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Low angle shot of modern glass buildings and green with clear sky background

How our economy could become more 'nature-positive'

A new World Economic Forum white paper sets out how our economies stand to gain from nature-positive policies. Implementing nature-positive policies could generate an estimated $10 trillion in new annual business value and create 395 million jobs by 2030. The regulatory and…
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Park in Lujiazui financial center, Shanghai, China

Building with nature for a better climate

Nature finally got its rightful place within climate negotiations at COP26 in November. It was the first time – despite the well-established links between the climate and biodiversity crises – that we saw so much emphasis at an international summit on the positive role that nature can play in…
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Trucks on a highway throught the Amazon forest in Brazil

Lessons from a perfect storm in the Amazon wilderness

The agreement by 110 countries at COP26 in Glasgow to halt and reverse deforestation within the decade is very good news. But what will it take for change to actually happen? This is not the first time world leaders have made such a commitment – the successes and failures in the fight to save one…
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Rice and wheat farmer tending to his crop in Nigeria

Integrated programming in the Global Environment Facility: Learning from the GEF-6 IAP programs

Integrated programming was a key component of the GEF-6 replenishment cycle and a priority for implementation of the GEF 2020 strategy. The focus was on supporting recipient countries to tackle major drivers of environmental degradation in a holistic manner, while ensuring that progress in any…
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African farmer is using a tablet on the background of working tractor with a cultivator in the field

How the GEF's blended finance is helping environmental innovators

The Global Environment Facility has opened its fifth call for proposals eligible for blended finance support, reflecting the continued growth of its targeted support for innovative and entrepreneurial projects that can yield global environmental benefits. Interested parties are invited to consult…
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Residents of Freetown, Sierra Leone, show off tree planters

#FreetownTheTreeTown campaign: Using digital tools to encourage tree cultivation in cities

Freetown, located at the seaward tip of a heavily forested, mountainous peninsula, is the capital of Sierra Leone, dominating its urban, economic, and social landscape. Each year, more than 100,000 people in search of employment move to the city, and the urban fringes continue to push deeper into…
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Nigerian farmer on a rice cart being pulled by cattle

Why the GEF is investing in transforming food systems

You may be aware that food plays an important role in human health. Did you know it is also critical to the health of our planet? Food systems are major drivers of global forest and biodiversity loss, land and soil degradation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Pressure is also…
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Ethiopian woman watching over sheep flock at sunset

Climate finance and the urgency for adaptation in the developing world

There is growing momentum in the international community to ramp up climate finance for mitigation and adaptation actions. Undoubtedly, a focus on climate change adaptation in the developing world must be a priority for the financing. At the same time, there is a rallying call for countries to…
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Carlos Manuel Rodriguez surfing

A surfer's view on a blue and green recovery

In a blog for IUCN's World Conservation Congress, GEF CEO and Chairperson Carlos Manuel Rodriguez writes how surfing has given him a deeper understanding of oceans and marine life, and a passion for addressing biodiversity loss and climate change.
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Artisanal small gold miners at work in Kenya

Second phase of planetGOLD doubles countries addressing mercury in ASGM

Since 2019, the Global Environment Facility-funded planetGOLD program has supported countries in addressing mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). Now, the program is set to expand, adding 15 additional countries: Bolivia, Ghana, Honduras, Madagascar,…

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