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The global forest products sector saw recovery in 2024 following a steep decline the previous year, according to a new report released on Wednesday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). &nbsp;FAO’s statistics cover 77 product categories, 27 product groups and over 245 countries and territories. The report presents recent trends in data for trade and for each of the main forest product groups.<h3>What are the main trends?</h3>Global international trade in wood and paper products regained momentum, with modest growth recorded across most major product groups, according to FAO. &nbsp;<ul><li>The upswing comes after a 14 per cent drop overall in trade of wood and paper products in 2023.</li><li>Industrial roundwood removals, referring to the total volume of wood harvested for uses other than energy, rose by two per cent in 2024, although its global trade declined by one per cent. &nbsp;</li><li>Global production of sawnwood such as planks, beams and other manufactured timber products, remained nearly unchanged but varied regionally. Trade in sawnwood recorded no overall change compared to 2023.</li><li>Wood-based panels grew for a second consecutive year. Global production expanded by 5 per cent.</li><li>Wood pulp production climbed three per cent to reach 189 million tonnes, while international trade expanded two per cent to an all-time high of 73 million tonnes.</li><li>Wood pellets have seen extraordinary growth in recent decades, mainly driven by bioenergy targets in Europe, the Republic of Korea and Japan. After a slight dip in 2023, global production returned to 48 million tonnes in 2024, equal to the 2022 level.</li></ul><h3>Why it matters&nbsp;&nbsp;</h3>Different types of trees can be used for housing, shelter, heat, food, medicine and even textiles or buildings.“Forests support millions of livelihoods worldwide, and the number is set to rise as forests offer more economic opportunities in a growing range of industries, including sustainable wood production,” said FAO Director-General Dongyu Qu. &nbsp;Promoting the sustainable use of forests is also part of Sustainable Development Goal 15, a vision countries have agreed to. &nbsp;When sustainably used, forests sustain life. Another recently published report by FAO assessing forest resources showed that the net loss of forest area has been reduced by more than half since the 1990s and that over 90 per cent of forests are regenerating naturally.Sources：<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166666" data-mce-href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166666">https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166666</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;

Paper and wood: Forest products show signs of recovery, UN agency says

“The Global Environment Outlook lays out a simple choice for humanity: continue down the road to a future devastated by climate change, dwindling nature, degraded land and polluted air, or change direction to secure a healthy planet, healthy people and healthy economies,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.The report has input from 287 multi-disciplinary scientists from 82 countries and stretches to well over 1,000 pages.The report makes a case for interconnected ‘whole-of-society’ and ‘whole-of-government’ approaches to transform economy and finance, materials and waste, energy, food and the environment.Taking this path starts with moving beyond gross domestic product (GDP) as a measure of economic wellbeing and instead using inclusive indicators that also track the health of human and natural capital.It continues with a transition to circular economy models; a rapid decarbonisation of the energy system; a shift towards sustainable diets, reduced waste and improved agricultural practices; and expanding protected areas and restoring degraded ecosystems – all backed by behavioural, social and cultural shifts that include Indigenous and local knowledge.The report lays out a social and a technological pathway to transformation.1. Behaviour-focused transformation pathway: lifestyle, behavioural and value changes. Social awareness of the environmental crises drives a shift in worldview. 2. Technology-focused transformation pathway: innovation and technological solutions. An urbanized world with significant global trade and technological spill-over. According to UNEP:<ul><li>The state of the environment will dramatically worsen if the world continues to power economies under a business-as-usual pathway.</li><li>Without action, global mean temperature rise is likely to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in the early 2030s, exceed 2.0°C by the 2040s and keep climbing.</li><li>Climate change would cut 4 per cent off annual global GDP by 2050 and 20 per cent by the end of the century.</li><li>If made, the changes have the potential to avoid nine million pollution-related premature deaths, lift 200 million people out of undernourishment, and move 150 million people out of extreme poverty by 2050.</li></ul>The agency called on countries to follow the whole-of-society and whole-of-government approaches laid out in the report to achieve a sustainable future.“This sounds like, and indeed is, a massive undertaking. But there is no technical reason why it cannot be done,” Ms. Andersen said.Sources：﻿<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166553" data-mce-href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166553">https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166553</a>

A sustainable future requires new thinking: UN environment report

More than one billion people worldwide live with obesity, which was linked to 3.7 million deaths in 2024.Without stronger action, WHO warns the number of people affected could double by 2030, placing immense pressure on health systems and pushing global economic losses to an estimated $3 trillion a year.As the world’s foremost public health authority, WHO’s statement is expected to influence national policies, insurance coverage and clinical practice, particularly as demand for effective weight-loss treatments continues to surge.“Obesity is a major global health challenge,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Our new guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong care. While medication alone won’t solve this global health crisis, GLP-1 therapies can help millions overcome obesity and reduce its associated harms.”WHO stresses that obesity is not simply the result of lifestyle choices, but a complex, chronic condition involving genetics, environment, biology and social circumstances.It is a major driver of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers, and can worsen outcomes for infectious diseases as well. For many people, losing weight and keeping it off is extremely challenging without medical support.GLP-1 therapies work by mimicking a natural hormone that helps regulate appetite, blood sugar and digestion.For people with obesity, these medicines can lead to significant weight loss and health improvements.WHO added them to its Essential Medicines List in 2025 for managing type 2 diabetes in high-risk groups, and its new guidelines now recommend their long-term use for adults living with obesity, except during pregnancy.The recommendation is conditional due to limited long-term safety data, uncertainty about maintaining weight loss once treatment stops, high costs, and significant concerns about unequal access across countries.WHO emphasises that weight-loss medicines must be used alongside other support.The most effective treatment combines medication with healthier diets, increased physical activity, and long-term guidance from health professionals.The organization highlights that obesity cannot be resolved by individuals alone and requires broad action from governments and industry to create healthier food environments and ensure early intervention for those at risk.Demand for GLP-1 medicines already far exceeds supply. Even with increased production, WHO estimates fewer than 10 per cent of eligible people will have access by 2030.It warns that without deliberate policies these treatments may widen existing health inequalities. The organization urges governments to consider tools such as pooled procurement, fair pricing and voluntary licensing to expand access.WHO also warns of rising circulation of falsified or substandard GLP-1 products fuelled by global shortages. It stresses the need for regulated supply chains, qualified prescriptions and strong oversight to protect patients.The guidance was developed at the request of Member States and drew on scientific evidence, expert review and input from people living with obesity.WHO plans to update the recommendations as new evidence emerges and will work with partners in 2026 to ensure that those with the most urgent needs are prioritised.Sources：<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166477" data-mce-href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166477">https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166477</a>

WHO backs wider use of weight-loss medicines, calling obesity a chronic diseas

<figure id="figure-k3caj4q4um2mynlm6" class=""><img id="k3caj4q4um2mynlm6" src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/1ciWT24spPYZQJzX2JACRqDDjpGwth3AwNjIbdNm1qXjq2E4tEUKme6veqJS1W2y.jpg" alt="Natural background Sunrise Sundown Sky with colorful clouds and sun. Cloudscape" title="Natural background Sunrise Sundown Sky with colorful clouds and sun. Cloudscape" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: undefined undefined;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/1ciWT24spPYZQJzX2JACRqDDjpGwth3AwNjIbdNm1qXjq2E4tEUKme6veqJS1W2y.jpg" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: undefined undefined;"></figure>Speaking in Samoa, where he met residents uprooted from their homes by sea level rise and coastal erosion, Mr. Guterres said that Pacific islanders had refused to be victims of climate change. But their ambitious plans to resist this “existential threat for millions” had been put on hold, amid a lack of promised funding, he insisted.“We are fighting hard for climate justice…[but] we are not seeing the money that is needed and that’s why we ask for the reform and the international financial institutions in order for the funding needs of countries, like Pacific countries, to be met,” the UN chief told journalists at UN House in Apia, the capital.Positive gestures from wealthy nations towards developing countries have been insufficient to compensate for economic shocks from natural disasters caused by climate change, Mr. Guterres insisted, pointing to the Loss and Damage Fund, agreed in 2022 at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt.Developed countries also pledged in 2021 to double climate adaptation funding from the $100 billion a year agreed in 2009, the Secretary-General said, as he noted that this potential game-changing income stream hadn’t garnered enough support either.“We need all countries to honour their promises on climate finance and a strong finance outcome from this year’s COP where we will discuss the financial commitments after 2025,” he said.Speaking to reporters, the UN chief described how Samoans have repeatedly pushed back at climate shocks, including the deadly 2009 tsunami that left at least 192 dead.“We have seen people that moved their houses inland. We have seen people that persisted coming back and rebuilding. We have seen an enormous determination of people to fight against, not only the impact of the tsunami, but the impacts of the rising sea levels and of the storms and the cyclones”, he said.“I’ve seen a wall that is protecting a village from the sea; that wall in 20 years, because of the tsunami - because of the rising sea level, and because of the heavy storms - has already been built three times.”Many developing countries like Samoa which are also on the frontlines of the climate crisis must rely on borrowing from international lenders at higher rates than the world’s poorest nations, which has effectively prevented them from accessing the funds they need to help themselves.To address this historic structural inequality in international finance, the UN has worked with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) on a new measurement of national income – the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) – so that they too can access the significant funding required for sustainable development.“We ask the international community to act in a way that when international financial institutions deal with countries like Samoa, the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index is taken into account to allow for concessional funding to be granted for the projects that are necessary for this country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and protect its populations against climate change,” Mr. Guterres said.The Secretary-General also reiterated his wish for small island states like Samoa to have access to some $80 billion in development funding linked to Special Drawing Rights, which can be channeled by members of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to multilateral development banks to be made available for borrowing.New income streams like this are crucial for countries like Samoa that lost vital tourist income because of the COVID-19 pandemic and “have not received the support of the international community”, Mr. Guterres continued. “When we look at Samoa, we understand what that means and we never stop fighting to make sure that this is recognized by the international community.”Sources：<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1153431" data-mce-href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1153431" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1153431</a>

UN chief urges climate justice for Pacific nations beset by rising oceans

<figure id="figure-zg8pg8q2dm2ldtx2c" class=""><img id="zg8pg8q2dm2ldtx2c" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/182YWY8sNTBoZED0Ebyh76vLvqdNfCWZF5ea4YwXe50WUO80PxB3R4wuAL04XCs7.png" alt="全景多样性多民族人群成功团队合作。横幅团队高五团队携手举起力量伙伴。志愿者任务业务合作伙伴与复制空间" title="全景多样性多民族人群成功团队合作。横幅团队高五团队携手举起力量伙伴。志愿者任务业务合作伙伴与复制空间" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: undefined undefined;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/182YWY8sNTBoZED0Ebyh76vLvqdNfCWZF5ea4YwXe50WUO80PxB3R4wuAL04XCs7.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: undefined undefined;">Elderly people in Cornwall are being encouraged to tackle loneliness and isolation through singing.Cornwall Council said five "Sing Happy" sessions had been organised at Callington Library on Coronation Road to help people aged 65 or older get together with others.The sessions are free to join, include refreshments and are run by a music therapist.They will take place from 10:30 to 12:00 BST on 29 October, 12 November, 26 November, 10 December and Christmas Eve.Councillor Andrew Long, who awarded the sessions a £500 grant through the council's community chest scheme, said they were a fantastic idea."It really doesn't matter if you can sing, it's all about getting people together in a safe and welcoming space," he said."We know how devastating loneliness and isolation can be, especially for older people, so I'm very proud to be supporting this initiative."</figure> Sources：<a data-mce-href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrj63m8kdyo" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrj63m8kdyo">https ://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrj63m8kdyo</a>

Sing-along events aim to relieve loneliness

<figure id="figure-nu8heiad3lm2lflalg" class=""><img id="nu8heiad3lm2lflalg" src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/27yoHFb1gRQMcPY8mQpiyNsQeIaK52EqRl1ikkSAO0WSVi8L7939ZyRUES6qjx0l.png" alt="Farmer, person hands and phone for agriculture communication, social media and sustainability networking. Worker on mobile or chat for gardening research, NGO contact or volunteering website for FAQ" title="Farmer, person hands and phone for agriculture communication, social media and sustainability networking. Worker on mobile or chat for gardening research, NGO contact or volunteering website for FAQ" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/27yoHFb1gRQMcPY8mQpiyNsQeIaK52EqRl1ikkSAO0WSVi8L7939ZyRUES6qjx0l.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure>There is no conscience. There is no humanity. There are only leaders who watch and do not act. This is what Ahmed al-Dalou believes, as the images of his family burning replay in his mind. He says his life is gone. It died in the inferno of al-Aqsa compound with his boys and wife in the early hours of Monday 14 October. In front of him on the ground is a shroud, wrapped around the body of Abdulrahman,12, his youngest son.The child lingered in agony for four days after the fire, sparked by an Israeli strike. The day before he died Ahmed saw him in hospital and he was able to tell his father: “Don’t be worried, I am OK dad… I’m fine. Don’t be afraid.” Ahmed is half speaking, half crying, as he talks of what has been taken from him. “Three times I tried to pull him [Abdulrahman] out of the fire, but his body fell back into it.” His older brother, Sha'aban, 19, and his mother, Alaa, 37, both died on the night of the fire. Sha'aban became a new symbol of Gaza’s terrible suffering. Images of him writhing in agony as he burned to death in the family’s tent were shared around the world on social media. There are burns all over Ahmed’s face and hands. The tone of his voice is high, a keening sound. Of the anonymous pilot who sent the missile, and the leaders who gave him orders, Ahmed said: “They broke my heart, and they broke my spirit… I wish the fire had burned me.” The strike happened at about 01:15 local time last Monday (23:15 BST on Sunday). The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hamas "command and control" centre in the al-Aqsa hospital compound in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip. Hamas denies operating in hospitals.Four people were killed immediately and dozens more wounded, including many with severe burn injuries. The Israel Defense Forces said it was “reviewing the incident”. A spokesperson for the White House told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that footage of the fire was “deeply disturbing” and called on Israel to do more to protect civilians. “Israel has a responsibility to do more to avoid civilian casualties - and what happened here is horrifying - even if Hamas was operating near the hospital in an attempt to use civilians as human shields.” The US and other powers, including Britain, have expressed concern about civilian casualties since the early stages of the war.<figure id="figure-2zetpd5ram2lfo0kk" class=""><img id="2zetpd5ram2lfo0kk" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/9idDOl4MxEkrn1A8RX9gtCkSagqRU5TqO9s0uweELF9TE4UkzZ8vbSIDN3M1eaOx.png" alt="Food from the Community Garden" title="Food from the Community Garden" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/9idDOl4MxEkrn1A8RX9gtCkSagqRU5TqO9s0uweELF9TE4UkzZ8vbSIDN3M1eaOx.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure>People are burned to death, blown to pieces, and shot every day in this war. Most of the time the death agonies happen away from the cameras. It is the frantic search for survivors in the rubble, the dramatic scenes at hospitals, the endless stream of funerals, that are captured by cameras. But the death of Sha'aban al-Dalou was different. His hand can be seen, reaching out of the inferno, a figure wrapped in flame, writhing and beyond the reach of any help. In the days following his death Sha'aban’s own videos and photographs emerged. He was a typical teenager of his generation, aware of the power of social media, adept at recording his daily life. The burning figure from the night of fire appeared to the world as an articulate, intelligent teenager, a software engineering student, a young man who took care of his family planning for a new life outside Gaza. He filmed himself donating blood and encouraged others to do the same. “We saw so many injuries, many children are in dire need of blood… All we demand is for a ceasefire and this tragedy to end.” We are only able to tell the story of al-Dalou family because of our own local journalist who went to meet the survivors. International journalists from media organisations, including the BBC, are not given independent access to Gaza by Israel. Gazans describe fresh horror in north as Israel renews offensive Witnesses to Israeli strike on Gaza hospital compound saw 'so many people burning' UN accuses Israel of war crimes over attacks on Gaza hospitals In a video recorded in the tent where he died Sha'aban described how his family had been displaced five times since the war began a year ago. He had two sisters, and two younger brothers. “We live in very hard circumstances,” he said. “We suffer from various things such as homelessness, limited food, and extremely limited medicine.” In the background, as he speaks, there is the loud mechanical hum of an Israeli observation drone, a constant in the daily and nightly soundtrack of Gaza. The surviving brother of Sha'aban and Abdulrahman, Mohammed al-Dalou, told the BBC that he had tried to go into the flames to rescue his older brother. But other injured people had held him back, fearing he too would be killed. Mohammed did not sleep in the family tent, but outside on the street where he kept watch over their piled belongings. “I was screaming for someone to let me go, but in vain… My brother’s leg was trapped and he couldn’t free himself. I think you saw it in the video. He was raising his hand. "That was my brother. He was my support in this world.” Sha'aban would come and wake him for prayers in the morning with a bottle of water and he would tell him: “I’ll work for you.” Mohammed al-Dalou saw his loved ones die in the fire Mohammed recalled how the brothers set up a stall at the gates of the hospital selling food that the family made. “We managed everything with our hard work. Everything we had was from our effort. We would get food and drink… then everything was lost.” He saw the burned bodies, but could only identify his mother. Although her remains had been mutilated by fire, he recognised a distinctive bracelet. “Without it, I wouldn’t have known she was my mother. Her hand was detached from her body, but the bracelet was still on it. I took it off her hand.” This is his only memento of the woman who was “the kindness in our home". The al-Dalou family is in shock. The survivors mourn the dead. Our BBC colleague asked Mohammed about the psychological cost of seeing his loved ones die. “I can’t describe it. I can’t describe how I felt. I want to explain it to people, but I can’t. I can’t describe it. I saw my brother burning in front of me, and my mother too.” Then, as if he is posing a question on behalf of the dead, he asks: “What more do you need, and you stay silent? You see us burning, and you stay silent.” Sources:<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr54y0qplgvo" data-mce-href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr54y0qplgvo">https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr54y0qplgvo</a>

Justice echoes

News

Paper and wood: Forest products show signs of recovery, U...

A sustainable future requires new thinking: UN environmen...

WHO backs wider use of weight-loss medicines, calling obe...

UN chief urges climate justice for Pacific nations beset ...

Sing-along events aim to relieve loneliness

'You see us burning, you stay silent': Family’s agony ove...