Natural resource management blogs
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Foreign investment, knowledge and international arbitration: inside a research trip
22 June 2020International investment law and investor dispute arbitration too often fail to notice the concerns of local actors. Guest blogger Nicolás Perrone argues that governance of these international mechanisms needs to take a more holistic, development-based view of the issues
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Finding solutions in nature for climate change
29 May 2020On the International Day of Biological Diversity, IIED hosted a multi-stakeholder webinar on how to work with nature to mitigate and adapt to climate change and halt biodiversity loss. IIED senior researcher Xiaoting Hou Jones chaired the event, and here she shares some highlights from the discussions
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Will COVID-19 leave fuel-rich African countries gasping for breath?
27 April 2020As coronavirus takes its toll on Africa’s oil and gas-reliant economies, Dr Fatima Denton asks if recovery could herald an era of bold new thinking on economic diversification to reduce reliance on natural resources
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Mining reforms have left Colombia’s artisanal miners behind
15 April 2020Following a recent visit to California, Colombia, Jimena Sierra and Brendan Schwartz discuss the impact of the government’s push to promote large-scale mining on artisanal and small-scale gold miners
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Despite COVID-19, using wild species may still be the best way to save them
1 April 2020As the content of the post-2020 biodiversity framework is being developed, Dilys Roe discusses the role of sustainable use in reducing biodiversity loss and saving wild species, and some of the potential implications of COVID-19
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A tale of two villages: community perspectives on the impact of Botswana’s trophy hunting ban
24 January 2020How does a trophy hunting ban affect people who live alongside wildlife? Helen Muller reports on her conversations with local people in Botswana
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Information value chains – from data to research communication
15 November 2019What’s needed to sustain the flow of information from field data to policy communication? Rosalind Goodrich reports from a meeting in Durban that considered how to get biodiversity information to the heart of government decision-making
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Who’s listening? Community voices on illegal wildlife trade
6 November 2019To effectively fight poaching and illegal wildlife trade (IWT), governments, NGOs and their partners across Latin America must listen to, engage with and provide incentives for the communities that live alongside wildlife
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La nouvelle loi minière du Mali : une amélioration, mais pas pour les artisans miniers
8 October 2019Mali’s long-awaited mining reforms are here. A mix of progressive and outdated measures, the code must pass parliamentary review before entering into law. We assess the significance of three aspects of the legislation
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Rebalancing power in the Kenya-UK green bean value chain
9 September 2019Farmers and workers often struggle to influence decision-making and trading patterns within global value chains. A recent IIED webinar discussed an initiative to overcome hurdles for farmers and workers to secure a stronger voice and influence trading arrangements within the Kenya-UK green bean value chain
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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