Feature Story

“I was born in Naganimora village and was schooled only as far as the ninth class, before my marriage to a man from Leangyu village was fixed, and I had to move here. In these mountains we have always relied on jhum for our food and most of our income. We clear patches in the forest and then plant a mixture of crops – some of these are wild plants and others are domestic varieties. After a few years, the harvest gets poorer, so we leave the patch to recover and plant a new area. This used to work well and we were able to meet most of our food needs.

“We experienced severe floods twice in 2014. In the first flood in May, the water started flowing at night and the flood reached its peak in the early hours of the morning. People tried to move everything to the upper storeys of their homes, but the water level rose so high that it did not really help. Our emergency services did their best to evacuate people, but the people didn’t want to leave their homes – they had no idea how bad the flood would become. Also, our Fire Brigade and Police did not have proper training for such situations.

“I have been a widow for many years, so caring for my children has weighed heavily on me. For women like me, even when our own children are grown up, we have our grandchildren to look after and feed, because their parents go to the towns to look for work – there is no other work for them here. The mothers come back home to the village when it is time to have their babies, and then we care for the children when the mothers go back to the city.

“It was during my childhood years in Malawi that my interest in the natural world was first awakened. We did not live in a city, and I spent nearly all of my time outdoors. But it was when I was in the ninth grade at school, and I looked down a microscope for the first time at leaves and guard cells, that my mind was made up - I was going to become a botanist! I went on to study Botany at university before taking up my first job with the Botanical Society in South Africa.

“I have been involved in the fisheries sector in one capacity or another all my working life. So I have had a long period over which to observe and experience, from different perspectives, the issues that affect the fisheries sector in the Western and Central Pacific. The story I have to tell is one of ‘David and Goliath’ in the fisheries world – it is a story of transformational change in fisheries management, involving Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and the wider powers of global fisheries operators.

“On any given day, I am more than happy to walk visitors up to Samdingkha, to introduce them to our ever-vigilant village ‘watchperson’ – the siren that warns us of chhuri (Dzonghka for ‘glacial lake outburst floods’). Just being near it and seeing it overlook the valley makes me feel safe and reassured that today, I am better prepared to face a disaster – unlike what happened 22 years ago.

By Andrew Steer, president and CEO, World Resources Institute

Welcome to the Anthropocene, an era built on centuries of economic growth. In the 50 years before this new age, the human economic footprint grew faster in terms of GDP than at any time in recorded history. By the year 2100, it could grow to Bigfoot proportions, possibly 1,000 times the size it was in 1900.

By Park Won-soon, mayor of Seoul and president of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability

Cities have been playing a pivotal role in global development since industrialization. They have grown intensively and become the center for politics, administration, culture and industrialization. They are truly symbols of advanced civilization, where innovation and opportunity are booming.

Editor's note: This story is part of the publication produced for the 25^th Anniversary of the Global Environment Facility. The publication is a compilation of contributions from across the GEF partnership; it includes stories and guest articles that have being submitted by countries, partner organizations and dignitaries from around the world.

Article by former World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the GEF

Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique was once a safari destination of choice for celebrities from around the world. Former Hollywood actors John Wayne and Joan Crawford are rumored to have been photographed close up with lions.