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Zimbabwe

Displaced By Extreme Weather

November 11, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre is the world’s authoritative source of data and analysis on internal displacement.  Internal displacement refers to people being forced to flee their homes or places of habitual residence but who remain within their country’s borders.  Such displacements can be the result of conflict, violence, development projects, natural disasters, or climate change.  As of the end of 2018, over 41 million people were living in internal displacement because of conflict and violence alone.

This year, natural disasters are causing a record number of internal displacements.  In the first half of the year, 7 million people were displaced by disasters, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all the internal displacements worldwide.  The IDMC estimates that this number could hit 22 million by the end of the year.

The vast majority of displacement has been associated with storms and floods.  Cyclone Fani alone in May displaced more than 3.4 million people in India and Bangladesh.  In March, Cyclone Idai displaced 617,000 people in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.  In total, 950 extreme weather events in 102 countries and territories displaced 7 million people from January to June.

Technically speaking, internally displaced people are not considered to be refugees because they remain in their home countries.  But the growing millions of people represent a global crisis that continues to worsen with the changing climate.  The international community cannot ignore the plight of these people.  Governments around the world have to redouble their efforts to protect and assist their displaced citizens as well as to invest in sustainable development and climate change adaptation.

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Extreme Weather Displaced 7 Million People in First Half of 2019

Photo, posted August 5, 2012, courtesy of the U.S. Embassy, Jakarta via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Are Big Cats In Big Trouble?

January 16, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/EW-01-16-18-Big-Cats-in-Big-Trouble.mp3

According to researchers with the National Geographic Society’s Big Cats Initiative, cheetahs are much closer to extinction than previously thought. The research team has released a study, which was recently published in the journal PeerJ, that updates the cheetah population numbers in southern Africa, the largest of its remaining habitat.

[Read more…] about Are Big Cats In Big Trouble?

Wildlife Rediscoveries

March 30, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/EW-03-30-17-Wildlife-Rediscoveries-1.mp3

We recently brought you the rediscovery story of cave squeakers.  These tiny frogs, known for their high-pitched whistling calls, were native to the mountainous region of eastern Zimbabwe but had not been seen since 1962.  That all changed in late 2016, when researchers found four cave squeakers, confirming that after 58 years the species was not extinct.  Cave squeakers remain critically endangered according to the IUCN’s Red List of Endangered Species. 

[Read more…] about Wildlife Rediscoveries

Squeaking By

March 14, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/EW-03-14-17-Squeaking-By.mp3

Amphibians are one of the most threatened groups of animals on the planet.  Since the late 1980s, scientists have measured dramatic population declines from locations all over the world.  The plummeting amphibian populations are perceived to be one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity.  According to the IUCN, about 1 of every 3 amphibian species is facing extinction.  Some of the greatest threats facing amphibians include climate change, disease, and habitat destruction. 

[Read more…] about Squeaking By

Dehorning Rhinos

September 30, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EW-09-30-16-Dehorning-Rhinos.mp3

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 500,000 rhinos across Africa and Asia.  By 1970, the number was down to 70,000.  Today, there are less than 30,000 rhinos in the wild.  The number of black rhinos dropped to as low as 2,300 in 1993.  Aggressive conservation efforts have brought their numbers up to over 5,000 today.

[Read more…] about Dehorning Rhinos

The Complicated Case Of Cecil The Lion

August 27, 2015 By EarthWise

Cecil the Lion

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/EW-08-27-15-Cecil-the-Lion.mp3

The recent killing of Zimbabwe’s Cecil the Lion sparked a world-wide reaction and has focused a great deal of attention on the ethics of trophy hunting.  There is no question that trophy hunting is an extremely polarizing issue and there are demands around the world to curtail the practice.

[Read more…] about The Complicated Case Of Cecil The Lion

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