Feature Stories

A woman in Matebo Village in Kalumbila District shows off her new energy-saving stove while her friends look on with admiration. Photo: Moses Zangar, Jr./UNDP Zambia.

August 16, 2019

Wood-saving cookstoves are helping Zambia cut forest loss
Nigeria is one of the world’s top destinations for electronic waste. But what happens when it gets there? Photo: Irene Galan/UN Environment.

August 12, 2019

Dark skies, bright future: overcoming Nigeria's e-waste challenge...
The GEF-financed Philippine ICCA Project is working to strengthen the conservation, protection, and management of key biodiversity sites by institutionalising Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Conserved Areas and Territories (ICCAs). Photo: Orange Omengan/UNDP Philippines.

August 9, 2019

Indigenous peoples in the Philippines leading conservation efforts

The Mainstreaming Sustainable Cattle Ranching project, now in its tenth year, has helped 4,100 family farms in five distinct zones of Colombia adopt “silvopastoral” techniques that combine trees (silvo) with pasture, in a beneficial combination for farmers, their cows and the broader environment. Photo: Flore de Preneuf/World Bank.

August 7, 2019

Trees and cows offer path to recovery in Colombia
To prevent overexploitation of the fishery resources, regional authorities in Galicia have worked in close coordination with scientists, fisherfolk, and the private sector to design management systems that are now internationally recognized for their effectiveness. Photo: Rafael Ramirez Lee/Shutterstock.

August 2, 2019

Schooling together: peer to peer learning for sustainable...
A year ago, UNDP launched the UN Biodiversity Lab in partnership with UN Environment and the UN Biodiversity Convention to support nearly 140 countries to use spatial data to better deliver on their global commitments to biodiversity and sustainable development. Photo: Enrique Aguirre/Shutterstock.

July 29, 2019

How data can protect wildlife

A new pilot initiative covering about 25,000 hectares and using shepherds, has succeeded in increasing production of rangeland lamb and beef while simultaneously restoring vegetation and fostering biodiversity. Photo: Jonathan Taylor/Landmark Foundation.

July 26, 2019

Win-win for people and planet: smart shepherding in South Africa
Over the past two years, IFC’s Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services’ Advisory Services team has been working on a pilot project with 11 of Neuland’s farms to showcase the operational and financial benefits of shifting to more efficient and environmentally sustainable ranching practices. Photo: Neuland Cooperative.

July 17, 2019

Beefing up Paraguay's meat industry
At least four indigenous groups live in the Sierra. The most populated and influential are the Rarámuris, known for their ancient traditions, their colourful clothing and their unbreakable relationship with nature. Photo: Svetlana Bykova/Shutterstock.

July 15, 2019

Protecting the Sierra Tarahumara, a biodiversity hot spot
With the onset of climate change, Cambodians are seeing changes. Temperatures are rising; the arrival of the monsoon is becoming less predictable; floods and droughts are increasing in frequency and severity.

July 10, 2019

Reducing risk, reaping resilience: Furnishing Cambodia’s farmers with the knowledge to adapt to climate change
Recovering traditional conservation practices in natural resource management through a self-strengthening process was the goal of this project.

July 2, 2019

Women, culture, and territory: Safeguarding biodiversity by protecting ancestral culture in Colombia
Although the Amazighe have been able to maintain Imegdale’s ecological balance through ingenious socio-ecological management systems, there are threats that render this delicate balance precarious.

June 5, 2019

Harnessing traditional knowledge and innovation in Morocco, conservation and livelihoods flourish
Bananas are grown extensively in Western Uganda and are an important source of livelihoods. The region is however one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Photo: mbrand85/Shutterstock.

May 28, 2019

Building climate change resilience of banana farmers in Western Uganda
Amazon biodiversity also plays a critical role as part of global systems, influencing the global carbon cycle and thus climate change, as well as hemispheric hydrological systems, serving as an important anchor for South American climate and rainfall. Photo: Alexandr Vorobev/Shutterstock.

May 22, 2019

Why the Amazon’s biodiversity is critical for the globe: an interview with Thomas Lovejoy
The GEF project – described as “a trendsetter for Madagascar” by Erik Reed, a Natural Resources Management Specialist with the World Bank aims to reverse degradation of natural resources, while increasing the value of production, thus developing a model for integrated landscape management that can be replicated and scaled up across the country. Photo: Milan Zygmunt/Shutterstock.

May 21, 2019

Protecting land and livelihoods in Madagascar