The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
The roles of forest and wetland ecosystems in regulating flooding have drawn increasing attention in the contexts of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. However, data on floods are scarce in many of the countries where people are most exposed and vulnerable to their impacts. Here, our separate analyses …
Better matching of land use with its sustainable potential is a “no-regrets” strategy for sustainably increasing agricultural production on existing land, targeting restoration efforts to where they are likely to be most successful, and guiding biodiversity conservation initiatives. Land potential is defined as the inherent, long-term potential of the land …
Mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources across all sectors of the national economy, society and policy-making frameworks is a complex challenge. It is critical to have a clear understanding of the linkages, impacts and dependencies of human activities on ecosystems. Society’s interdependence with nature is revealed clearly …
The Amazon is under pressure from unsustainable economic activities and is undergoing unprecedented change, according to WWF’s Living Amazon Report 2016. The report highlights the regional and global realities that are impacting the Amazon and demonstrates why cooperation is so critical to the area’s future. The Amazon spans eight countries …
This publication responds to calls in regional and global forestry forums to strengthen capacity for effectively developing and implementing payment schemes for environmental services in sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission, at its 18th session, called for enhancement of the institutional capacities of member countries and …
The UN Environment Program-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) have released a guide providing a practical, science-based approach to spatial biodiversity assessment and its prioritization meant to inform policy, strategy development and action planning. The guide enables countries that lack resources and/or data …
Habitat loss, overexploitation, and numerous other stressors have caused global declines in apex predators. This “trophic downgrading” has generated widespread concern because of the fundamental role that apex predators can play in ecosystem functioning, disease regulation, and biodiversity maintenance. In attempts to combat declines, managers have conducted reintroductions, imposed stricter …
The report, entitled Multiple Pathways to Sustainable Development: Further Evidence of Sustainability in Practice begins by looking at Germany’s efforts to introduce a “circular economy”, a system where products, components and resources are designed to be maintained, reused, remanufactured and recycled to reduce the high levels of waste produced by …
The whole life depends on soil, which is an important habitat for thousand millions of organisms. Soil biodiversity is extremely diverse in shapes, colours, sizes and functions. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) publishes the first-ever Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas which maps the soil biodiversity of the …
The IRP Food Systems and Natural Resources report assesses the current status and dynamics of natural resource use in food systems and their environmental impacts, identifying opportunities to move towards more resource-smart food systems. It responds to policy relevant questions like what do sustainable food systems look like from a …
Despite some progress in tackling growing threats to biodiversity and ecosystems on its lands, forests and waters, Asia and the Pacific is fast losing its unique flora and fauna. The rapid economic growth in the Asia Pacific region, accompanied by increased resource use by a growing urban and middle-class population …
Despite some progress in tackling growing threats to biodiversity and ecosystems on its lands, forests and waters, Asia and the Pacific is fast losing its unique flora and fauna. The rapid economic growth in the Asia Pacific region, accompanied by increased resource use by a growing urban and middle-class population …
Despite some progress in tackling growing threats to biodiversity and ecosystems on its lands, forests and waters, Asia and the Pacific is fast losing its unique flora and fauna. The rapid economic growth in the Asia Pacific region, accompanied by increased resource use by a growing urban and middle-class population …
From the worrying rise in zoonotic diseases around the world to an examination of how climate change is increasing the toxicity of crops, a UNEP report seeks to highlight a number of the world’s key emerging environmental issues. UNEP’s Frontiers report identifies, highlights and offers solutions to six emerging issues, …
This report tries to advance understanding of climatic stressor effects on ecosystems and possible correlations and implications for societal losses and damages. Five case studies from Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America are used to illustrate effects through realworld examples, covering a range of climatic stressors, such as drought, floods, …
Fish biomass is a primary driver of coral reef ecosystem services and has high sensitivity to human disturbances, particularly fishing. Estimates of fish biomass, their spatial distribution, and recovery potential are important for evaluating reef status and crucial for setting management targets. Here we modeled fish biomass estimates across all …
This Technical Guidance Document addresses the need for mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services into agriculture, at the national level. More specifically, it is aimed to assist countries in developing and implementing their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSA Ps), to consider ecosystem services – and opportunities for their management …
By altering evapotranspiration and influencing how water is routed and stored in a basin, natural and agrarian ecosystems affect river flow. To quantify the impact of ecosystems on streamflow in two large river basins in Asia and Africa, simple statistical relationships were calculated, enabling flow characteristics to be ascertained from …
This paper provides an in-depth review of experiences and insights from mainstreaming biodiversity and development in South Africa. More specifically, it describes how biodiversity considerations have been mainstreamed in five key sectors/areas, namely: land use planning, mining, water, infrastructure, and the agricultural sector. It discusses the types of barriers and …
Forests are rich in biodiversity and valuable for recreation, water regulation and soil protection. As well as for providing timber and other non-wood forest products, forests are important for mitigating climate change and for the renewable energy sector. Forest ecosystems are exposed to a range of environmental, economic and social …
