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Repairing our broken food system
The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the warning bells about our broken food system. As farmers and consumers grapple with disruptions in the global food supply chain, we are witnessing an exacerbation of threats to the natural environment. Since start of the pandemic, increases in deforestation and forest degradation, illegal wildlife exploitation, plastic pollution, and urban waste have been recorded in different parts of the planet, further exposing inherent inefficiencies, fragilities, and vulnerabilities of the food system at all levels.
Different landscapes, common challenges
Asha Bobb-Semple is an Analyst with the Global Environment Facility’s land degradation focal area, and works with cross-cutting global programs related to food systems, commodities, land use, and drylands. In an interview, she reflected on her career path that has led her from Jamaica’s watersheds to the landscapes of Central Asia in support of a better tomorrow.
When did you first become interested in environmental issues?
Charting next steps for the GEF's journey
Over Naoko Ishii’s eight years as CEO and Chairperson, the Global Environment Facility has dramatically shifted its focus to tackle the root causes of environmental degradation instead of just their symptoms.
As the former Japanese Deputy Finance Minister nears the end of her tenure, several of the GEF’s key partners came together to discuss how the international community can learn from and build on this drive for systems change at a critical time for a world in crisis.
'The benefits of land restoration can accrue quickly'
As a child in East Germany, Ulrich Apel collected pictures of landscapes around the world, never expecting to spend his career working to restore and protect them. In an interview, he shared lessons from his efforts to reverse land degradation and empower local communities through the GEF’s Drylands Impact Program.
When did you start to become interested in global environmental issues?
Tackling desertification, land degradation, and drought for food security
Desertification, land degradation, and drought affect soils, vegetation, and water, increase greenhouse gas emissions, and threaten vulnerable populations due to less agricultural productivity and food production. The Global Environment Facility and its partners have been helping countries across sub-Saharan Africa tackle these interwoven challenges in an integrated way through the Resilient Food Systems program, with the goal of promoting greater resilience and more sustainable agricultural and food production.
GEF Council agrees on $700 million for urgent environmental action
The Global Environment Facility’s governing body, meeting remotely, has agreed on $700 million for projects and programs to help developing countries keep advancing urgent environmental priorities through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic. The new and expanded programming under the GEF-7 replenishment cycle spans oceans, chemicals, land use, wildlife trafficking, green shipping, and climate change adaptation, and the LDCF work program focuses on helping vulnerable countries and communities continue to build their climate resilience.
GEF Council to set course for post-pandemic environmental action
The Global Environment Facility’s governing body will meet online June 2-3 to consider $700 million for projects and programs spanning wildlife, biodiversity, oceans, land degradation, chemicals and waste, and climate change adaptation under the Least Developed Countries Fund. At its first-ever virtual meeting, the GEF Council will also select a new CEO and Chairperson to succeed Naoko Ishii, whose second term ends in July.
'Solutions for nature are solutions for people'
Jean-Marc Sinnassamy is a Senior Environmental Specialist who oversees the GEF’s project portfolio related to land and forest management in Africa, including the new Congo Basin Sustainable Landscapes Impact Program. In an interview, he shared life lessons from his work with communities, activists, academics, government officials, and business leaders to prioritize nature at both the global and local levels.