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 …
This US report provides and update on five key adaptation areas promoted in the Task Force in 2010. The Task Force plays a key role in leadership and guidance of the US approach to climate change adaptation. The five adaptation themes in this report are: - Integrating adaptation into Federal …
More than two billion people depend on the world’s arid and semi-arid lands. Preventing land degradation and supporting sustainable development in drylands has major implications for food security, climate change and human settlement. This report, issued at the beginning of the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against …
India stands today at the cross-roads where it is becoming abundantly clear that not paucity of funds, but deficit in governance is the most significant challenge before the society. A frank assessment of the current functioning of Forestry and Wildlife Establishment brings out that: Given the extremely weak base, often …
This issue brief highlights the latest major research in climate change science and technology. It presents a synthesis of current understanding of global warming at a critically important time, as the world continues to negotiate a comprehensive international climate agreement and countries begin to implement their national greenhouse gas emission …
In this report, the WBGU explains the reasons for the desperate need for a post-fossil economic strategy, yet it also concludes that the transition to sustainability is achievable, and presents ten concrete packages of measures to accelerate the imperative restructuring. The new WBGU-Study, `A Social Contract for Sustainability' appears at …
This paper examines the interaction of urban and rural food systems, not as separate systems, but as two complementary sides of the food systems everywhere that are a continuum between urban and rural landscapes and actors. While this study emphasizes the continuum between rural and urban, it is recognized that …
The GEF and UNCCD Secretariats have jointly published a book on sustainable land management (SLM) projects, highlighting the impact of many of these projects in achieving SLM, as well as experiences and lessons learned. The book, titled "Land for Life: Securing Our Common Future," delves into various land sustainability programs …
This national action plan was developed through a series of multi-stakeholder consultative workshops with representations from national, regional and international biodiversity organizations. The goals, objectives and actions outlined in this action plan are based on the threats (observed and predicted) and gaps identified by various working groups, stakeholder meetings and …
We were standing at the edge of what looked like a swamp—grass and pools and streams. On one side was heavily barricaded land with high walls, barbed wires and armed security. A board read: East Coast Energy, Kakarapalli. This was where a bloody battle had taken place a few months …
There is growing support for characterizing ecosystem services in order to link conservation and human well-being. However, few studies have explicitly included ecosystem services within systematic conservation planning, and those that have follow two fundamentally different approaches: ecosystem services as intrinsically-important targeted benefits vs. substitutable co-benefits. We present a first …
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) to be held in June 2012 will have green economy as one of its two main themes. This paper has been prepared to strengthen arguments for discussing mountain issues at Rio+20 and in other global discourses. The aim is to …
Sustainable management of the natural resource base supporting agriculture is one of the three major strategic objectives of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (CRP5) combines the resources of 14 CGIAR and numerous external partners to provide an integrated …
How much water should flow in Indian rivers? Hydrologists have been discussing minimum river flows for over four decades now. The churning has resulted in the concept of environmental flow, or e-flow. This implies strategically releasing water downstream of dams and reservoirs to protect the services a river provides. Two …
India has more than 70 m ha under forest cover with four global biodiversity hotspots, and is one of the 17 megadiverse countries. In India, approximately 200 million people are dependent on forests for their livelihood. India recognizes that conserving, expanding and improving the quality of our forests is a …
Against the current challenges to enhance food security worldwide, the publication aims at illustrating the importance of healthy ecosystems for the provisioning of key services that contribute to food security. Such ecosystem services are water provisioning and food production. In this regard the publication will provide an overview of the …
Integrated water resources management (IWRM) combines land and water management through broad-based stakeholder participation to realize multiple co-benefits in watersheds. IWRM recognizes the economic benefits of managing water and related resources in an integrated manner to provide high levels of ecosystem services (ES). In turn, ecosystem management incorporating ES valuation …
This practical guide for cities is highlighting how a focus on ecosystem services and their valuation can create direct benefits for urban areas and can be performed even with limited resources. The TEEB Manual is a practical resource, outlining the step-wise approach introduced in the TEEB report with in-depth real-life …
Recognising healthy ecosystems as the basis for sustainable water resources and stable food security can help produce more food from each unit of agricultural land, improve resilience to climate change and provide economic benefits for poor communities, according to a new report from the UNEP and the IWMI, in partnership …
The paper outlines the linkages between forests and agriculture, and the need for REDD+ to effectively address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation from the agriculture sector. It goes onto discuss the potential policy options for doing this, including their potential socio-economic impacts and how policy design and targeted …
This new UNDP report highlights the development challenges faced by people who live in drylands and outlines how these challenges can be tackled successfully. The purpose of this publication is to highlight the development challenges faced by people who live in drylands and to outline how these challenges can be …
