Mine Awareness International is a Non-Profit, Non-Government Organization which provides Landmine, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Improvised Explosive Device awareness training to Aid Agencies, Non-Government Organizations and Companies and Contractors who will be operating in countries or regions which have been ravaged by conflict and are contaminated by landmines and other Explosive Remnants of War. We are aware that many Organizations, Contractors and Consultants need to operate in such hostile environments, and we believe there is a demand for the kind of training we offer.

Concerns about Climate Change were at the centre of the world's media glare last week, during the UN climate conference in Bali, Indonesia. After two weeks of negotiations, side events, and protests, things came to a dramatic stand off between the US and the rest of the world. While the EU led the demands for the next agreement (the Kyoto Protocol comes to an end in 2012), to include cuts in Carbon Dioxide emissions to 25-40% of 1990 levels, the US flatly refused to join any agreement that set specific targets or dates.

After a truncated rainy season in Senegal’s southern Casamance region, granaries are empty and many families are getting by on one meal a day. Residents say as a result of food shortages some children are missing school, many families are divided as men leave to seek work, and people are increasingly turning to the production and sale of charcoal to make a living.

Peoples from social organizations and movements from across the globe brought the fight for social, ecological and gender justice into the negotiating rooms and onto the streets during the UN climate summit in Bali. Inside and outside the convention centre, activists demanded alternative policies and practices that protect livelihoods and the environment.

Civil society groups in the Niger Delta region have warned that the government is destroying communities’ health and Nigeria’s environment by flouting laws against gas flaring, a technique used in oil production. For decades gas flaring has been used to separate crude oil from the associated gases that are extracted with it, but Nigeria flares more gas today than any nation in the world after Russia, even though it is only the world’s eighth largest oil producer.

Climate change is expected to dramatically alter the lifestyles of poor people in Namibia, say the authors of a study. Their findings were published by the UK-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) this month (December).

The new Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal in Namibia has finally held a hearing in the case brought by Zimbabwean white farmer Mike Campbell against the government of Zimbabwe. The farmer is seeking an interim order blocking the government from interfering with operations on his farm. There was a three-hour preliminary hearing, after which the President of the SADC tribunal Judge Onkemetse Tshosa, said they would deliver a ruling before the end of the week.

A call for research proposals related to environmental change tendered to the african global change research community. The objectives of this call are: 1) to contribute directly to global change science in Africa 2) to enhance the understanding of the impacts and consequences of global changes in Africa, 3) to create long-term, collaborative research partnerships between African scientists and those in developed countries, 4) to foster the integration of African researchers into the international global change research programmes and 5) to contribute to regionally integrated efforts on GEC projects. Priority will be assigned to proposals that focus on the following three themes: Climate Variability & Climate Change; Impacts/Adaptations/Vulnerability to Climate Change; Land Use Change/ Ecosystems/Biogeochemical Change/Biodiversity.

A new program of African Climate Change Fellowships is being launched to offer experiential learning, education, research and training opportunities to African professionals, researchers and graduate students that will build their capabilities for advancing and applying knowledge for climate change adaptation in Africa. Participating Fellows will receive small grants to undertake Policy Fellowships, Doctoral Research Fellowships, Post-Doctoral Fellowships and Teaching Fellowships.

When the UK’s carbon emissions include imports from China, the average UK citizen’s carbon footprint increases by 10% according to new research released by the World Development Movement. A World Development Movement report, released in Bali, rejects the ‘blame China for climate change’ culture and reveals a new and more accurate picture of the UK’s responsibility for climate change by accounting for the carbon emissions caused by our massive consumption of products from overseas.

Since the 2005 Land Summit, new approaches to land reform have been on the agenda, yet there remains little clarity on the way forward. The main focus has been on means of accelerating the redistribution of land through new modes of acquiring land. In this policy brief, Lionel Cliffe cautions that acquisition is an important matter, but if treated in isolation risks mis-specifying the core problems evident in land reform in South Africa.

The purpose of this report by the Global forest Coalition is to examine the impact of agrofuels development, with particular emphasis on forests and forest dependent peoples. This emphasis on forests is critical for several reasons including that of regulating climate

A group of deserters from Uganda's notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) said on Friday the rebels' leader Joseph Kony had executed his deputy Vincent Otti, who has been instrumental in peace talks. "What you should know is that Kony ordered for Otti's execution on the 2nd of October," former LRA commander Sunday Otto told reporters, speaking on behalf of seven rebels flown to Kampala after handing themselves in to U.N. peacekeepers.

When the number of people reported with diarrhoea began to increase alarmingly in the town of Delmas in Mpumalanga Province towards the end of October, residents had flashbacks to an outbreak of diarrhoea and typhoid that took place in August and September, 2005. They feared the worst as the number of cases grew in the community of about 45,000 people -- 60 kilometres east of South Africa's financial centre, Johannesburg.

Rich countries that have been the major contributors to the climate crisis have an obligation to compensate impoverished nations which are bearing the brunt of global warming, according to a new Actionaid report. However, there are significant gaps between funds pledged and the needs of developing countries struggling to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Africa is the "forgotten continent" in the fight against climate change and needs help to cope with projected water shortages and declining crop yields, the United Nations's top climate change official said on Sunday. Yvo de Boer said that damage projected for Africa by the UN climate panel would justify tougher world action to slow global warming even without considering likely disruptions to other parts of the planet.

Why do poor South Africans have a hard time accessing urban land? This report published by the Southern African Regional Poverty Network analyses the perspectives and experiences of civil society organisations (CSOs) whose aims are to increase the poor’s access to urban land.

Across south-eastern Africa, organisations are developing and implementing projects specifically designed to support adaptation to climate change, many at the community level. This paper published by Climate Change and the International Institute for Sustainable Development reports on a workshop that brought together representatives of a number of these organisations to share experiences and encourage the establishment of a more strongly linked community of practice in south-eastern Africa.

Bushmen in Botswana have announced they plan to return to court within a matter of weeks if the government continues to prevent them from returning home. The Gana and Gwi Bushmen were evicted from their lands in the central Kalahari in 2002, but last year won a landmark court case affirming their right to go home.

Zimbabwe has launched the first commercial biodiesel processing plant in southern Africa, underlining the region’s resolve to move to cleaner and renewable sources of energy. This comes amid concerns about the impact of fossil fuels (coal, petroleum and natural gas) on global warming as well as depletion of the world’s petroleum reserves.