Tag: UNESCO

The world needs a reset and to restart well intentioned cooperation projects from start. Because right now the UN and EU projects look like software built on code from the 80s, rickety, patched, slow to adapt, and prone to crashing under the weight of outdated assumptions.

Environmental activists in Iran often face significant personal risk when speaking out about illegal land grabs, deforestation, or the destruction of protected areas. In recent years, several high-profile environmentalists have been detained, interrogated, or imprisoned on broad national-security charges, sometimes without transparent legal proceedings.

It's full of rare and endemic species, and it's a UNESCO heritage site. Iran's natural treasure, a 1000-kilometer forest, the Hyrcanian forest has been on fire for several days. It stretches from the Caspian Sea and into neighboring Azerbaijan and is home to more than 3,200 kinds of plants. 

Researchers who have studied the island for decades describe it as a key ecological buffer for Aldabra, helping to protect the atoll from pollution, invasive species, and light disturbance. If Assomption’s natural systems collapse, they warn, Aldabra could be next.

While international support from partners such as UNESCO and the World Bank was important, the core driver of Madagascar’s recovery effort was national resolve. The Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD), Madagascar National Parks, and local authorities introduced stronger frameworks to control forest exploitation.

On May 28, 2025, the tranquil Alpine village of Blatten in Switzerland's Lötschental Valley, about 75 miles west of Geneva, faced a catastrophic event. A massive section of the Birch Glacier, estimated at 1.5 million cubic meters, collapsed, unleashing a torrent of ice, mud, and rock that engulfed the village. Some 90% of the village was destroyed, and one man is missing. Climate change is to blame. 

Portland-based environmental journalist Kevin Gepford, currently researching a book on global tortoise conservation spent two months on Seychelles’ Aldabra Atoll between December and January, living at the island’s remote research station with 16 other people.

As controversy brews over a Qatari-backed development on Seychelles’ remote Assomption Island, questions are being raised about environmental transparency, geopolitical influence, and the future of conservation. I reached out to Dr. Nirmal Jivan Shah, CEO of Nature Seychelles, for his unfiltered perspective.

A remote coral island in the Indian Ocean is quietly being transformed into a luxury resort and international airstrip for Qatari royalty—allegedly sold off in a secretive $50 million deal to Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan, without public consent or environmental oversight.

Off the powder-soft sands and turquoise waters of the Seychelles, a quiet storm is brewing—one that involves royalty, rats, and the last truly wild places left on Earth.

The fate of Assomption Island may determine not just the survival of its biodiversity, but the integrity of Seychelles’ commitment to sustainable development in the face of land grabs and neo-colonialism by powerful foreign interests.

This story is about the Dead Sea, why it's shrinking, and what is being done about it. It is also a call for action story to spread awareness on this critical issue.