All Blog Posts (529)

The most high-profile economic decision-making currently relates to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite growing evidence that investing in nature is an economic winner, much of the public spending deployed for the COVID-19 recovery has not been adequately green and largely under-invests in nature.

At this…

Listen now to 'Getting climate resilience right: the case for backing smallholder organisations’ - the newest episode of IIED’s Make Change Happen podcast.

In forest landscapes, 1.3 billion smallholder farmers,…

Ecosystem-based adaptation, or EbA, involves people working with nature to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.

Ample evidence from IIED and other organisations – along with experiences from communities around the world – demonstrate that EbA has great potential to help people adapt to climate change while delivering environmental,…

Following the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, download a new report from IIED in collaboration with the Nature-Based Solutions Initiative (NbSI) at the University of Oxford, Investing in nature for development: do nature-based interventions deliver local…

A debate over terminology risks distracting attention from the key issues under discussion in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and derail the number one priority of agreeing an ambitious framework that can both halt biodiversity loss and deliver for human wellbeing.

In this backgrounder, we explore the concepts of nature-based solutions and the ecosystem approach…

Conservation efforts, while critical to reducing biodiversity loss, often fail to treat people fairly. This undermines the sustainability of these efforts and can further marginalise already vulnerable people. A new guide offers negotiators practical steps for embedding equity in the new global biodiversity…

IIED’s ‘Make Change Happen’ podcast provides an opportunity to hear our researchers and guests discuss key global development challenges and explain what we are doing to support positive change.

In this episode of…

The IIED and the IUCN SULi Learning and Action Platform on Communities and Illegal Wildlife Trade (LeAP) project is holding a webinar on 30 March, Community based rangers: an effective approach to tackling illegal wildlife trade?

LeAP,…

There’s a multi-billion-dollar yearly trade in medicines, foodstuffs and industrial products derived from plants, animals, fungi and bacteria. But many such products have been commercialised without any of the profits returning to the countries and communities whose biodiversity and traditional knowledge made the innovation possible. And in some…

Now is the time to make change happen. 

This year IIED and partners will deliver excellent research:

* To show how conserving biodiversity protects livelihoods as well as nature

* To make the case for a fair high seas treaty that benefits everyone while protecting marine life, and 

* To get money where it matters so…

We urgently need to address the triple crisis of debt distress, biodiversity loss and climate change. This project will scope how this could be done through debt swaps for nature and climate outcomes in four countries in coastal West Africa.

IIED will work with governments and civil society in Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal…

The People and Conservation Learning Group (PCLG) is excited to announce that with support from the Arcus Foundation, they are piloting a new small grants…

Usually held each year alongside the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC, D&C Days is hosted in partnership, using a dynamic format that encourages dialogue on a range of issues that link policy, knowledge and practice for climate ambition.

This year's event will be part of the Understanding…

IIED and partners are participating in London Climate Action Week, a week-long digital event from 14-20 November 2020. This is the second series of London Climate Action Week events this year, with IIED again taking part following the successful series in July 2020. This week of events falls on the dates when the UN climate summit (COP26) was…

Modern food and farming systems are fundamentally unsustainable. They contribute around a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and are responsible for almost 60% of global biodiversity loss. They are degrading the natural resources – water, soils, genetic resources – needed to sustain agricultural production.

A recent workshop hosted by IIED…

Yufen Chuang and IIED senior researcher Xiaoting Hou Jones reflect on why working with nature to adapt to climate change can offer valuable lessons on how to build back better from COVID-19.

The COVID-19 crisis has shown that the health and the future of people and nature are intertwined. As global leaders …

Nature-based solutions for climate change: from global ambition to local action

The world is facing two unprecedented environmental crises: biodiversity loss and climate change. The causes of these challenges are interrelated, as are the solutions.…

To celebrate Earth Day, today I'd like to invite you to listen to Getting money to where it matters: ensuring funds for climate action reach those who need it most – the latest episode of the 'People, Planet and Public Finance' podcast by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the International Budget Partnership (IBP).

IIED and…

IIED will be launch its brand new biodiversity newsletter next week. Sign up to it on the IIED website to receive updates on our work focussing on the links between biodiversity, conservation and local people's livelihoods.

In addition to biodiversity, you'll also find a range of newsletters containing our latest news and publications on a variety of subjects. Find out more and sign up now:…