President Evo Morales of Bolivia is inNew York to launch the Year of Quinoa. Quinoa has been a staple crop for centuries in South America, among pre-Columbian Andean farming communities from Columbia to Ecuador and today this traditional Andean grain is being promoted to combat malnutrition. UNTV
Hundreds of ministers and high-level officials dined on perfectly good food grown by Kenyan farmers but rejected by UK supermarkets due to cosmetic imperfections at the headquarters of the UN Environment Program (UNEP) inNairobito highlight a major campaign to cut massive levels of global food loss and waste. UNEP
2013 is the International Year of the Quinoa, a highly nutritious food crop that was domesticated on the high plains of Bolivia and Peru thousands of years ago and has become trendy in many parts of the world. IFAD
With glaciers melting away, climate change already has become a fact of life for the poorest. Scientist use satellite technology to find ways to deal with dramatic water shortages in the Andean region. A slow and silent disaster that has started to affect millions. WORLD BANK
A flurry of activity continued today (21 June) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the second day of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), which seeks to shape new policies to promote global prosperity, reduce poverty and advance social equity and environmental protection. UNTV
Bolivian President Evo Morales offered a press conference today on the sidelines of this week’s General Debate at the United Nations (UN) and defended the legal consumption of coca leaf in his country, which is in contravention of the UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs. UNTV
Bolivian President Evo Morales said today that those who head the social struggle for vindication are called terrorists. “I have been accused of being the Andean bin Laden in Bolivia. Lately it’s no longer communist or terrorist but drug trafficker.” UNTV
The Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yury Fedotov told the Security Council today that crisis situations such as recent events in the Middle East, Somalia or Afghanistan, “all starkly demonstrate the ability of transnational organized crime and its proceeds to destabilize transitions, disrupt political processes and obstruct development.” UNTV
UNICEF reports on the perils of young Bolivian children living near and working in one of the most dangerous mines on Earth. Sunday is World Day Against Child Labour. UNICEF
UNICEF through the PROANDES community banking initiative in Bolivia is allowing women to continue their own education, while earning money to help pay for the education of their children. UNICEF