As the world marks International Day of Forests, a simple story from eastern Uganda stands out.

Each morning, Grace Nafula walks into a small forest behind her home. From beekeeping to medicinal plants and fuelwood, that forest is her income, energy source, and safety net.

Her reality reflects a bigger truth: across East Africa, forests quietly function as economic infrastructure. Over 80% of households rely on wood fuel, and forest products can contribute up to 30–40% of rural incomes.

Yet forests remain underfunded and undervalued.

When they disappear, communities lose far more than trees—they lose livelihoods, food security, and resilience.

It’s time to rethink priorities:
🌿 Treat forests as productive national assets
🌿 Invest in community management
🌿 Scale up climate and restoration finance

Because forests don’t just support life—they power economies.

 

Hello everyone,

I am part of a group of master’s students researching how new technologies can make biodiversity and environmental monitoring more accessible and affordable.
As part of our project, we’re collecting quick insights from people working in (or simply interested in) wildlife, land, or environmental monitoring.

Your feedback will help us understand real needs and design more practical solutions for conservation efforts.

🕒 The survey takes only 3 minutes
Thank you very much for your time and support! 🌿

Greetings Green Society,

I am currently working on research that involves estimating the social costs of PM₁₀ emissions (per ton) and I’m looking for recent estimates, ideally broken down by country.

If you or your organization has access to updated figures—or knows where I could find reliable data sources—it would be incredibly helpful for my work.

Even partial leads, relevant reports, or pointers to databases would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can share!

— Ambrose

Seeking Suggestions!

Sustainability has led to the emergence of many new professions across industries. Can you suggest some name of professions (list) that have evolved due to sustainability challenges and initiatives?

Stories have the power to unite, inspire, and drive action. Sharing this FREE toolkit from UNEP's SUPERB project that aims to help communities, practitioners, and policymakers harness storytelling for forest restoration and ecological change. ?? Ready to make an impact? Check it out!

Today I bought a coupon with which I will neutralize 4 tons a year for the next four years... I am wondering if anyone has already thought in this direction, and if you have ever heard anything about it???
It cost me 500€,
I mean I wanted to at least neutralize my footprint a little and help the planet.

Dear Colleagues,

There’s still time for your city to enter the AIPH World Green City Awards 2024. The awards celebrate innovation, achievement, and commitment to the globally recognised imperative to embrace nature-orientated solutions that harvest the power of plants and associated ecosystems services to help address the major challenges facing cities.

The 2024 edition of the AIPH World Green City Awards is offered in seven categories, with three finalists in each category from which one category winner is selected, and with one Grand Winner chosen from the seven category winners. Don’t miss this unique opportunity for your city to participate in the only global awards for cities where plants and nature are at the core.

All cities, large and small, are invited to showcase the bold and innovative actions they are taking to build greener, healthier, and more resilient cities. The deadline for submission of entries is 15th September 2023. For your convenience, a Step-by-Step Guide is available to assist in compiling and submitting your city’s entry/ies.

Find Out More and Enter Today: https://aiph.org/green-city/green-city-awards/

If you are a representative of a local government, you are invited to create an account on the online submission portal, which is the first step in compiling your city’s entry/ies. After doing so, you will gain access to the online entry form where you can make your city’s submission/s. Get started here: https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/6402/submitter

For queries and assistance, please reach out to [email protected].

Kind Regards,
The AIPH World Green City Awards Team

This week, parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity are meeting to develop a new blueprint for nature and people before COP 15 in December.

What will the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework mean for Africa?

Share your thoughts, and join the opening plenary of the Africa Green Economy Conference on 27 June to learn more! ? ggkp.org/AGEC