Both ENDS
How donors, foundations and other funders can better support women-led initiatives in achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), focusing on challenges, collaboration, and opportunities for improved matchmaking.
To Eric Wirsiy, director of CENDEP, the importance of forests is clear: not only do they function as a "free supermarket", providing foods and other things to local communities, but they are crucial to make landscapes resilient to climate change and other impacts.
We are shocked and alarmed by the news that the Philippine government has declared a list of 600 people to be communist terrorists. On the list are mostly indigenous leaders, environmental activists and human rights defenders. Among them are some of our partners, and we are deeply worried about them and the other people on this list.
Small grants funds offer an effective, alternative way to channel big money from large donors and funds to local groups and organisations that are striving for a sustainable and just society everywhere around the world.
A coalition of Malaysian and international NGOs has released a memorandum in response to the recent TPAC report on the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). The organizations express serious concerns about the independence, quality, and credibility of the assessment carried out by the Timber Procurement Assessment Committee (TPAC).
Last week, the European Commission presented a proposal to reform the Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), which forms part of the draft text for Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the USA. Yet, it is fraught with problems, as those few adjustments do not even address the heart of the ISDS-problem.
The Cauvery, a large river that runs through west and southeastern India, is home to a varied and vibrant wildlife and communities. The video documentary team of Dusty Foot Productions had initially been working on a research project on wildlife – mainly otters – of the Cauvery. While documenting the vibrant and diverse ecosystem around the river, the Dusty Foot team however realised that it could not ignore the problems that were present in the area: illegal gill netting, sand mining and the construction of mini hydels (hydroelectric power plants).The story about the Cauvery’s wildlife could therefore not be told without also focusing on the negative effects of industrial projects on the environment.
The construction of a dam causing floods and displacing the local population; small farmers unable to compete with large-scale farms; workers forced to work under harsh conditions and for low wages. These are all examples of the impact activities by companies, governments and policy makers can have in the areas where the activities take place. How can companies, investors and governments be persuaded to change their policies? Based on 10 success factors, the Fair, Green & Global Alliance shares its experience in the booklet ‘The power of advocacy and influencing’.
With an estimated length of 4350 kilometers, the Mekong River is the seventh longest river in Asia. The Mekong basin also boasts the second highest level of biodiversity of any river system in the world, behind the Amazon. The richness of plants and animals in the basin has not even been fully discovered and described yet. The question, however, is whether this wealth can be sustained. The management of the river is in the hands of the Mekong River Commission (MRC). This commission includes representatives from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. Netherlands supports the MRC and Dutch consultants are doing work commissioned by the MRC.