A new study has linked tropical deforestation to tens of thousands of heat-related deaths every year, warning that Africa is among the regions most at risk as forests continue to disappear at alarming rates. Published this week in Nature Climate…
Rwanda Compels Mining Firms to Restore Land with New Environmental Bond Calculator
Rwanda has taken a groundbreaking step in safeguarding its environment by compelling mining companies to pay the full price of land restoration before they begin operations. In August 2025, the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) unveiled the Environment Bond Calculator,…
When the Rains Came Too Soon: Rwanda’s August Storms Expose Fragile Safety Nets
What should have been a quiet season turned tragic this August, when sudden storms brought lightning, floods and strong winds to communities across Rwanda. By the time the skies cleared, five people were dead, 25 injured, and dozens of homes…
Rwanda Prepares to Revive the Nyungwe–Ruhango Corridor: Nature and Communities on the Horizon
This August, Rwanda set plans in motion to restore the Nyungwe–Ruhango Corridor, a critical stretch of forests and wetlands in the Southern Province. Backed by a US $9 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and technical support from…
Paris Turns Polluted Past into Clean Future with Seine Swimming Sites
For decades, the idea of swimming in the Seine was met with mockery, disbelief, or outright concern. Once a symbol of France's industrial boom and its pollution, the river was long deemed unfit for human immersion. Yet, in a remarkable…
Global Courts Turn Up Heat on Big Polluters: Hope for Africa in Climate Justice Battle
As climate change continues to batter Africa with floods, droughts, and deadly heatwaves, a beacon of hope is rising, not from carbon markets or pledges at climate summits, but from the world’s highest courts. This week, all eyes are on…
Global Green Energy Divide Grows, What It Means for Africa and the Rest of the World
The world is producing more clean energy than ever before, but not everyone is benefitting equally. According to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), while global renewable energy capacity grew by 15 percent in 2024, most…
Ghana Leads Call for Climate Debt Cancellation to Protect Vulnerable Nations
As climate disasters intensify across the African continent, Ghana’s Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability, Mr. Seidu Issifu, is calling on the international community to establish a climate debt forgiveness mechanism, arguing that the very survival of vulnerable…
KOICA Volunteer Enhances Science Learning at St. Mary High School
Saint Mary’s High School in Kiruhura, Huye District, celebrated the inauguration of its newly improved environmental laboratory, a project spearheaded by KOICA Volunteer Mr. Jin Kwang-woo. Since joining the school in August 2024, Mr. Jin has worked diligently to enhance…
Scarred Lands in Kayonza: locals strive to Revive Forests Amid Relentless Deforestation
For as long as Jacqueline Murekatete could remember, the mountains of Kayonza had never been completely bare of vegetation and the region had never experienced the severity of drought and famine that has plagued the area in recent years. t…
Rwinkwavu Hills, Victim of Deforestation
Not far from Akagera National Park, in eastern Rwanda nearby Tanzanian coast lies Rwinkwavu sector. While passing there you can clearly see the naked red dirt hills, the view is free. Back in time, Rwinkwavu used to be a natural…
Resilience in Nyungwe: The Human and Wildlife Struggle Against Climate Change
In the lush forests of Nyungwe National Park, a place teeming with life, climate change has begun to weave a tale of struggle and resilience. Nyungwe, known for its rich biodiversity, is home to countless species, including the endangered mountain…
Rwandans tell the stories of their survival amidst a changing climate
In the heart of Rwanda, nestled in the vibrant community of Nyabihu, lives Jean-Pierre Uwimana, a father of three and a dedicated farmer. For years, Jean-Pierre has relied on the predictable rainy seasons to cultivate his crops, which provide sustenance…
The Changing Climate and the Resilient Farmers of Rwanda
In the hills of Northern Rwanda, Petronile Nyiranzarindwanimana, a seasoned farmer, has witnessed the changing climate’s impact on her land. For over two decades, she has cultivated fruits and vegetables on her 50-acre farm in the Rulindo district. However, the…
Dialogues about environmental conservation praise shower over bath for people and the planet
Research shows a daily soak in the tub soothes skin, reduces stress, and helps you sleep, but taking a shower is far more sustainable. In the ongoing dialogue about environmental conservation, showers are often championed over baths for their lower…
Climate change strikes South Sudan, all schools to shut down preparing for extreme heat
South Sudan's government is closing down all schools starting Monday as the country prepares for a wave of extreme heat expected to last two weeks. The health and education ministries advised parents to keep all children indoors as temperatures are…
Ethiopia: green legacy initiative improving nation’s water resource
Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative (GLI) has been playing a paramount role in improving the nation’s surface and ground water as well as maintaining the safety of dams, Water and Energy Minister Habtamu Etefa said. Ethiopia is implementing the initiative, which…
Some countries pay people cycling to work to promote less pollution and noise
There are a lot of countries around the world that are keen to get rid of their car-centric cities and promote a more distinguished urban core with less pollution and less noise. Therefore, they pay people who cycle to work.…
Campaign by activists results in 50 hours trip for giraffe Benito to escape extreme climate
A giraffe named Benito has left his home in Mexico's arid north to begin a 2,000km-trip (1,200 miles) to more temperate climates further south. Benito's voyage follows a long campaign by activists who warned that he was suffering in the…
Plastics pollution causing infertility and cancer mostly in men
There is a growing public concern over the increasing cancer cases and men who cannot have children because they are infertile. The Ugandan ministry of health figures show that infertility affects about 15 percent of couples of reproductive age in…
Stars and billionaires who use their private jets the most are labeled as climate offenders
Americans emit three times more than the global average, but that is nothing compared to the billionaires and celebrities who catch their private jets as often as someone else catch a bus or grab their car. In 2021, per capita…
The longest gestation of African bush elephant contributes to their nearly disappearance
The African bush elephant has the longest gestation period of any mammal: a whopping 22 months, almost two years, which does not help the problem of the declining elephant populations. In 2016, experts estimated that Africa’s elephant population had dropped by 111,000 elephants in…
The use of synthetic fertilizers increase the nitrogen pollution
While the world is rushing to decrease pollutions in order to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, some products with pollutant compositions are being officially used by farmers in Rwanda, among others synthetic fertilizers which increase the nitrogen pollution…
Irrigation in Ndego, the messiah long waited by residents
Zelda Ayinkamiye, a 72-year-old resident of Ndego sector in Kayonza district, she was rushed back from Tanzania two years ago and now lodged by another resident, she has to farm in order to eat, however, the dry season can’t allow…
Climate change traumatizes locals and hinders development
Eastern Province is not normally impossible area to live in: the region is home to many places that are among the best in the country in terms of production and stable weather. Yet certain areas of the province, such as…
Clean water remains a dream for residents in Ndego sector
The sector of Ndego in Kayonza District, the eastern part of Rwanda which used to be part of Akagera national park before it was populated in 1995, has always encountered clean water issues. Recently, residents have been requesting their leaders’…
Ndego: Abandoned women struggle to raise kids as extreme hunger ravages the area
When she got married eight years ago, Marie Rose Yafashije thought it was a heaven on earth, a place of joy and an opportunity to form own family. Little did she think that at one point, her husband would abandon…