News from the world

Global Witness welcomes the news that the Dutch and Finnish development banks behind the deeply controversial Agua Zarca hydropower dam in Honduras - which led to the murder of acclaimed land defender Berta Cáceres - have withdrawn their backing for the project. But the organisation warns that the banks urgently need to commit to concrete action to protect environmental and land defenders if they are to ensure future financing does not contribute to the abuse and violence suffered by thousands of activists every year.

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Climate change didn't cause the deadly hurricane. But it did make it more horrifying. Scientists say that asking whether global warming was the reason for the extreme weather is the wrong question. Instead, we should be focusing on how global warming has helped turn the hurricanes into even more destructive forces than they ever would have been before. #hurricaneirma #hurricaneharvey #climatechange #sameworld

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The Brazilian president Michel Temer has abolished an Amazonian reserve the size of Denmark, prompting concerns of an influx of mineral companies, road-builders and workers into the species-rich forest..#amazonforest #deforestation #mining #sameworld

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Sierra Leone has seen one of Africa's worst natural disasters in recent years. As of August 14, 400 people were presumed dead and 600 more were still missing. For a country so historically accustomed to heavy rainfall, the level of destruction prompts questions about what could have triggered the slide and what factors made it worse. #sierraleone #mudslide #deforestation #climatechange #sameworld

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The 9^th of August was the United Nations’ (UN) International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, numbering an estimated 370 million in 90 countries and speaking roughly 7,000 languages. To mark it, the Guardian interviewed Kankanaey Igorot woman Victoria Tauli-Corpuz about the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which she calls “historic” and was adopted 10 years ago. #internationaldayoftheworldsindigenouspeoples #sameworld #climatechange #biodiversity

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Humans have already used up their allowance for water, soil, clean air and other resources on Earth for the whole of 2017. Earth Overshoot Day is on 2 August this year, according to environmental groups WWF and the Global Footprint Network. The date, earlier this year than in 2016, means humanity will survive on “credit” until 31 December. #sameworld #earthovershootday #naturalresources

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