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A baby orangutan hangs on a tree in Borneo

Why companies should worry about losing wildlife

Biodiversity loss threatens society, businesses and a well-functioning economy Biodiversity has decreased by 60 percent in just four decades, the WWF Living Planet Index has concluded. Scientists even speak of the Earth entering the sixth extinction event in its history, and it appears that the…
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Photo collage: elephant, pangolin scales, orangutan

What to watch on World Wildlife Day 2020

Today is World Wildlife Day. Around the world many GEF partners, from UN Environment Programme, and World Wildlife Fund to the World Bank are sharing stories, raising awareness, and encouraging action around the WWD 2020 theme of Sustaining all life on Earth. This year is especially important. 2020…
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GEF's Pacific Expanded Constituency Workshop session in a Fiji village

From Ridge to Reef: learning from holistic best practice in Fiji

Like many other Pacific Island countries, Fiji is one of the most coveted tourist destinations in the world. At the same time, it is a microcosm of some significant development and environmental challenges. A natural resource-dependent country with limited land area, Fiji experiences intense…
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A malagasy farmer and son in their plantation of vanilla near Sambava, east of Madagascar. Photo: Pierre-Yves Babelon/Shutterstock.

Conserving nature boosts farmer incomes and cuts poverty

Local communities need to be engaged when it comes to using their natural resources sustainably Madagascar, island of a thousand wonders, is well known for its many endemic species of plants and animals. With more than 13 million hectares (more than 50,000 sq miles) of forest, it is home to more…
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Honey bee on a flower. Photo: Zoran Kompar Photography/Shutterstock.

Celebrating biodiversity in all corners of the world

The recent IPBES Global Assessment Report revealed that around one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction, many within decades. Turning this situation around will take time, money, and collective efforts at many levels. Since 1993, when the Convention on Biological…
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While this year's Biological Diversity Day focuses on human nutrition and health, these are just a few of the aspects of life on Earth that are at stake when biodiversity’s future is threatened. But it’s not too late. We can change course. Photo: Conservation International/Aulia Erlangga.

This Biological Diversity Day, there is something to celebrate: proven solutions

The people who live along and fish the Mekong River within the Stung Treng protected wetland in northeast Cambodia may not be aware that they’re within the boundaries of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot—one of 36 global terrestrial regions of very high biological diversity that are under extreme…
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The people living on the mountain are the poorest of the poor and the unluckiest of the unlucky - losing children, homes and crops to the conflict and lacking schools and medical clinics. These women, having seen years of fighting, were not willing to give up. Photo: <a href=\"http://www.jenguyton.com/\">Jen Guyton</a>.

Are you here to plant trees or help people?

How Gorongosa National Park is using agriculture to protect biodiversity and lift people out of poverty Imagine trying to convince a group of poor farmers who don’t know you to plant a crop that they’ve never heard of, has no nutritional value, and takes three years to start producing. After…
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As part of our mission to protect globally important biodiversity, the GEF supports protection of endangered species around the world by securing their habitats and combating the illegal wildlife trade. Photo: Sretachok.P Oat/Shutterstock.

Save our species: an Earth Day "Did you know?"

April 22 is Earth Day and the theme this year is protecting endangered species. Beyond the beauty of the coral reefs, the majesty of whales, and the lovability of baby sea turtles, these species maintain ecosystems that are vital to our way of life. Nothing in the world exists on its own. As part…
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African elephant herd drinking together at watering hole. Photo: Villiers Steyn/Shutterstock.

Ensuring a world where elephants aren't the next dinosaurs

On August 12, we celebrate World Elephant Day to raise awareness on the plight of the world’s elephant population. This is an important day for me, as the Program Manager of the Global Wildlife Program (GWP) that started two years ago to combat illegal wildlife trade across 19 countries in Asia and…
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Expedition truck with tourists viewing nearby elephants. Photo: THPStock/Shutterstock.

Leveraging PPPs in Mozambique to scale conservation and promote economic development

Over the last few decades, Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) have been used to build transportation, energy, telecommunications, and other infrastructure throughout the world. Value chains were established to foster growth in these sectors and significant experiences gained. A sector largely…

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