Businesses and financial institutions face serious risks around biodiversity loss: not only do they depend on nature’s resources, they are also seen as responsible for extensive damage to the environment. The 2023 Global Development Conference explored the implications of biodiversity loss for the private sector, highlighting the critical need for guidance to shift its focus

Women in low-income countries are often very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. But they are also in a strong position to protect their communities from these impacts – provided they have the resources. This article explores how improving women’s access to climate finance can empower vulnerable communities against climate disasters in Uganda. Communities

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Across the developing world, rising temperatures and the environmental disasters that follow are driving people from their homes. GlobalDev has published a series of columns on the growing challenge of climate migration: its impact on jobs, wellbeing, and food security – and the need for urgent policy action. In the small city of Avignon in

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The epidemiological transition from communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases is a reality in several countries. Health policies must take urgent measures to reduce the high incidence and mortality rates associated with the latter. This column looks at the experience of Mexico and proposes some intersectoral strategies that can help to promote prevention and control. In

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Over six million smallholder farmers across 48 countries depend on seaweed for their livelihoods. This column outlines what’s currently happening in this little known industry and explains seaweed’s potential as a ‘wonder crop’ that can make a considerable contribution to the pursuit of key development objectives. But like the global banana industry, seaweed production is

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It is today widely recognized that biodiversity is at the heart of sustainable development and that biodiversity loss is a threat to development gains, yet, current consumption and production patterns still reflect a limited awareness of this. Nature has been facing an accelerating decline globally and research has a critical role to play in catalyzing

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Like many countries, Brazil is threatened by deforestation, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. This column explores evidence of these dangers as reflected in the country’s financial institutions. Banks and their supervisors need far greater awareness of material risks to ecosystem services of the natural world arising from their lending and investment activities. Biodiversity loss

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In a world where more than two billion people still lack access to basic facilities for sanitation, climate change brings an added complication, deepening existing vulnerabilities and inequities in access to sanitation. This column explains the importance of integrating climate-related concerns into programming for sustainable sanitation for all, outlining seven principles of good practice. Climate

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If the roots of the climate crisis lie in economic and social injustices that are often racial, gendered, and class-based in origin, what are the prospects for climate justice? This column argues for a transformative approach, noting that addressing justice issues is complex, messy, contested, and time-consuming. The authors conclude that the pursuit of climate

Growth in many Latin American economies has been poor in recent years. This column pulls together some of the research evidence on the disruptions that help to explain this decline, and outlines five priorities for policy-makers in the coming years. The economies of Latin America have had an average annual GDP growth rate of 3% over