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The Orange River flowing through the Namib desert

Making water a source of peace with transboundary cooperation

On this World Water Day, we celebrate water as a resource that sustains life on Earth and provides the basis for economic development and prosperity. World Water Day also reminds us that many people around the world face too much, too little, or too dirty water. Over-abstraction of water is…
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Firefighters battle a blaze

What firefighters have taught us about working together

They journeyed from 11 countries on five continents. From as far as South Africa and as close as the United States: hundreds of firefighters working to dousing the wildfires that have done unparalleled damage to Canadian forests this year and sent plumes of thick smoke across North America. Their…
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Young plant growing in light

We have two months to start healing the world

Back-to-back summits on climate change and biodiversity will offer the world a unique chance to come together on two of the most critical issues of our time - climate and biodiversity. Change is possible. But given the size of the crises, we must use the coming two months to be brutally honest…
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Low angle shot of modern glass buildings and green with clear sky background

How our economy could become more 'nature-positive'

A new World Economic Forum white paper sets out how our economies stand to gain from nature-positive policies. Implementing nature-positive policies could generate an estimated $10 trillion in new annual business value and create 395 million jobs by 2030. The regulatory and business environment…
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Carlos Manuel Rodriguez surfing

A surfer's view on a blue and green recovery

In a blog for IUCN's World Conservation Congress, GEF CEO and Chairperson Carlos Manuel Rodriguez writes how surfing has given him a deeper understanding of oceans and marine life, and a passion for addressing biodiversity loss and climate change.
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Palm oil worker harvesting palm oil in Malaysia

How rescheduling debt for climate and nature goals could unlock a sustainable recovery

“As the world continues to struggle with COVID-19, it is faced with urgent, intertwined crises: climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, pollution, and international debt.” In a joint op-ed for World Economic Forum, GEF CEO Carlos Manuel Rodriguez and Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary…
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Cabuyal beach in Costa Rica

To build back better, we need to rethink global subsidies

In an article for the Davos Agenda 2021, GEF CEO and Chairperson Carlos Manuel Rodriguez says a renewed focus on easing pressures on nature through a green and blue recovery has breathed new life into upcoming negotiations on biodiversity loss, land degradation, ocean conservation, and climate…
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Ruddy shelducks in flight at Maguri Bill, a biodiversity hotspot in India

How public development banks can help nature

Public development banks will be critical to global efforts to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout. To realize their potential, they should complement their climate investments by setting explicit nature-based goals and targets.
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3d illustration of a half-burned forest

Welcome to the Anthropocene

The many overlapping crises of 2020 are not just hallmarks of a bad year. They reflect the human-caused environmental damage that will keep compounding in the epoch dubbed the Anthropocene, where humanity’s impact on the planet dominates all else. Writing for the World Bank's Voices blog, GEF CEO…
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Forest and mountain landscape of Hawaii

Mapping nature to create a global biodiversity framework

The year 2020 was considered a 'super year' for biodiversity. A string of interconnected events offered a unique opportunity to build a global coalition and international policy framework that recognized the central role of nature to all life on Earth. At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) 196…

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