International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

Today we’re celebrating the young people who are challenging how decisions about cities, housing and urban governance are made 🙋 #YouthDay 70% of sub-Saharan Africa's total population is under the age of 30. Despite this, young people are often excluded from decisions about urban spaces, particularly in informal settlements across the Global South. 🤝 Through our work with youth organisations from nine countries, IIED has supported young housing activists to share strategies, build skills and use civic media to advocate for change. Many of them used videos, community surveys, mapping and data collection to reflect on their exclusion from urban processes. 🌟 A short film created by young activists in Lagos, Nigeria, went on to win an award at the 2026 MegaCities-ShortDocs Film Festival in Paris and has been screened at a side event at the Cannes Film Festival alongside partners including UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme), OECD and the C40 mayors' network. And the impact goes beyond the screen. In May, eight young housing activists joined us at the 13th World Urban Forum in Baku, bringing their experiences and perspectives into global conversations on sustainable urbanisation. Watch a video of the young activists' experiences below 📹 As Samuel Okechukwu, producer of the video, put it: "We’re all taking back the power of media and storytelling and the importance of being together in a space like this." Read the full impact story 🔗 link in comments Camila Cociña Paula Sevilla Núñez Alexandre Apsan Frediani Hub for Housing Justice Lajana Manandhar Rodrigo Faria G. Iacovini Cesare Ottolini Grace Chikumo Yolande Hendler Leilani Farha SDI. (Slum Dwellers International) Asian Coalition For Housing Rights (ACHR) Instituto Pólis Habitat International Coalition

📢 Consultancy opportunity in Madagascar Are you an early-career researcher with a background in qualitative and critical social sciences, and an interest in conservation? IIED is looking for a research consultant based in Madagascar help investigate the barriers and enabling conditions affecting actions to advance equitable governance at conservation sites. Working with Madagascar National Parks, Madagasikara Voakajy and IIED, the research uses the Site-level Assessment of Governance and Equity (SAGE) tool to to support local actors to assess governance and equity, identify practical actions and monitor progress. This is an opportunity to contribute to applied research on power, participation, rights and equity in conservation, as part of the Darwin-funded 'Scaling up equitable governance in area-based conservation (SEGA)' project. 📍 Madagascar, including fieldwork at three conservation sites 📅 40 working days between September and October 2026 💰 Consultancy fees and logistics: maximum £3,969 🗣️ Fluency in French and Malagasy required; English is an advantage We are particularly interested in hearing from early career academics, for example towards the completion of a PhD, recent PhD graduates or post-doctoral researchers based at a national university. 📩 Application deadline: 24 August 2026 🔗 Find out more and apply: https://lnkd.in/g7rNC55 -- 📢 Opportunité de mission de conseil à Madagascar Vous êtes un chercheur académique malgache, issu des sciences sociales qualitatives et critiques, et vous vous intéressez à la conservation ? L’IIED recherche un consultant en recherche basé à Madagascar pour contribuer à l’étude des obstacles et des conditions favorables qui influencent les actions visant à promouvoir une gouvernance équitable sur les sites de conservation. En collaboration avec Madagascar National Parks, Madagasikara Voakajy et l’IIED, cette recherche expande sur l’apprentissage à travers de l’outil SAGE (Site-level Assessment of Governance and Equity) pour aider les acteurs locaux à évaluer la gouvernance et l’équité, à identifier des actions concrètes et à suivre les progrès réalisés. Il s’agit d’une opportunité de contribuer à la recherche appliquée sur le pouvoir, la participation, les droits et l’équité dans le domaine de la conservation, dans le cadre du projet « Scaling up equitable governance in area-based conservation (SEGA) » financé par Darwin Innitiative. 📍 Madagascar, avec un travail de terrain sur trois sites de conservation   📅 40 jours ouvrés entre septembre et octobre 2026   💰 Honoraires de consultant et frais logistiques : 3 969 £ maximum   🗣️ Maîtrise du français et du malgache requise ; la maîtrise de l’anglais est un atout Nous souhaitons tout particulièrement recevoir les candidatures de jeunes chercheurs, par exemple en fin de doctorat, de jeunes docteurs ou de chercheurs postdoctoraux rattachés à une université nationale. 

What happens when conservation comes at the cost of Indigenous Peoples’ rights? 🌳 For the Batwa people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the creation and expansion of Kahuzi-Biega National Park meant being forcibly expelled from their ancestral forests. 🗣️ "The Pygmy ancestors lived in the forest, and no one disturbed them. They lived with the animals. Today, our forest is called a park" - Marco Kadende, Indigenous leader For Batwa women, losing the forest also meant losing livelihoods, access to natural resources and, crucially, their equal status within their communities. Today, Batwa women face intersecting pressures from discrimination, poverty and climate change. ✊ Despite this, they continue to organise and defend their rights, livelihoods and connection to their territories. Listen to Shauri Milimo talk about how she and other Indigenous Batwa women from South Kivu came together to ask for land. Their experiences are part of a wider collection of case studies from Africa and Latin America exploring how Indigenous, pastoralist and Afro-descendant women are responding to intertwined crises and building gender-just futures rooted in rights, traditional knowledge and territory. 📍 As International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples approaches, we want to underline that conservation and development cannot be just if they exclude the people who have long protected their lands. Read the DRC case study 🔗 link in comments Philippine Sutz Karen Wong-Perez Rights and Resources Initiative International Land Coalition Uefardc NGO GROOTS Kenya SDI. (Slum Dwellers International)

The success of CBD #COP17 will depend not only on how much money is mobilised for nature, but on who receives it and whose knowledge counts 🌿 As the world looks ahead to COP17 this October, two issues will be critical to getting the Global Biodiversity Framework back on track: scaling up nature finance and strengthening gender-responsive biodiversity data. Nicola Sorsby and Karen Wong-Perez argue that these priorities are deeply interconnected. Closing the nature finance gap isn't just about mobilising more money. It's about ensuring finance reaches the Indigenous Peoples, local communities, Afro-descendants and women's organisations who are already protecting nature, and giving them greater power over how those resources are used. 📊 At the same time, biodiversity action is only as strong as the evidence behind it. Women’s organisations, particularly those rooted in Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant, and local communities, have a long history in generating data that shows how biodiversity loss affects people differently, based on their specific contexts, gender social norms, and intersecting identities. This data it also shows what women’s organisations and women-led initiatives are already doing to protect nature. Data is power: it shows what is working and, critically, what isn't. This is what we've been working to highlight through our work with the CBD Women's Caucus. As negotiations continue ahead of COP17, governments must move beyond commitments and accelerate action that is both well-funded and inclusive. Read Nicola and Karen's recommendations for COP17 in this new insight 📖 link in the comments Amelia Arreguín Prado Shruti Ajit Fatima El-aaraby Marcelle Mardon Marion Pobo Dilys Roe Barbara Lassen Dr Mohsen Gul Amanda Austin Claudia Rubio Giraldo Gabriela Balvedi Pimentel Sadia Satti Joanne Crawford AM Fleur Newman Bridget K. Burns Wiebke Bender

🌿 Nature has a vital role to play in making cities more resilient, but are the people most vulnerable to climate change benefiting from it? As climate risks intensify, nature-based solutions are increasingly recognised as a way to reduce heat, manage flooding, restore biodiversity and improve wellbeing. However, it remains unclear whether these solutions are being considered for some of the most climate-vulnerable areas: cities and informal residents. This is what IIED and partners are exploring through a new project 🏙️ The project will examine: ⚖️ how nature-based solutions are reflected in policy and practice 👐 document community-led examples already making a difference 📊 identify evidence gaps, and 🏫 explore how nature can be better integrated into informal settlement upgrading and climate resilience planning. With more than 1.1 billion people living in informal settlements worldwide, ensuring urban climate solutions are inclusive, participatory and locally led has never been more important. Learn more about the project 👇 https://lnkd.in/d9ybBi-Z Nora Nisi Nina Schoonman Anna Walnycki Tucker Landesman

Brazil is showing that farming and forests don't have to compete 🌿 In Tomé Açu, a pioneering agroforestry system is demonstrating that it is possible to produce more food, increase farmers' incomes and restore nature at the same time. ✍ In this new insight, Duncan Macqueen explains how the Sistema Agroflorestal Dendê, an industrial-scale agroforestry system that combines oil palm with crops such as cocoa, açaí and banana, is delivering almost double the product value of conventional monocultures while improving biodiversity, soil health and climate resilience. Duncan also highlights how this success is inspiring TERRA, a Brazilian initiative working to scale up agroforestry as part of a broader transition towards more resilient and regenerative food systems. 🌳 With the right investment, farmer organisations and long-term support, agroforestry can help tackle some of the world's biggest challenges, from food security and rural livelihoods to climate change and biodiversity loss. Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/dJ-dVmE6

Equity and rights must be at the heart of delivering the Global Biodiversity Framework. It was a pleasure to co-host this #SBSTTA28 side event with the CBD Women's Caucus and partners, exploring how target 3 can be implemented in ways that recognise rights, strengthen gender equality and support effective conservation. Read more below ⬇️

Join FAO and partners online this September for the Forest and Farm Facility 2026 Global Conference. Building on more than a decade of direct investment in 420 forest and farm producer organizations across 15 countries, this five-day global conference will showcase the transformative role of producer organizations in agrifood systems. 'Scaling what works: Producer-led solutions for improved livelihoods & forest landscapes' 🗓️ 9-13 September 2026 Register now 👉 https://lnkd.in/gA4-2Sjf #ForestFarmFacility International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) IUCN AgriCord FAO

In Malawi, a community-led approach is helping smallholder farming households build resilience to climate shocks while improving food security and livelihoods 🤝 This new briefing shares the findings from the Climate Just Communities Malawi project, delivered between 2023 and 2026 with funding from the Scottish Government and implemented by DAI and local partners across seven districts. The endline evaluation found that the project contributed to: 🌽 Increased adoption of organic fertilisers 💧 Higher annual maize yields through improved irrigation 👩🏾🌾 Greater women's economic empowerment and financial inclusion through village savings and loans associations 🌍 Reduced exposure to climate shocks among participating households The briefing also highlights important lessons for future climate resilience programmes, including the need for longer project timeframes, deeper community engagement and stronger measures to reduce livelihood risks before climate shocks occur. Find out more from the briefing 👇 https://lnkd.in/dKR-nM6K

COP17 🌿 can we get back on track? In October, governments will gather in Armenia for CBD #COP17. This will be the halfway point for delivering the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the global agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The key message from the draft review is clear: although the GBF has sparked unprecedented global commitment to taking action on biodiversity, the world is not on track to achieve the 2030 targets ⛔ In this new insight, Nicola Sorsby and Barbara Lassen explore why COP17 is a pivotal moment, not only to assess progress, but to rethink how biodiversity action is being implemented. They argue that success requires shifting power, finance and decision-making to the people who are already protecting nature: 🌱 Indigenous Peoples and local communities must be recognised as leaders in biodiversity conservation, with their rights, knowledge and leadership at the heart of implementation. 💰 Nature finance must reach local actors and support locally led, rights-based and gender-responsive approaches. 🤝 Climate and biodiversity action must work together, with stronger links between CBD COP17 and #COP31 to deliver shared goals. As negotiations begin, IIED will be advocating for biodiversity action that is locally led, rights-based, gender-responsive and inclusive. We will also be present at COP17 to co-host side events and share new research on topics including nature finance, gender and biodiversity data, agroecology, conservation leadership and harmful subsidies. Over the coming months, IIED will explore many of these key issues in a series of insights 📲 follow us and make sure you don't miss any! Read the new insight to learn what needs to happen at COP17 to put global biodiversity goals back on track 🔗 link in comments Dilys Roe Oliver Arnold-Richards Rosalind Goodrich Duncan Macqueen Annabelle Bladon Anna Ducros Karen Wong-Perez Philippine Sutz Eileen Mairena Cunningham Katy Baker Eva Bortolotti Karla Martínez Toral Isabela Núñez del Prado Nieto