News headlines in 2015, page 6

ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida, Dec 02 (IPS) - Civil society organizations, known as NGOs, have for decades used their non-government status to prod officials, politicians and business on climate issues. Veteran campaigners Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Oxfam, Kenya's tree planters, India's Chipko tree-hugging protectors and indigenous movements worldwide first raised the issues of protecting the Earth and its atmosphere.

HAVANA, Dec 02 (IPS) - Denia Arrascaeta suffers water shortages on a near daily basis in the neighbourhood in the Cuban capital where she lives. "Sometimes I don't even have water to drink," she told IPS.

ANSE-LA-RAYE, St. Lucia, Dec 02 (IPS) - In the Caribbean, some women find themselves on the frontline with the battle to mitigate climate change. Meet Dr. Krystal Cox. She is one of three girls who all studied medicine and got medical degrees.

PARIS, Dec 02 (IPS) - Recognizing that agriculture plays a significant role in global warming, farmer associations say they want to offer solutions, and they're urging governments to include them in negotiations during the United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 in Paris.

JIQUILISCO /SAN MIGUEL, El Salvador, Nov 30 (IPS) - Knife in hand, Domitila Reyes deftly cuts open the leaves covering the cob of corn, which she carefully removes from the plant – a process she carries out over and over all morning long, standing in the middle of a sea of corn, a staple in the diet of El Salvador.

HARARE, ZIMBABWE, Nov 30 (IPS) - It was all smiles as Bertha Chibhememe of Sangwe communal area in Chiredzi, south eastern Zimbabwe, showed off her traditional seed varieties at a seed fair. A 45-year-old smallholder in Zimbabwe's lowveld region, Chibhememe told how her "nzara yapera" maize variety is thriving in a changing climate.

LILONGWE, Malawi, Nov 30 (IPS) - In the last few years, Malawi has successfully managed to reduce infant and under five mortality. But reducing malnutrition, which affects an estimated 1.4 million children, continues to be a costly challenge for the country.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Nov 29 (IPS) - On a sunny November day in Addis Ababa the courtyard of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) centre is packed with people—some attend a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reception clinic, others get essential supplies, while students attend classes, and many simply play volleyball, table football or dominoes to pass the time.

NAIROBI, Nov 28 (IPS) - Extreme weather conditions, an impact of climate change faced by African countries despite contributing the least global emissions, is attracting the attention of many as the clock ticks towards the start of the 2015 United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21).

WEST BENGAL, INDIA, Nov 27 (IPS) - In Bengal's mangrove forests, the effects of climate change are forcing men to leave their families in search of work. But now, seaweed farming is offering the women left behind financial stability and empowerment.