Natural resource management blogs
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Why procurement should be the "next frontier" in transparency for mining
1 July 2019Mine sites often spend more on obtaining goods and services – hundreds of millions of dollars a year – than anything else. Jeff Geipel says this procurement needs better data and transparency, but it has the potential to become a lever for economic and social development.
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China’s investments, Africa’s forests: from raw deals to mutual gains?
19 June 2019The grand-scale Belt and Road Initiative is driving ever greater Chinese investment in Africa’s forests. But will the benefits of this ‘development’ reach local people? And will it be sustainable? A recent IIED project in Cameroon highlights both the potential and the pitfalls of surging investment.
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Time to turn the PAGE?
17 January 2019The Partnership for Action on Green Economy is an international alliance of UN agencies, partner organisations and governments working together for a transition to a green and sustainable economy. The alliance's third ministerial conference aimed to showcase innovation and experience, but IIED's Laura Kelly felt a key ingredient was missing
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Environment or the economy? How Uganda uses natural capital accounts in policymaking
9 January 2019When half of a country’s wealth is natural capital it is vital this resource is managed well. If people, businesses and government policies put natural capital at risk, then long term sustainable development is jeopardised. A recent meeting in Kampala, Uganda, discussed how natural capital accounts can inform better decision making for a viable future
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Who should carry the financial risks in large private sector financed hydropower projects?
17 December 2018New research will examine the risks of funding hydropower and how these risks can be addressed to break down the financing barriers
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Sustainable development and artisanal mining: time to broaden the ‘blood diamonds’ conversation?
3 December 2018Millions of people in some of the world’s poorest countries depend on diamond mining for a living. Yet a focus on dealing with so-called ‘blood diamonds’ stops a wider conversation about how to help these people thrive
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Women, wildlife and the workings of the CBD
20 November 2018Dilys Roe explains why international efforts to manage the world’s wildlife sustainably need input from the ground
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Incendiary observations from the 4th FLARE conference
22 October 2018Researchers into forest livelihoods recently met in Copenhagen to share ideas on how to support forests, sustainable forestry and forest peoples. Duncan Macqueen reports back on some of the highlights
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Crucial agreement with China could save Mozambique’s forests
14 August 2018Chinese companies can help Mozambique conserve country’s threatened forests, writes Duncan Macqueen
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There’s justice in the battle for biodiversity
28 June 2018Increasingly recognised as the irreplaceable basis of our natural world, biodiversity is also fundamental to human wellbeing and sustainable development. James Mayers looks at why effective conservation action is inextricably linked with development and social justice
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The economics of mass extinction
29 May 2018A recent UK newspaper column asserted that economic approaches to natural protection are flawed. In this blog, originally published to mark the International Day for Biodiversity, four academics argue that, on the contrary, "without nature, no other value is possible"
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Legal activism key to securing land rights in new investment phase
28 March 2018In the face of rapid changes, how can people in low- and middle-income countries ensure they get the best deal to protect their land?
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On pilgrimage in Madre de Dios: starting a journey to sustainable artisanal mining
7 February 2018Pope Francis condemned threats to the Amazon's peoples and forests when he visited Peru. After the world's media has moved on, what next for those working to improve the artisanal mining sector?
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Making the link between the SDGs and natural capital accounting
3 January 2018There is a risk that policymakers working on the Sustainable Development Goals see the 17 goals as 17 separate issues and fail to integrate efforts to achieve them. Rosalind Goodrich reports on a forum that looked at how natural capital accounting can encourage an integrated approach to achieving the SDGs and provide useful information for policy decisions
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Food, ecosystems, equality – can we have it all?
19 December 2017Sustainable landscapes are essential for our future. A major international gathering will this week look at how to speed up action for more resilient, equitable, productive and climate-friendly landscapes. IIED and partners have recently launched a new project that will use innovative ways of working to promote these outcomes in Africa
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Can ASM lead the Africa Mining Vision?
7 December 2017IIED and Tanzanian partners recently hosted a national dialogue on artisanal and small-scale mining in Tanzania. Mkhululi Nkosilamandla Ncube reports on the event, and shares his views of how the ASM dialogue process aligns with his work in promoting the Africa Mining Vision
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Wild life, wild lives: enough talking already
27 November 2017As conservation policymakers from across the globe meet in Geneva to discuss international wildlife trade, one item on the agenda is the role of local people in making decisions about such issues
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Legal empowerment: what we do, what we've learned
14 November 2017If you missed the recent policy forum on legal empowerment, fear not: here Lorenzo Cotula recaps on what characterises IIED's approach and shares his top three lessons learned
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If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise…
27 October 2017Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a magnet for tourists wanting to see gorillas in the wild, but surrounding communities don't get much revenue from the tourist trade. Dilys Roe describes a project that is helping local people who live close to the edge of the forest to develop products and activities that will attract visitors – and much-needed income
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Protecting Cameroon's forests: a fishy business?
28 July 2017Projects that invest in more efficient fish smoking businesses are improving livelihoods and conserving mangrove forests on Cameroon's coastline. Valuable lessons in forest protection can be taken from the coast, deep into the country's rainforests.
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Investing in natural capital to deliver the SDGs and reduce poverty
17 July 2017With the meeting of the UN High-level Political Forum on sustainable development under way, Paul Steele discusses how natural capital can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and lift the poorest out of poverty
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Making ecosystems resilient through Bangladesh's Delta Plan
12 June 2017Ahead of CBA11 this month, a government policy planner in Bangladesh makes the case for integrating ecosystems-based adaptation in the country's main long-term geospatial plan
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Restorative insights at the pool in Kigali
8 June 2017A recent meeting in Rwanda concluded that enabling investment in business capacity development is vital to get small-scale forest entrepreneurs ready for 'asset investment' – and promote forest landscape restoration at scale
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Spinach soup, gorillas and cow dung baskets – what's the connection?
22 May 2017Tourism generates crucial revenue that helps conserve mountain gorillas and other species in Uganda. We're working to share the financial benefits with local people too, and help them develop better tourism products and services
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A Chinese passion: adding value to Mozambique's timber exports
10 April 2017Mozambique wants to encourage a timber industry that creates jobs and adds value: Duncan Macqueen visited one Chinese company keen to do just that and saw how an IIED-led project is providing support