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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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Overview shot of natural spring in Croatia

Water underground: why protecting what’s hidden matters to our health and for the planet

As much as 97 percent of the world’s water is underground – this “groundwater” originates from rain, melting ice, and snow which has soaked into the soil and is stored in the pores and cracks between sand, rocks, and soil particles. Hidden under our feet, this source of water is unfortunately often…
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Panoramic view of the Dniester river

Protecting and valuing water across borders yields many benefits

This year’s World Water Day is focused on valuing water and illustrating how water means different things to different people. Indeed, there is a constant running through the Global Environment Facility’s three decades of work in geographies around the world: water is fundamental to all of the…
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Water falling onto hands from a tap

Let's not wash our hands of water security

The post-coronavirus recovery will offer a chance to improve water security for the world's neediest people Access to clean water for washing hands has been the first line of defense during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has made water security a renewed priority for development assistance and for…
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Himalayan glacier with lake

World Water Week at Home

This week is World Water Week, an annual event sponsored by the Stockholm International Water Institute that is being held virtually for the first time in its history because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have attended World Water Week since its earlier days over 20 years ago and for me there is no…
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Panorama of Big Almaty Lake on Sunny summer day, Kazakhstan

High stakes at high altitudes: glaciers and the case for integrated climate and water action

Being from Denmark - a small, cold, and wet Nordic country that is barely above sea-level - I was sensitized early to the connections between climate conditions and water, from the power of coastal storms to the importance of flood controls. What I have learned since, as an international waters…
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Boats docked at a pier

We need a paradigm shift in economic thinking

In an interview with The Economist Group’s World Ocean Initiative, Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF, calls for a fundamental rethink in our relationship with the environment to support a sustainable economy and social well-being. Please could you provide a brief overview of the Global…
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What to expect from Super Year 2020: environmental leaders look ahead

Watch interviews with the GEF’s government partners, agency representatives, civil society leaders, and in-house specialists on climate change, cities, oceans, biodiversity, illegal wildlife trade, and more, recorded on the sidelines of the 57th GEF Council meetings in December 2019: Naoko Ishii,…
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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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Tuna amongst prey. Photo: J'nel/Shutterstock.

Needed: an ecosystem of partners to support ocean health

Global co-operation, with businesses playing a critical role, is needed to transform the seafood industry It is estimated that approximately three billion people around the world rely on seafood for their primary source of protein, making flourishing oceans an integral part of the global commons…

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