Fighting Insectageddon: Why Bugs Matter

To cope with our growing population we have tripled our exploitation of natural resources in just 40 years. As a result of the vast expansion of mining, industrial-scale farming, fishing and other human activities, natural ecosystems have lost nearly half of their area, and one million plant and animal species are facing extinction. Without the ecological networks which regulate our planet — from cleaning air and water to providing food — we simply cannot survive.

earthrise explores the environmental consequences of war and how different people, from Rohingya refugees to Syrian scientists, are trying to restore a healthy relationship with nature.

"earthrise" travels to the U.K. and New Zealand to meet the scientists trying to stop the decline of insect populations.

Every year seven million people die from air pollution. It's the world's biggest environmental killer.

Italy is Europe's most polluted country: in 2012, more than 84,000 people in the country died prematurely owing to bad air quality. To combat this, scientists have developed a new type of photocatalytic cement that absorbs pollutants and turns them into harmless salts. 

Cheap and versatile, plastic is used for everything. The problem is, it's also indestructible. As a result, it piles up in landfills where it leeches toxic chemicals into soil and groundwater, or ends up in the ocean affecting wildlife and getting into food chains.

Approximately 268,000 tonnes of plastic float in our oceans - that's five trillion individual pieces. If nothing changes, it is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic by weight than fish in our oceans.

Climate change has disrupted weather patterns across the globe, destroying farmland and increasing pest outbreaks. As a result, both the livelihoods of farmers and food supplies have been pushed to breaking point.

"earthrise" sets off to South Africa and Nepal to see how some newly developed solutions are helping farmers to produce food for a growing population as conditions change.

A look at the state of global food security amid rising concerns about the world population and climate change.

In New Haven, Connecticut, a community of scientists, fishermen and foodies are redefining their relationship with the sea using 3D ocean farming. In Africa, farmer-managed natural regeneration is restoring farmland to improve food security. In Holland, scientists are racing to future proof our planet against our love of meat.

A look at how communities in India and Denmark have adjusted their way of living, turning it into a greener alternative.

In Denmark, see how a 100%-renewable community on Samso Island is investing in its own green society. In India, a new method of cremation is helping Hindu tradition become more environmentally friendly.

In a busy market in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, a group of women gather to cook. While the dishes they prepare are traditional, the brightly coloured stoves they cook on are new.

The locally made Ugastove, which requires on average half the amount of charcoal of traditional cookers, saves money in reduced fuel costs, cuts carbon emissions and reduces deforestation.