Saadia Iqbal's blog

Did you know that climate change—along with its numerous other sins— poses a threat to food security? For example, changes in rainfall patterns will affect poeple's ability to grow food and feed livestock. There are other connections between climate change and food, too. Some foods require huge amounts of energy and water in their production. Others are exported and travel long distances, leaving big carbon footprints.

On World Food Day (October 16), the Food and Agricultural Association (FAO) and World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts launched the Food Security and Climate Change Challenge Badge. This awesome guide (pdf) is a great way to learn all about climate change and food security issues and is also full of ideas and ways in which you can take action to reduce your footprint and your impact on the environment.

According to 350.org, it's—you guessed it!—350. This is because scientists say that the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere is 350 parts per million.

350.org is organizing The International Day of Climate Action on October 24. Check out the website for ideas on how to get involved, whether it means spreading the word among family and friends, organizing an event, or raising awarness through the media.

Other ways to take part on this day: search the "action map" to see what others are doing around the world, or hone your photography skills. That's right—a hot number like this has to be pretty photogenic...so if you find a way to incorporate the number 350 in an iconic spot in your community, be sure to take a photo and upload to the website.

The outbreak of the H1N1 virus (otherwise known as "swine flu") has taught the world an important lesson: Strong public health surveillance systems are critical to deal with such situations.

World Bank expert Keith Hansen has said that such surveillance measures would not only help health care systems prepare for emergencies and pandemics, but would also help them deal with regular challenges. For example, following the H1N1 scare, health projects in Brazil and Argentina were set up to get funds quickly to communities with urgent medical needs, as well as to increase preparedness for pandemics. 

“The goal is not to just chase the disease du jour, but to really be prepared for what else may be coming down the pike, and strengthening countries overall in their readiness,” says Hansen.

Got a question about how to strengthen health care systems in devleoping countries? Hansen will be online today, Tuesday, October 6 at 10:30 a.m. EDT to answer questions on this topic. Submit your questions now.

How should the world look after the global finanical and economic crisis? Ask experts your questions and hear them debate the issue.

A special high-level panel will discuss the post-economic crisis world on Friday, October 2, in Istanbul during the Annual Meetings.

The panel will include Robert B. Zoellick, World Bank President; H. E. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance, Indonesia; H.E. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Minister of Investment, Egypt; Ms. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, CEO, Ethiopian Commodity Exchange; and Professor Paul Collier, Department of Economics, University of Oxford.

The debate will be recorded on Friday, October 2, and will be broadcast over the next two days on France 24.

The panel is taking questions from people from around the world. If you have any questions for the panelists, you can ask them directly through the World Bank's online chat, Speak Out, from where they will be passed on.

This month, we’re talking about food on Youthink!, and how so many people don’t have enough. I recently came across a couple of blogs on the topic of food security—one had some good news, and the other not so good. Let’s start with the bad news first.

Deforestation is happening at alarming rates in many parts of the world. We often hear about the disastrous impact this can have in terms of climate change and biodiversity loss. Deforestation also poses a huge threat to food security. In fact, did you know that in the developing world, 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their food, fuel, and livelihoods? This blogger has seen deforestation and its consequences happen first-hand in his hometown.

Have you ever felt you're not learning much in school? I certainly had that problem, although I have to admit that was mostly because of an unfortunate tendency to daydream...the one thing I did learn was how to lie, but that's only because I went to a really strict school where you had to be quick with excuses for things like why you were late, or weren't wearing your school blazer and other such terrible misdemeanors.

Did you know that in many regions, unemployment among youth is easily 2-3 times higher than for adults. Especially in developing countries, the school-to-work transition can be a long and tedious process, during which young people leave school, become jobless and spend time moving between unemployment, inactivity and informal employment. In fact, youth have often been found to effectively act as a "buffer," absorbing shocks disproportionately during negative business cycles, but not benefiting accordingly during economic booms.
What is it like for youth in your country? And is the global financial crisis impacting the situation still further? 

The World Bank's Y2Y Global Youth Conference is holding an essay contest on this topic, and wants your ideas on the questions: 

What are the constraints to youth entrepreneurship in your country? Has the global crisis changed the dynamics? How can governments help young entrepreneurs to create and further develop their social and productive ventures?

For more info, visit the Y2Y Community website.

Did you know August 16-22 is World Water Week? This annual event is dedicated to the planet’s most urgent water-related issues. The theme this year is: “Accessing Water for the Common Good."

Around the globe, access to water is becoming harder and harder for many people, because of high demand and erratic availability. Still, there are some factors that provide an opportunity to improve things. For example, the global economy, as well as many local economies, are growing several times faster than population growth. And this growth might help people and governments to deal with problems and increase productivity. (Of course now the world's current financial turmoil may have a negative impact on this).

"Young people have proven themselves to be key partners in sustainable development."
—UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

In a message he released for International Youth Day, the UN Secretary-General noted that climate change is "saddling young people everywhere with an unjust 'ecological debt.'" He added that young people are making contributions with their views and proposals, and many are  also leading by example, by "practising green and healthy lifestyles, or promoting innovative uses of new technologies, such as mobile devices and online social networks." 

If you were intrigued by Saptarshi's blog post about the "green" ideas of Sophie Bathurst, you'll be happy to know she has been blogging in more detail about them on the World Bank's Climate Change blog. Sophie is the winner of this year's World Bank Essay Competition, and she has some innovative ideas about tackling climate change through youth-led solutions. Check it out!