In 2018, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) joined forces with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to tackle what environmental experts call one of the world’s most dangerous addictions: single-use plastics.

The Flipflopi, a dhow made from recycled plastic, has set sail on its second voyage, taking to riverine communities in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya to highlight the importance of reversing the damage of plastic pollution to communities that depend on Lake Victoria.

Walking, cycling, picnicking in Nairobi’s lush Karura Forest, it is often hard to believe one is a mere two kilometres from the centre of one of Africa’s busiest cities. The woodlands are sprawling and serene, home to extraordinary biodiversity - indigenous plants and trees, 200 bird species, including Hawk and Africa Crowned eagles, owls, butterflies and colobus monkeys – which provide a  sharp contrast to nearby fume-choked roads.

Women are playing a lead role in tackling some of the planet’s biggest environmental threats, from climate change to species loss, to pollution.

Kenya is emerging as a leader in the fight against plastic pollution and is among the first countries in East Africa to limit single-use plastics and sign the Clean Seas initiative to rid waterways of plastic waste.

In addition to the tragic loss of life, COVID-19 has rolled back decades of progress on poverty, gender and health. It has exposed social and economic inequalities and the inextricable link between human and planetary health.

Lake Naivasha in southern-central Kenya is famed for its flower farms, fisheries and diverse wildlife, including buffalos, hippos and Eurasian migratory birds. The main inflow into the lake is from the Malewa river on the northern shores.  At the river mouth, there is a wetland which once spanned 1,350 hectares.

At a major intersection in Jakarta, Indonesia during a recent morning rush hour, a low rumble permeates the sticky air. Dozens of motorbikes and scooters idle impatiently at a stoplight. As the light turns green, the rumble crescendos into an ear-splitting drone as the two-wheelers accelerate away.

• What does it take to be a United Nations worker in some of the world’s most difficult and dangerous locations?
• How are health workers, humanitarians and peacekeepers racing to protect the most vulnerable populations from the threat of the COVID-19 virus?
• Stationed in remote locations and far from family, how are they coping themselves?

These are some of the questions that the

Every September, on International Coastal Cleanup Day in Jamaica, plastic is the most collected material. In 2019, the top 10 items collected were all single-use plastic and polystyrene (foam) waste, anything from plastic bottles to food wrappers.