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 …
Suriname prides itself on being the “greenest” country on Earth and it intends to stay green as it ramps up its oil and mining industries, say government officials. Famous for its pristine rainforest and rivers, resource-rich Suriname is welcoming foreign direct investment to ramp up its oil and mining industries; …
This fourth edition of the United Nations progress report on the state of global biodiversity calls for bold and accelerated innovative global action to meet the globally-agreed strategic plan for biodiversity and its Aichi targets by 2020. It has been been officially launched on opening day of the Twelfth Meeting …
A new international report "An updated synthesis of the impacts of ocean acidification on marine biodiversity" shows beyond doubt that ocean acidification is an issue of serious environmental and policy concern. This timely synthesis has considered the impacts of ocean acidification across many levels of biodiversity, and as such represents …
Global wildlife populations have declined by more than half in just 40 years according to “Living Planet Report 2014” produced by World Wildlife Federation in collaboration with Zoological Society of London & the Global Footprint Network. The biggest recorded threat to biodiversity globally comes from the combined impacts of habitat …
Mangroves are being destroyed at a rate 3 - 5 times greater than the average rates of forest loss, costing billions in economic damages and denying millions of people the ecosystem services they need to survive, according to a new report by UNEP. The Importance of Mangroves: A Call to …
Although the importance of addressing ecosystem service benefits in regional land use planning and decision-making is evident, substantial practical challenges remain. In particular, methods to identify priority areas for the provision of key ecosystem services and other environmental services (benefits from the environment not directly linked to the function of …
The number and extent of roads will expand dramatically this century. Globally, at least 25 million kilometres of new roads are anticipated by 2050; a 60% increase in the total length of roads over that in 2010. Nine-tenths of all road construction is expected to occur in developing nations, including …
Conserving wildlife while simultaneously meeting the resource needs of a growing human population is a major sustainability challenge. As such, using combined social and environmental perspectives to understand how people and wildlife are interlinked, together with the mechanisms that may weaken or strengthen those linkages, is of utmost importance. However, …
A new Green Infrastructure (GI) guide, launched at World Water Week, is set to raise much needed awareness of the benefits of GI solutions for water resources management, says the UNEP. The Green Infrastructure Guide for Water Management: Ecosystem-based Management Approaches for Water-Related Infrastructure Projects is a product of the …
This paper assesses the scale of the potential co-benefits for residents of developing countries of protecting forest ecosystems in order to mitigate climate change. The objective is to improve understanding among development practitioners of the ways in which services provided by forest ecosystems can also make important contributions to achieving …
The weekly digest of important reports, research, policy documents, regulations, studies, court cases, protests, conflicts, initiatives, photos, data, statistics, infographics, presentations on the India Environment Portal, 17 - 23 August 2014.
‘Forests in a Changing Climate: Sourcebook for REDD+’ is designed to give an overview of the key topics related to forests and climate change, under the overarching and evolving REDD+ narrative. The purpose is to facilitate the integration of this new knowledge domain into multi-disciplinary University programmes. The sourcebook provides …
We identify policies that would provide a solid foundation in key international negotiations to ensure that primary forests persist into the 21st Century. A novel compilation of primary forest cover and other data revealed that protection of primary forests is a matter of global concern being equally distributed between developed …
The UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has produced a composite map of the marine and terrestrial ecosystem assets of the world. The map, published in the report titled ‘Towards a Global Map of Natural Capital: Key Ecosystem Assets,' combines a number of existing spatial data sets to …
Trees remove air pollution by the interception of particulate matter on plant surfaces and the absorption of gaseous pollutants through the leaf stomata. However, the magnitude and value of the effects of trees and forests on air quality and human health across the United States remains unknown. Computer simulations with …
Intense urban and agricultural development alters habitats, increases fragmentation, and may decouple trophic interactions if plants or animals cannot disperse to needed resources. Specialist insects represent a substantial proportion of global biodiversity and their fidelity to discrete microhabitats provides a powerful framework for investigating organismal responses to human land use. …
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization will enter into force on 12 October 2014 following its ratification by 51 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In the last weeks, 12 countries have deposited their …
Insect pollination is a vital ecosystem service that maintains biodiversity and sustains agricultural crop yields. Social bees are essential insect pollinators, so it is concerning that their populations are in global decline. Although pesticide exposure has been implicated as a possible cause for bee declines, we currently have a limited …
Approaches to integrated landscape management are currently garnering new interest as scientists, policymakers, and local stakeholders recognize the need to increase the multi-functionality of agricultural landscapes for food production, livelihood improvement, and ecosystem conservation. Such approaches have been attempted in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) but …
ICLEI Canada and the Toronto and Region Conservation launch their latest resource on biodiversity, biodiverCities: A Primer on Nature in Cities. With the majority of the world's population living in urban areas, its time to ask how they can become more livable, sustainable and resilient. biodiverCities explores why biodiversity should …
