Both ENDS at IUCN congress Barcelona
In cooperation with partners Both ENDS will organize multiple workshops at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona. During the event from 5-14 October more than 8,000 of the world's leading decision makers in sustainable development: from governments, NGOs, business, the UN and academia will share ideas and initiatives. Together they will debate, share, network, learn, commit, vote and decide. The objective: ideas, action and solutions for a diverse and sustainable world.
Because of the great diversity participants Both ENDS will focus on three important subjects: Gender and Biodiversity, Small Grants and Certifying Commodities. Both ENDS will also be present as a partner of Drynet.
Gender and biodiversity conservation and management: communicating a lost world?
Tuesday 7, October 2008, 11:30 - 13:00, room 122. Addressing gender inequity issues in biodiversity conservation and management as part of sustainable use of natural resources is crucial. Not only from the perspective of equality and social justice, but also because men and women have distinct attitudes, responsibilities and (traditional) knowledge related to biodiversity. Women play an important role in biodiversity management and conservation, but their representation and influence in decision-making structures is often limited.
The organizers (Both ENDS and Alterra in cooperation with ALTER-Net) welcome practitioners, researchers and policy makers to help us develop this strategy and share their views and experiences!
Small grants - Big changes: The case for investment in small grant schemes for financial support to projects in developing countries!
Wednesday 8, October 2008, 14:30 - 16:00, room 131. Topics which will be highlighted include: lessons from evaluated small grants programmes; some challenges of SG Funds (e.g. overhead costs, decision making, accountability, results & impact); what can be learned from development organisations receiving funding from their governments? What can be learned from Small Grants Funds in the USA which do not receive government funding? The purpose of the workshop is to engage and get feedback from bilateral and multilateral donors, such as the European Commission, and large foundations with respect to their own experiences and plans with regard to the promotion and funding of small grant schemes.
Convenors: Both ENDS and The World Bank (to be confirmed), the National Committee of the Netherlands for IUCN, the IUCN Regional Office for Europe and the French IUCN National Committee.
Certifying commodities, beauty or beast?
Thursday 9, October 2008, 14:30 - 16:00, room 119. Things have moved on in the last 4 years. International Roundtables have discussed what credible certification should look like, certified Palm Oil is on the market, the ISEAL Alliance has had considerable success in strengthening and promoting certification, local initiatives for standard setting have sprung up, and 'eco' labelled products are becoming increasingly prominent on our shelves. There is a need to review this topic and see how far we have come in answering some of the questions and challenges posed by the 2004 Congress, and to identify key areas for future improvement.
Convenors: Both ENDS and the National Committee of the Netherlands for IUCN.
Read more about this subject
-
Dossier /Gas in Mozambique
In 2011 one of the world’s largest gas reserves was found in the coastal province of Cabo Delgado, in the north of Mozambique. A total of 35 billion dollars has been invested to extract the gas. Dozens of multinationals and financiers are involved in these rapid developments. It is very difficult for the people living in Cabo Delgado to exert influence on the plans and activities, while they experience the negative consequences. With the arrival of these companies, they are losing their land.
-
Dossier /Export Credit Agencies: Who pays the price?
Both ENDS calls on the government only to provide export credit insurance to sustainable projects that cause no social and/or environmental damage in the countries where they take place.
-
Press release / 2 december 2025End of Dutch involvement in controversial gas project in Mozambique in sight after TotalEnergies withdraws from Dutch insurance
THE HAGUE/CABO DELGADO, December 1, 2025 - Today, Minister of Finance Eelco Heinen announced that TotalEnergies is withdrawing from a $640 million Dutch export credit insurance policy for a controversial gas project in Mozambique. Although the Dutch government has been avoiding this decision for years, this move has finally ended part of the Dutch involvement in this disastrous project.
-
Dossier /Indigenous communities threatened by Barro Blanco dam in Panama
The Barro Blanco dam project in Panama, which has Dutch financial support, is causing indigenous lands to disappear under water. Both ENDS is working to protect the rights of indigenous communities living near the dam.
-
Blog / 1 december 2025The Long Road to Justice for the Ngäbe of Kiad
In October 2025 I travelled to Kiad, the Indigenous Ngäbe community that led the struggle against the FMO-financed Barro Blanco dam, for one last time. I went there to say my goodbyes, both personally and on behalf of Both ENDS, and to catch a first glimpse on how a community program financed by FMO and DEG – the result of a dialogue process that took several years – is giving a new impulse to the dam-affected communities. But how did we get here?
-
Publication / 27 november 2025
-
Environmentally Just Practice /A Negotiated Approach for Inclusive Water Governance
A Negotiated Approach envisages the meaningful and long-term participation of communities in all aspects of managing the water and other natural resources on which their lives depend. It seeks to achieve healthy ecosystems and equitable sharing of benefits among all stakeholders within a river basin. This inclusive way of working is an essential precondition for the Transformative Practices that are promoted by Both ENDS and partners.
-
News / 27 november 2025Communities and International Consortium Present Community-Led Plan for Nature-Based Adaptation to Sea-Level Rise in Coastal Bangladesh
Local communities in the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh—together with an international consortium including Uttaran, CEGIS, and Both ENDS—have presented a community-led plan to confront climate change and accelerating sea-level rise through nature-based adaptation. The People’s Plan for Upscaling Ecosystem-Based Adaptation outlines a scalable strategy rooted in local ownership and generations of lived experience. At its centre is Community-Based Tidal River Management (CBTRM), a proven approach that reduces waterlogging, raises land elevation, and restores ecological balance by working with natural tidal and sediment dynamics.
-
Dossier /Rights for People, Rules for Corporations – Stop ISDS!
Indigenous communities in Paraguay saw their attempts to regain their ancestral lands thwarted by German investors. In Indonesia, US-based mining companies succeeded to roll back new laws that were meant to boost the country’s economic development and protect its forests. This is the level of impact that investment treaties can have on social, environmental and economic development and rights. Why? Because of the ‘Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement’ clauses that are included in many such treaties.
-
Blog / 25 november 2025COP30 shows why dismantling ISDS is essential for real climate action
Standing in Belém during COP30, I felt the weight of the moment. We came to the Amazon hoping for decisive progress on phasing out fossil fuels, yet the final outcome fell far short of the ambition science and justice demand. The agreement brought welcome commitments on adaptation finance and global indicators, but it refused to confront the structural forces that make climate action so difficult.
-
Dossier /Wetlands without Borders
With our Wetlands without Borders program, we work towards environmentally sustainable and socially responsible governance of the wetlands system of the La Plata Basin in South America.
-
Publication / 17 november 2025
-
Environmentally Just Practice /Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs)
About one in every six people, particularly women, directly rely on forests for their lives and livelihoods, especially for food. This shows how important non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and forests are to ensure community resilience. Not only as a source of food, water and income, but also because of their cultural and spiritual meaning.
-
Letter / 14 november 2025
Letter: TPAC’s report “Final Judgement Detailed Research MTCS’’
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 organisations express serious concerns about the independence, quality, and credibility of the assessment carried out by the Timber Procurement Assessment Committee (TPAC).
-
Press release / 13 november 2025Global Alliance Urges Dutch Government to Reconsider Endorsement of Controversial Timber Certification Scheme
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).
-
Dossier /Trade agreements
International trade agreements often have far-reaching consequences not only for the economy of a country, but also for people and the environment. It is primarily the most vulnerable groups who suffer most from these agreements.
-
News / 5 november 2025Another ISDS claim hits the Netherlands: Petrogas sues over solidarity contribution and royalty regulations
SOMO and Both ENDS strongly condemn the newly revealed investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) case filed by Petrogas, an Omani oil and gas company operating two shallow-water gas fields in the Dutch North Sea, against the Netherlands under the Netherlands-Oman bilateral investment treaty (BIT).
-
Dossier /Communities Regreen the Sahel
In various countries in the Sahel, vast tracts of land have been restored by the local population by nurturing what spontaneously springs from the soil and protecting the sprouts from cattle and hazards.
-
Dossier /Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA)
GAGGA rallies the collective power of the women's rights and environmental justice movements to realize a world where women can and do access their rights to water, food security, and a clean, healthy and safe environment.
-
News / 5 november 2025Interview: Both ENDS at COP30 for Climate Justice and Systemic Change
Both ENDS is present at COP30 to advocate for genuine access to climate finance for locally led, gender-just climate solutions and the mechanisms that facilitate this, including those for farmer-led restoration. Furthermore, the organisation participates to ensure the crucial connection between the climate negotiations and the trade and investment frameworks that shape them.
Learn more about the Both ENDS team at COP30 below, and find all the activities and side-events in which Both ENDS will participate.
