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UN Chronicle
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As the World's Population Surpasses 8 Billion, What Are the Implications for Planetary Health and Sustainability?

Courtesy of Population Division, UN DESA

Ultimately, planetary health and the sustainability of our economic system will depend on the social, demographic, economic and environmental choices that we make. 

Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Are Key to an Inclusive and Sustainable Future

Rwanda: Agnes Mukamushinja Nova coffee1 - Agnes Mukamushinja
Supported by ITC, young Guinean entrepreneurs adapted their business models with urban logistics and product deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic..  Paul Traoré

Micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are engines of economic growth and employment, accounting for 90 per cent of businesses, up to 70 per cent of all jobs and 50 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the global level.  

The Future We Want Requires More Women in Diplomacy

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed addresses the event “Her Land. Her Rights: Advancing Gender Equality and Land Restoration Goals” in the General Assembly Hall on June 2023. UN Photo/Manuel Elías.

At the United Nations, we, the women working in diplomacy, along with our feminist male allies, have an opportunity to drive forward the change we need. 

Twenty Years of Progress Is Not Enough: We Must Act Now to End Obstetric Fistula

Rose Tonga married at 18 years, suffered obstetric fistula for 21 years. She has now received treatment and regained her dignity, thanks to UNFPA and partners. ©UNFPA South Sudan
©UNFPA

Obstetric fistula can be prevented when there is access to quality, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and information. 

Protecting the Tree of Life: The Path Forward

Forest biodiversity in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, Ecuador, 28 February 2019. Fährtenleser, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, Edward Norton. Photo provided courtesy of the author.

Though we humans share the earth with the rest of its life forms, and we are an integrated part of its biodiversity, we have an outsized impact on the health of the planet. 

The United Nations General Assembly Can Do More to Address Threats to Peace and Security

Historically, the General Assembly has played a large role in peace and security in periods when the Security Council is severely divided.

Cultivation of the Argan Tree Can Help Combat Climate Change and Support Sustainable Development

An argan tree in a valley near Tafraoute, Morocco. Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen/Wikimedia Commons
Foliage, flowers and immature fruit. Argania spinosa, near Agadir, Morocco.  Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Argan products are produced by traditional way in a unique area of Morocco near Essaouira. Photo by RoubinakiM/Wikimedia Commons
Oil of the argan fruit. Photo: Werner100359/Wikimedia Commons
An Argan tree standing alone in nowhere, Tafraout, Morocco. Photo by F.Benotman/Wikimedia Commons

The proclamation of the International Day of Argania by the General Assembly reflects the mobilization of the international community around the important cause of safeguarding and preserving the argan tree. 

The DARWIN200 Global Voyage

Dutch tall sailing ship Oosterschelde near Cabo Verde, 2012. Photographer: Arthur Smeets  © Shipping Company ‘Oosterschelde’
Map of DARWIN200 Voyage.
DARWIN200 participants conduct research on a beach during the project's United Kingdom pilot voyage in 2021. © DARWIN200
Tall Ship Oosterschelde off Cape Horn, Chile, 2014. © Shipping Company ‘Oosterschelde’

A decade in the making, the DARWIN200 project centres on inspiring a new wave of exceptional environmental leaders by training and empowering some of the world’s top young (from 18 to 25 years of age) conservationists.

Celebrating the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

Runners from 88 countries gathered in New York on 1 November 2003 to participate in the International Friendship Run, a four-mile course to Central Park. Many of the runners carried their national flags. UN Photo/Evan Schneider

The United Nations acknowledges sport’s role as a vehicle for building and sustaining peace through its capacity for dialogue and trust-building, and in the way it promotes tolerance and respect (SDG 16).

The Digital Last Mile: Where the Achievement of Human Rights, Sustainable Development and Women’s Empowerment Meet

© Li Nan | Dreamstime.com
Attribution: UNDP Pacific Office

As the United Nations catalytic finance entity for the world’s 46 least developed countries, one of the critical tasks of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is supporting the creation of gender-inclusive digital economies.