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Over the twentieth century, small island states in the Pacific experienced a dietary shift from traditional foods characteristic of the region to imported foods of poor nutritional quality. In Kiribati, noncommunicable diseases including diabetes and hypertension are now the largest burden of disease in the country and the primary cause of premature mortality. Food and nutritional security in Kiribati are now a major public health challenge. Climate change is likely to negatively affect traditional food production systems. In this study, twelve gender-segregated focus groups in six communities were carried out across Kiribati. Food charts were obtained from each focus group, where all food items mentioned by communities were listed and scored for health and importance. These were analysed using Excel and Stata. Health scores were on average 42.4% lower for imported food compared to local food with strongly significant findings at a p value of

Community biogas facilities are being implemented in many informal urban settlements across Africa, often funded by foreign aid. We measured the public health impacts of a facility in Ethiopia, par...

The urban environment is characterised by many pressures caused by population growth, transport (and its related emissions), and the damage to green areas. Yet, there is a variety of ecosystem services available in urban areas, which may be deployed to ameliorate the current problems and foster their sustainability. This paper reviews the role of ecosystem services as tools for sustainability, based on an urban setting. It also describes a series of multi-country case studies, where an assessment of their functions using a set of benefits valuation approaches such as health benefits, economic benefits, social benefits and benefits to climate resilience, are provided, along with an appraisal of their role in up- keeping the overall quality of the urban environment in the studied areas. Policy recommendations aimed at enhancing the role of ecosystem services, and fostering sustainability in the sampled sites -and beyond-are provided.

In this paper we present a literature review about the need for education to promote an understanding of climate change and its impacts, and the merits of teaching climate change in a multidisciplinary approach. We also refer to the external and internal multiplier effect of multidisciplinary education. We report on the results of a survey carried out by the Climate Change Platform (The Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta hosts the Climate Change Platform (CCP), with the objective of facilitating collaboration between University entities and individual academics in order to foster teaching and research initiatives relating to climate change, as well as strengthening cooperation with climate research centres outside Malta. During its three years of existence, the CCP, fully cognizant that the analysis of climate change involves various disciplines, has taken measures to encourage multidisciplinary teaching and research at the University of Malta, with a focus on small island states, which according the IPCC fifth assessment report (WGII, Chap. 29) are highly vulnerable to the harmful impacts of climate change. The paper will describe the approach adopted by the CCP in its endeavour to involve various Faculties, Institutes and Centres at the University of Malta to collaborate in teaching and research on climate change issues.) of the University of Malta, among lectures who teach subjects directly associated with climate change. It transpires from the literature and from the University of Malta survey that multidisciplinary climate change education is very important, given the complexity and the interlinkages of this field of study, but it also has a number of downsides, mostly related to the coordination work that will be needed when various disciplines are involved and the fear that the students could find it difficult to cope with many satellite subjects. The main message that emerges from the literature, as well as from the results of our survey, is that although a multidisciplinary approach to the teaching of climate change education is highly desirable, its success depends on the extent to which it is well organised and suitably coordinated.

Rabi Island is a powerful example of how intersecting conditions produce heightened vulnerability to climate change. This remote Fiji island is home to 5000 Banaba Islanders originally from Kiribat...

We thank Lisa Alexander for her helpful comments on climate models and two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions on the manuscript. The following people provided community liaison, interpreting, research assistance and logistical support: Kassahun Ararso, Melaku Hailu, Sarah Mallia, Eyob Lalensa, Tesfahun Bekele, Bereket Mola, Zegeye H Michael, Zelalem Tarekegn, Muluwork Gemechu, Tamerat Mezgebe, Behailu, William Grech, and Dominik Kalweit., Climate change in Ethiopia is occurring against a backdrop of rapid population growth and urbanization, entrenched poverty and a heavy burden of disease, and there is little information on specific health risks with which to approach adaptation planning and strengthen adaptive capacity. Using detailed household surveys (400 households, 1660 individuals, 100% participation) and focus groups in two informal urban communities in the Southern city of Shashemene, we identified locally relevant hazards and found that climate change is likely to intensify existing problems associated with poverty.Wealso showed that despite their proximity (situated only 1 kmapart) the two communities differ in key characteristics that may affect climate change vulnerability and require nuanced approaches to adaptation. Detailed, community-level research is therefore necessary, especially where other sources of data are lacking, to ensure that adaptation activities in the world’s poorest communities address relevant risks., The study received funding from the Maltese Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the former Maltese Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs, and from the University of Malta Scholarship and Bursaries Fund, and from the University of Western Sydney., peer-reviewed

A water point was installed in 2012 as part of a biogas development initiative in an informal urban community of 200 households. The facility provides sanitation, gas for cooking, and organic fertiliser. It consists of four latrines and an inlet for animal waste, a fermentation chamber where the biogas (methane) is produced, and a communal kitchen with four stoves. The slurry byproduct is rendered safe by fermentation and used as fertiliser for the community garden., peer-reviewed

Cross-cutting environmental, social and economic changes may have harsh impacts on sensitive regions. To address sustainability issues by governmental policy measures properly, the geographical delineation of sensitive regions is essential. With reference to the European impact assessment guidelines from 2005, sensitive regions were identified by using environmental, social and economic data and by applying cluster analysis, United Nation Environmental Policy priorities and expert knowledge. On a regionalised ‘Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics’ (NUTS) level and for pre-defined sensitive region types (post-industrial zones, mountains, coasts and islands) 31 % of the European area was identified as sensitive. However, the delineation mainly referred to social and economic issues since the regional data bases on environmental indicators are limited and do not allow the separation of medium-term vital classes of sensitive regions. Overall, the sensitive regions showed indicator values differing from the EU- 25 average., peer-reviewed