Biodiversity

Our Ocean Conference: After Mombasa – Will Africa and the World Make Ocean Promises Real?

By James Alix Michel
« James Alix Michel warns that without real finance and precaution, ocean pledges risk remaining only on paper. » Now that the lights have dimmed in Mombasa and the delegations have gone home, a simple but necessary question remains: did the first Our Ocean Conference on African soil truly move the world from promises to protection? The conference was indeed the first held in Africa, under the theme “Our Ocean, Our Heritage, Our Future,” with a stated focus on culture, communities, livelihoods, marine protection, climate resilience and sustainable blue economies.

‘We Came for Action, Not Promises’: Developing Nations Voice Frustration as Bonn Talks Conclude

By Umar Manzoor Shah
The United Nations June Climate Meetings (SB64) ended in Bonn with sharp disagreements between developed and developing countries over climate finance, adaptation support and emissions reductions, leaving negotiators with significant unresolved issues ahead of the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye.

In Sikkim, Snow Leopards and Communities Share the High Mountains

By Diwash Gahatraj
The tea arrives before the conversation starts. Jayanta Mukhia sets two cups on the wooden table and pulls up a chair across from the couple who arrived that afternoon with trekking poles and rucksacks. They have come to walk the Goechala trail into the heart of Khangchendzonga National Park in India. They will leave in two days. Before they go, she has something to tell them.

From Victoria to Mombasa: Will Africa’s Ocean Voice Be Heard?

By James Alix Michel
Tomorrow, Africa hosts the Our Ocean Conference on its own shores for the first time, in Mombasa. This is more than a diplomatic milestone. It is a test of whether we, as Africans, are prepared to safeguard our ocean as a shared heritage and a pillar of our future prosperity.

Central Asia Bets on a New Water–Land Pact to Survive Environmental Degradation

By Kizito Makoye
As ministers, diplomats and development officials assembled in Samarkand Congress Centre for a ceremonial family photograph, the mood carried unusual symbolism. Behind the smiles and formalities stood a region confronting a harder reality: rivers are shrinking, soils are tiring, temperatures are rising, and the old ways of managing land and water are no longer working.

Billions Lost as Secret Financial Networks Fuel Forest Destruction in Brazil and Cameroon

By Umar Manzoor Shah
A new report has found that billions of dollars linked to illegal deforestation are flowing through global supply chains, with secrecy around land ownership and company records helping timber, soy, and beef products enter international markets unchecked.

Make Last Sprint Towards 2030 a ‘Turning Point’ for Nature Finance, Eighth GEF Assembly Told

By Cecilia Russell
"While pressures on public budgets are growing and geopolitical tensions rising, it can be tempting to see environmental finance as optional. It is not,” GEF Interim CEO and Chair Claude Gascon told the closing plenary of the Eighth GEF Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, today.

As Global Demand for Gold Grows, UN Mercury Head Warns Toxic Fumes Put Women in a Motherhood Dilemma

By Kizito Makoye
Ask any woman miner in the Katoro goldfield in Tanzania’s northern Geita region, and she will tell you that she touches toxic mercury with her bare hands when extracting gold from crushed ore.

Tanzanians Seek Stronger GEF Support to Cushion Vulnerable Communities

By Kizito Makoye
In the opulent conference halls of Samarkand, far from the drought-hit fields of East Africa, Tanzanian delegates have warned that unless global climate finance is directed to rural communities, environmental destruction will only accelerate, deepening the vulnerability of those least responsible for the crisis.

At GEF’s Eighth Assembly, Uzbekistan Signals New Role as Donor

By Stella Paul
In a significant policy shift symbolising rising environmental ambition, Uzbekistan on Thursday announced that it will become a donor of international environmental funding to the Global Environment Facility (GEF), as the Eighth GEF Assembly opened in the historic city of Samarkand.

From War Zones to Global Environment Talks, Communities Seek Faster Green Finance

By Stella Paul
For three decades, Iffat Rachid Edriss walked Lebanon's coastline with a clear purpose: protecting the sea she loves.

GEF Pushes Innovation, Blended Finance Ahead of the Eighth Assembly

By Stella Paul and Kizito Makoye
As the Global Environment Facility (GEF) steps into the starting blocks of its next financial cycle, the Interim CEO Claude Gascon reflects on what he termed a “moment of transition and delivery".

Filipino Indigenous Leader Takes Ancient Wisdom to the Global Stage

By Kizito Makoye
Every year, when dark clouds gather above the dense forests of the Philippines, 56-year-old Mini Baeyens, of the Aplay Kankanaey tribe, vigilantly watches the sky.

GEF Approves Adaptation Funds Strengthening Resilience in Vulnerable Countries

By IPS Correspondent
Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Niue, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sudan, and Togo will receive over USD 67 million in new funding to help strengthen resilience.

As Three COPs Converge, Leaders at GEF Council Call for Unified Global Action

By Stella Paul
On day 2 of the Global Environment Facility’s 71st Council Meeting, which focused on process and procedure, a clear message emerged: global environmental governance cannot afford fragmentation.

Delegates Push for Greater Accountability, Community Inclusion as GEF Crosses Major Environmental Milestones

By Kizito Makoye
While the Global Environment Facility (GEF) said its eighth replenishment cycle (GEF-8) was about to exceed environmental targets for biodiversity protection, marine conservation, ecosystem restoration, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, governments and civil society groups called for stronger safeguards to ensure that local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and smaller implementing agencies are not left behind as funding mechanisms become more complex.

GEF Council Welcomes New Green Pledges, Highlights Old Access Barriers

By Stella Paul
The 71st Council meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) opened today amid a sharp divide, with donor nations urging broader and increased funding commitments, while developing countries called for more equitable and accessible pathways to environmental finance.

India’s LED Story Highlights How Blended Finance Powers Environmental Action

By Stella Paul
Ahead of the Eighth Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly in Samarkand, governments and development institutions are grappling with a familiar challenge: How to finance environmental action at the scale required to meet rapidly growing needs.

From Seed to Canopy: How a GEF-Funded Smallholder Project is Restoring the Environment, Building Livelihoods

By Wilson Odhiambo
As 52-year-old Alice Onyango walks through her farm in Siaya county, Kenya, you can tell she is proud of her trees, as some tower over her, providing her with shade, while others seem ready to provide her with fruit for the market.

Brazil’s Indigenous Communities Receive $9M in GEF Funding to Protect Lands, Traditions Under Threat

By Carla Ruas
On Brazil’s northeastern coast, the Indigenous community, Tremembé da Barra do Mundaú, lives on a preserved stretch of land shaped by mangroves, dunes, and deserted beaches. The group of around 160 families is led by women and depends on the 3,500-hectare territory for fishing and subsistence farming.

The Iran War Exposes the Fragility of Our Fuel-Dependent Food System

By Lulseged Desta and Jonathan Mockshell
Sharp surges in energy, fertilizer, and food prices triggered by the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf strikingly illustrate the deep interconnections between geopolitical conflict, food insecurity, and the fragility of fossil fuel–dependent food systems.
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