Nature Hub

    From - BBC World News   By -  Helen Briggs  Edited by - Amal Udawatta Getty Issues like climate change, biodiversity and water are all interlinked, the report says Climate change, nature loss and food insecurity are all inextricably linked and dealing with them as separate issues won't work, a major report has warned. The review of scientific evidence by the  Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)  found governments are underestimating or ignoring the links between five key areas - biodiversity, water, food, health and climate change. This "siloed" approach has unintended consequences, such as damaging biodiversity through tree-planting schemes, or polluting rivers while ramping up food production, the report said. The latest assessment was approved by almost 150 countries meeting in Windhoek, Namibia. Getty Images Understanding the value of nature is key to addressing the global biodiversity crisis, according to...

   From - BBC world News   By -   Soo Min Kim   Edited by -Amal Udawatta Robin Greenfield One million trees worldwide are cut down each year to make toilet paper. Is it more sustainable to grow your own? In Meru, a town in eastern Kenya, a lush, leafy plant sways over the landscape. Benjamin Mutembei, a Meru resident, is growing the  Plectranthus barbatus  plant  – not for food, but to use as toilet paper. He started growing the plant in 1985. "I learned about it from my grandfather and have been using it ever since. It's soft and has a nice smell," he says. Plectranthus barbatus  is a leafy plant that can grow up to 2m (6.6ft) tall. Its leaves are roughly the size of an industrial toilet paper square and emit a minty, lemony fragrance. Covered in tiny hairs, the leaves have a soft texture. This plant thrives in warm tropical temperatures and partial sunlight and is  widely grown across Africa , where it is sometimes used to de...