Impacts of climate change on African mountain communities are more severe than we thought. Farmers report alarming shifts in weather patterns, including rising temperatures, altered rainfall, and more extreme climate events such as droughts and floods. These changes have disrupted agricultural practices, leading to reduced crop yields and food insecurity. The study, based on data from eight African countries, emphasizes the need for tailored solutions that consider local environmental, social, and political contexts, especially in conflict-affected areas. Immediate action and global support are crucial to help the communities in these biodiversity hotspots to adapt and protect their livelihoods.

Globally, women’s workforce participation is about 25% lower than men’s, often due to barriers such as domestic responsibilities and cultural norms. Vocational training can increase employment opportunities, but women may not be able to attend training programs that require them to be away from home. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in collaboration with an international research team, explored whether hybrid distance learning can improve accessibility to job training for rural women in Nepal.

Many U.S. forests are privately owned, particularly in the Eastern and North Central part of the country. This makes control of invasive plants and pests challenging because efforts must be coordinated across landowners. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores how differences in ownership motivation affects willingness to control, and how economic incentives can be implemented most efficiently.

International collaborative research led by Aakash Project^* researchers at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) show an unequivocal contribution of crop residue burning (CRB) to air pollution in the rural/semi-urban regions of Punjab and Haryana, and a relatively lower contribution than previously thought to the Delhi national capital region (NCR). We have installed 30 units of compact and useful PM_2.5^** in situ instrument with gas sensors (CUPI-Gs) and have continuously recorded air pollutants in 2022 and 2023. New analytical methods have been developed to assess and predict the formation and transport of air pollutants due to emissions from CRB.

A new international study highlights the severity of climate change impacts across African mountains, how farmers are adapting, and the barriers they face – findings relevant to people living in mountain regions around the world.