GLOBAL PRESS HQ — As natural and man-made factors continue to affect the sustainability and predictability of the physical world, people everywhere are searching for ways to survive and thrive. Here’s a look back at some powerful GPJ reporting on the complex environmental issues present in communities across the world.
Conservation Efforts to Save Hippos May End Ongoing Tilapia Shortage in DRC Lakes
An investigation into why eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region surrounded by great lakes, is experiencing a shortage of fish, and how two forces coincided to create the problem.
Citizens Take Action to Protect Farmland as Mexico City’s Urbanization Spreads
Mexico City is bulging at the seams, and options for housing are increasingly limited for people who can’t afford increasingly high-priced housing. Partly as a result of these circumstances, as many as 800 illegal settlements have been built in protected ecological-conservation areas. A group of citizens on the city’s southern edge has started taking shifts to watch for illegal construction, while also clearing out trash and doing other tasks along the way.
Apples to Almonds: Warmer Weather Means Growing Different Crops in Nepal
As the climate warms, many farmers in western Nepal can no longer grow apples. While a government program is teaching farmers to adapt to changing climatic conditions, local experts say that’s not enough.
Plastic Bags Buried in Soil Threaten Farming, Families’ Livelihoods in Kisangani
The theme of Earth Day 2018, organized by the Earth Day Network, is a call to end plastic pollution. A story from Democratic Republic of Congo shows how bags buried beneath the ground in Kisangani, the country’s third-largest city, are harming the soil and threatening farmers’ livelihoods.
Zimbabwe Targets Maize Shortfall With Farm Loans in Exchange for Crops
Zimbabwe’s government wants to halt food shortages by offering farmers loans for seeds and supplies, to boost maize production. But farmers must give the government most of their crops.
Determined to Save Ailing Crops With Higher Doses of Agrochemicals, Coffee Farmers in Southern Mexico Imperil their Health
After a toxic, fungal disease reached their fields, indigenous farmers in southern Mexico increased the amounts of the agrochemicals they applied to their coffee plants. They know the risk of respiratory irritations, but the plants are their only sources of income.
After Water Shortage Threatened Food Supply, Entire Village Relocates and Reaps Harvest
Six years ago, the people of Samzong left their village in the Tibetan Plateau because they no longer had access to water. They moved 5 miles southwest. Now, in their new home, they’re sowing seeds and building new lives.
