A Path Towards Inclusive (Water) Fora: Proactive Measures for Succes

Both ENDS welcomes the strengthened Independent Complaints Mechanism (ICM) of development finance institutions FMO, DEG and Proparco as an important step forward in accountability. Working directly with communities affected by development projects, we see daily how essential it is that people can access justice when they are harmed in the name of development. For many communities, this mechanism is one of the few avenues through which harm can be formally recognised and addressed in relation to these development banks.

This week, Minister Sjoerdsma organized roundtable conversations with civil society organizations – a valuable initiative that brings together Dutch civil society voices to address critical challenges faced by democratic societies.

In recent years, Both ENDS has received an additional contribution of €875,000 from the Postcode Lottery for the Autonomy & Resilience Fund (2022–2025), implemented in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA). This support was essential because female environmental rights defenders around the world are increasingly facing climate change, repression and shrinking civil space. With this contribution, Both ENDS supports female activists and their communities with flexible, trust-based funding, enabling them to develop their own solutions to urgent environmental and climate problems.

Today, we look back on an inspiring event Civic space at the frontlines -
Environmental Defenders and the Role of International Trade and Investment Policy.  The panel exist of Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, Suzanne Kröger, Member of Parliament for GroenLinks–PvdA, Dr. Margit van Wessel, Associate Professor at Wageningen University, Anne de Jonghe, policy advisor at Both ENDS, and Jonila Castro, national spokesperson for Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment. With an audience of CSO experts, academics, accountability experts and students we discussed the effects of Dutch economic activity on Environmental Defenders, and what we all can do to support those on the front lines of the fight for the environment and human rights.

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.