Blog archives
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Tackling gender inequality to promote inclusion and justice in society
6 July 2020Tackling increasing inequalities in society is a complex and sensitive process but is a key part of IIED's institutional strategy. Reducing gender inequality is just one aspect. Rosalind Goodrich reports on recent progress to integrate this into our work
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How can farmers in Ethiopia work safe and smart during COVID-19 lockdown?
3 July 2020What does farming under lockdown look like – and what are the options for keeping farmers safe while work goes on?
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How Dhaka's urban poor are dealing with COVID-19
1 July 2020COVID-19 presents not only a health crisis, but a food crisis for Dhaka’s poorest. Guest blogger John Taylor describes how urban poor communities have risen to the challenge
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Truly transformative change is key to combating the biodiversity crisis
30 June 2020For the Convention on Biological Diversity’s new post-2020 framework to be effective – and not more empty rhetoric – governance needs more attention
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Why global development needs Black activism
25 June 2020Natalie Lartey discusses how Black activism can support new commitments to fight racism in the global development sector
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Three things climate funds can learn from the COVID-19 response
25 June 2020COVID-19 relief packages have used social protection programmes as vehicles for getting finance directly to those in greatest need; the big climate funders could do the same by investing in these programmes that reach out to the extreme poor
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Working with nature to build back better from COVID-19: inspirations from farmers in China
23 June 2020Yufen Chuang and Xiaoting Hou Jones reflect on why working with nature to adapt to climate change can offer valuable lessons on how to build back better from COVID-19
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Common cause with people in the food systems of the majority
22 June 2020Bill Vorley discusses why we need a much deeper understanding of and partnership with people in the food systems that feed and provide livelihoods for low-income women and men
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Foreign investment, knowledge and international arbitration: inside a research trip
22 June 2020International investment law and investor dispute arbitration too often fail to notice the concerns of local actors. Guest blogger Nicolás Perrone argues that governance of these international mechanisms needs to take a more holistic, development-based view of the issues
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The UK’s backward step on global development
17 June 2020The UK government’s decision to merge DFID with the Foreign Office is a clear sign that tackling poverty in developing countries is no longer a priority. But there is still time to show that its interests benefit from working internationally in partnership to tackle inequality, fragility, climate and nature loss
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Cities’ development trajectories
16 June 2020David Satterthwaite examines the factors driving the development of cities
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Uganda’s hungry food vendors: counting the cost of COVID-19
11 June 2020Interviews as part of a new study show how lockdown restrictions are leaving Uganda’s food vendors hungry and vulnerable
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Community-led COVID-19 response: the work of the Philippines Homeless People’s Federation
9 June 2020Based on member interviews and accounts, the Philippines Homeless People’s Federation describes how community organisations have rallied to support vulnerable groups, hit hardest by the pandemic
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COVID-19, JAGA Mission and the value of already existing solutions
4 June 2020Guest blogger Antarin Chakrabarty reflects on one Indian state’s successful programme to provide work and incomes to migrants, enabling a rapid and efficient government response when crises such as COVID-19 hit
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How to get the most out of dialogue
3 June 2020A new IIED-commissioned review seeks to deepen understanding of what makes effective dialogue and why
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Stopping land and policy grabs in the shadow of COVID-19
1 June 2020Reports suggest the COVID-19 fallout is providing opportunities for elites to seize lands and rewrite regulations. We need effective responses to secure land rights and lay the foundations for a just recovery
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Finding solutions in nature for climate change
29 May 2020On the International Day of Biological Diversity, IIED hosted a multi-stakeholder webinar on how to work with nature to mitigate and adapt to climate change and halt biodiversity loss. IIED senior researcher Xiaoting Hou Jones chaired the event, and here she shares some highlights from the discussions
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Facing a COVID-19 future: listening and learning to inform the ‘new normal’
28 May 2020Like many organisations, IIED has spent the last few weeks thinking about how COVID-19 will have an impact on its work in the short and longer term. Here, we reflect on some key issues
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Internal and international influences on urban change
27 May 2020David Satterthwaite takes a closer look at drivers and influences of urban change
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Using technology to overcome challenges for farmers in value chains
27 May 2020Value chains are structured in ways that are unfavourable to smallholder farmers who often struggle to access finance, inputs and markets. An IIED webinar discussed how smallholders in East Africa can use technology to overcome those challenges and negotiate with buyers and input and finance providers from a position of strength
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COVID-19 and the sites of rights resilience
26 May 2020As we reflect on the place of human rights in the COVID-19 crisis, we should shine a light not only on ‘the state’ but on the local actors and processes that have contributed to the resilience of human rights constructs in the face of obstruction and repression
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Protecting indigenous foods, preserving biodiversity – the solutions are in nature
22 May 2020On this year’s International Day for Biological Diversity, Natalie Lartey and Immaculate Yossa Daisy discuss how advocacy to protect Uganda’s indigenous food is simultaneously preserving the nation’s biodiversity
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Resilient food systems and COVID-19: lessons for a Just Transition
22 May 2020The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed huge vulnerabilities and inequalities in food systems. They are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change: to droughts, floods, typhoons, sea-level rise – the current locust outbreak in East Africa. But they are also part of the problem, contributing about one third of global greenhouse gas emissions and being highly inequitable too. Krystyna Swiderska spells out what needs to change
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COVID-19 in Guayaquil: from global notoriety to family responses
20 May 2020From the virus-ravaged Ecuadorian city come personal accounts of struggles to survive
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Business with purpose in the era of COVID-19
18 May 2020The coronavirus pandemic has delivered a profound shock to the world economy. IIED's Laura Kelly argues that businesses must commit to more responsible and inclusive practices as part of their efforts to build recovery