UN Member States need to "put aside short-term national gain" in order to protect the ocean, which represents "the lifeblood of our planet". That's the impassioned plea from UN chief Antรณnio Guterres, in his opening remarks to The Ocean Conference which runs throughout the week at UN Headquarters in New York. The conference aims to [...]

A charity runner who does not particularly enjoy running has completed 40 marathons in 40 days to raise awareness about the global goal of providing all people with clean water and sanitation by 2030. Mina Guli's quest spanned six continents where she ran along the banks of six of the world's major rivers, including the [...]

The ocean is the "main player" in Caribbean tourism and this "fragile resource" must be protected. That's the opinion of the Director of Sustainable Tourism for the 33-member Association of Caribbean States (ACS), Julio Orozco. Mr Orozco is based in Trinidad and Tobago which is among the world's Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which depend [...]

Countries are expected to underline their commitment to protect marine and coastal areas when they meet at UN Headquarters this week for the first-ever Ocean Conference. UN agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are supporting their efforts to conserve and sustainably use the ocean as outlined in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals [...]

Social protections for vulnerable farmers and their families need to be expanded in many countries across the world, in recognition of the vital role they play in food production. That's according to Natalia Winder Rossi, a Senior Social Protection Officer with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Unlike formal workplaces, which are covered by labour [...]

Civil society groups, government agencies and local people in Trinidad and Tobago are coming together to improve management of forests and other protected areas, including those linked to the sea. They are doing so through a US$30 million project focusing on six pilot sites across the island nation that include a marine protected area in [...]

A woman who was once called crazy for protecting sea turtles from poachers has helped to make her community a model for marine conservation in the Caribbean. Suzan Lakhan Baptiste is Managing Director of Nature Seekers, a non-profit conservation group in the fishing village of Matura in Trinidad and Tobago, where female leatherback turtles come [...]

At least 40 migrants "die of thirst" in Sahara desert Forty-four migrants have died in the Sahara desert after their vehicle broke down as it was heading from Niger to Libya, the UN said on Friday. According to IOM, the UN Migration Agency, the victims included babies and women. They were found after survivors raised [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, with Jocelyne Sambira and Matthew Wells. In today’s programme: the Paris climate agreement is expected to continue, despite US withdrawal; and the first-ever Ocean Conference opens next week to tackle challenges such as marine pollution and dwindling fish stocks.

Now in its 50th year, Israel's occupation is being cited by a recent UN report as a "key driver of humanitarian need" in the Palestinian territory and West Bank, including east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Released annually, the humanitarian overview by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also mentions the internal [...]