Healthy oceans are critical to sustaining life on Earth. They regulate the climate and provide a wide range of services, including natural resources, nutritious food and jobs that benefit billions of people.

This year’s observance of World Environment Day shines a much-needed spotlight on the illegal trade in wildlife.  There is grave cause for alarm.  Elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory, rhinos for their horns, and pangolins for their scales.

What is it?

The Junior Professional Programme (JPP) is a recruitment initiative targeted for talented, highly qualified professionals who are mainly from non- and under- represented developing countries to start a career as an international civil servant with FAO.

Cigarettes and other tobacco products kill almost 6 million people every year.  Sustainable Development Goal 3 aims to “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.  As part of that approach, governments have committed to strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries to reduce the proportion of people who use tobacco.

            The confidence that the world places in United Nations peacekeeping is reflected in its massive growth in recent years, in terms of both numbers and complexity. Fifteen years ago, the UN had fewer than 40,000 military and police personnel.  Today, more than 105,000 uniformed personnel from 124 troop- and police-contributing countries serve under the blue flag, along with 18,000 international and national civilian staff and UN Volunteers.

Africa Day 2016 is being celebrated in furtherance of the African Union’s theme for this year: “Human Rights with a Particular Focus on the Rights of Women”.  This demonstrates the commitment of Africa’s leaders to place women – as key drivers and enablers – at the front and centre of all efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

During my recent visit to Mauritania, I had the opportunity to visit fistula patients at a hospital in Nouakchott. I was moved and impressed by their courage and resilience. It pains me deeply that this preventable and treatable condition still exists in our world, mainly affecting the poorest and most marginalized women and girls, causing them even greater suffering and isolation.

Biodiversity and the ecosystem services it supports are the foundations for life on Earth and the livelihoods and well-being of people everywhere.  Protecting biodiversity and preventing further losses is an essential investment in our collective future.

The international community is now mobilized around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which recognizes the great potential of information and communication technology (ICT) to accelerate human progress, bridge the digital divide and advance knowledge. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals specifically call for employing ICTs to realize the overall vision of a life of dignity for all people.