs, and climate adaptation and resilience-building in 120+ countries. These life-saving measures could disappear if the organization does not receive the proper funding it needs.

MYANMAR

The Challenges: Prior to a recent 7.7-magnitude earthquake, 15.2 million people here were already food-insecure—and the natural disaster has only made things trickier. Not to mention that the hunger season, when agricultural food shortages are most acute, tends to start around July.

What Solutions Are at Risk: Right now, without about US$60 million in urgent funding, more than 1.2 million people could be cut off from life-saving food assistance this month. Beyond food, WFP is also providing specialized nutritious foods and counseling for tuberculosis patients and people receiving treatment for HIV, to support treatment and recovery.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

The Challenges: Violence by militia groups is escalating in the east and has displaced more than a million people, and food insecurity is at crisis levels for more than 28 million people. And about 3.7 million children and pregnant and breastfeeding women are acutely malnourished.

What Solutions Are at Risk: Last year, WFP was able to support 5.4 million people with food, cash, and other interventions to combat malnutrition and boost resilience—and today, WFP estimates about 6.4 million farmers, schoolchildren, women business owners, and more are in need of the organization’s support. This work cannot continue without about US$399 million in aid, WFP estimates.

NIGERIA

The Challenges: In the upcoming mid-summer hunger season, 33.1 million Nigerians are expected to face severe food shortages.

What Solutions Are at Risk: Without an influx of new funding—about US$620 million—life-saving food and nutrition assistance in both Nigeria and the broader Central Sahel region will halt this month. And more than 3,000 users at 90+ humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations rely on WFP’s Emergency Telecommunications Service (ETS) for internet access.

UKRAINE

The Challenges: Due largely to Russia’s war, more than 5 million people are in need of food and livelihood assistance, and agriculture has been decimated: The war has turned vast farmlands into minefields, and the ag sector has suffered about US$80 billion in damage.

What Solutions Are at Risk: In recent years, WFP has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance and countless food kits and student meals to frontline areas—about 82 percent of which is sourced from within the country, to support the economy. WFP is also clearing mines from small-scale agricultural land and supporting the land’s safe return to food production.

BOLIVIA

The Challenges: WFP is seeing the effects of worsening extreme weather conditions, such as floods and droughts, which impact agriculture and food access, increase poverty, and exacerbate food insecurity especially among rural and Indigenous people.

What Solutions Are at Risk: WFP is able to provide direct assistance and skills-development programs for small-scale Indigenous farmers experiencing food insecurity, to boost their understanding of entrepreneurship, e-commerce, and resilient agriculture systems.

ETHIOPIA

The Challenges: Because of weather extremes, economic shocks, and conflicts, hunger in Ethiopia is particularly dire. About 5.5 million people are food insecure, alongside more than 1 million refugees who also rely on food assistance.

What Solutions Are at Risk: In 2024, WFP was able to reach 7.7 million people with food support; 620,000 people with initiatives that provide seeds, market access, and other technologies to build resilience and break the cycle of food-insecurity; and about 400,000 school-aged children with daily meals every month. In order for this work to continue just over the next month, WFP needs about US$338 million.

Here’s the truth: When funding is taken away from humanitarian organizations like the World Food Programme, people will die.

These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet—these are millions of people going hungry and having their lives torn apart by a wealthy nation’s unwillingness to support our fellow human beings.

Let me repeat words I quoted earlier from WFP USA President and CEO Barron Segar: The stakes have never been higher.

If our political leaders are not going to step up, we need to. Last month, the WFP launched an Emergency Hunger Relief Fund, aimed at raising even a small portion of the money they urgently need to continue their work. If you feel so moved, you can donate as an individual.

What I really hope we’ll see is a mobilization of philanthropies, investors, private-sector leaders, and others to help support global food relief and the food system.

Ending hunger should not be a political or partisan question. And even if funding for these programs is ultimately restored—which would certainly be a victory—it’s still unacceptable in the first place that people’s lives and livelihoods can vanish in an instant.

Building sustainable, long-lasting food security around the globe is a moral imperative, and it’s possible to accomplish within our lifetimes. When we all work together and pitch in what we can—from creative individuals like Food Tankers and governments to the private-sector funders and philanthropic foundations—I truly believe a better food system is possible.

Let’s get to work!

Danielle Nierenberg is President of Food Tank and an expert on sustainable agriculture and food issues. She has written extensively on gender and population, the spread of factory farming in the developing world and innovations in sustainable agriculture.

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By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 16 2025 – This year, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum’s theme is “Youth at the Forefront: Leveraging Science and Social Inclusion for Sustainable Development”, bringing together government representatives, young leaders and policymakers among other relevant stakeholders, to deliberate over youth involvement in the ongoing efforts to implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On the sidelines of the forum, on April 15, Generation Unlimited, in collaboration with several United Nations (UN) agencies including the UN Youth Office, UNICEF and UNESCO, hosted an event: “What works to amplify the rights and voices of youth in education and employment?”. This event featured testimonies from policymakers, young leaders and global experts, with the objective of finding ways to promote economic empowerment and quality education for young people.

A major theme of discussion during this event was the second principle of the SDGs, known as “leaving no one behind”. Through this principle, the UN seeks to eliminate structural barriers, such as gaps in funding and inequalities, that prevent young people from all walks of life from having equal opportunities for success.

According to figures from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), approximately 251 million young people are currently not in school, the majority of which are in developing countries. Roughly 20 percent of global youth does not receive formal employment education training, with 2 out of 3 being young women and girls.

“Education is the key driver of prosperous, inclusive and peaceful societies. Yet, quality education risks being the privilege of a few, if we do not take serious measures to give every child across the globe the same chance to learn and thrive,” said Audrey Azzoulay, the Director-General of UNESCO.

It is imperative that young people are given access to programs that develop their skills in the workforce. However, millions of people around the world have found themselves unable to find employment due to contrasting demands from labor markets.

“What we see around the world is a mismatch between what young people are skilled at and what private sectors and employers need. The International Labour Organization estimates that 2 out of every 3 young workers in lower middle income countries have qualifications that are not aligned with their jobs. That in turn, leads to lower retention, lower productivity, and a lack of fulfillment in their work,” said Urmila Sarkar, the founder and lead of programmes at Generation Unlimited.

Young people who experience mismatches in the labour market face a host of economic and professional struggles, including reduced pay, higher rates of turnover, fewer employment options, and difficulty in career development. These impacts can be seen on a larger scale, as social inequalities are exacerbated and local economies can suffer from stunted growth.

Sarkar states that there are many different solutions to skills mismatches in global economies, the most crucial of which is creating “stronger partnerships between education and local industries to reduce this skills mismatch and promote employability”. Simple program changes, such as including private sector input into job training curriculums, can make a significant difference. Additionally, introducing programs such as work-based learning, mentorships, and apprenticeships, could give young people in developing countries the tools to be self-sufficient and competent workers.

Another important topic of discussion in the forum was the structural inequalities that target young women and girls. One such factor is the lack of menstrual healthcare in developing countries, which not only poses a significant risk to the lives of millions of women and girls globally, but also creates numerous obstacles for them in the workforce.

Soumya Dabriwal, the co-founder of Project Baala, an organization that seeks to improve conditions in menstrual health and hygiene in India, spoke on the numerous hurdles that women and girls face in developing, low-income countries. “33 percent of women in India actually miss work due to their periods. Menstrual health and hygiene can seem like a health issue but it has huge repercussions on economic and educational opportunities for young women and girls,” said Dabriwal.

According to UN Women, millions of females around the world face barriers in education and employment, as well as a restriction of their rights and freedom, due to “period poverty”, also known as the inability to access menstrual health and hygiene products and educational services. Across the world, menstrual health products are classified as luxury goods and are taxed, pushing them outside of the acceptable price range for millions of women and girls.

A study conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) found that only 1 in 10 women across 12 countries didn’t have access to adequate water and sanitation services (WASH) after their last period. In Bangladesh and Egypt, only 32 percent and 66 percent of girls respectively were aware of periods before their first menstruation. Social stigmas and the pervasive lack of education surrounding menstruation has made it difficult for millions of women and girls to have freedom, dignity, and equal opportunities.

“Menstrual health and hygiene management, when available to all, can help dismantle barriers and support adolescent girls to become healthy, educated, and empowered women. Yet, until recently, little attention has been paid to defining, monitoring, and investing in menstrual health,” said Kelly Ann Naylor, UNICEF Director of Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) and Climate, Environment, Energy, and Disaster Risk Reduction (CEED).

Dabriwal informed the panel of the measures taken by Project Baala to empower young women and girls and achieve progress in terms of economic and social development. “We need to build solutions that can stay…We work on creating agency rather than impacting beneficiaries. All the work that we do is about how we can take all the knowledge that we’ve gained and transfer it to the community. We take individuals and they go through our curriculums and they are trained to become reproductive health and rights advocates for their communities,” she said.

Dabriwal also stated that there must be efficient collaboration between stakeholders, policymakers, and young leaders to yield acceptable progress. “All of our models are about creating self-sufficiency rather than dependency on us or any other agency for that matter…We try to build so much evidence on what’s working and its intersectionalities and put it out there. Once you have data backing your solutions, you can find the right stakeholders and the right rules to actually help you scale the work that you are doing,” she added.

Additionally, social media, digital technology and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has made it necessary for all workers to have knowledge in these fields in order to develop their professional careers. However, access to education surrounding these fields is critically limited in the Global South, effectively shutting these young workers out of the workforce in these regions.

“I’ve seen firsthand how digital education can be a game-changer, not just in terms of large access, but in reshaping what it means to be prepared for the future. In many underserved communities, such as my home country Haiti, I work in traditional educational systems and I’ve seen the struggles they (students and teachers) are facing…For many marginalized youth,the barrier isn’t just about access but inclusion,” said Lentz Civil, the founder of Harts Haiti Inc. and a member of the UNESCO SDG4 Youth & Student Network.

Millions of young people around the world lack access to critical tools that will shape their future in a rapidly digitizing world. It is imperative for communities in developing, low-income countries to receive the adequate tools that will prepare them for success.

“For example, we are piloting programs in Haiti that will bring digital tools to underserved schools and train young people, not just on how to use technology, but how to create with it, question it, and lead with it. These communities (in our programs) are already showing progress, but what we truly need is global commitment…with AI, which is a powerful tool but can be really destructive if we don’t have the morals on how to properly use it. On one hand, access alone is not enough. What we do with the access matters even more. Digital education must also be about building agency,” added Civil.

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