Blog archives

Dealing with COVID-19 in the towns and cities of the global South

Diana Mitlin looks at the particular challenges the COVID-19 outbreak will pose to people living in informal settlements, what steps can be taken to reach the populations in need, and how community organisation networks can be supported to scale up their efforts

Harnessing the power of bees to benefit forest and people

To mark the International Day of Forests earlier this week, we’re sharing a story about a beekeeping project that’s helping to conserve Kenya’s Loitokitok forest and support the surrounding community

The world’s fastest growing cities

Which factors determine whether a city makes it onto the list of the world’s fastest growing cities? In the latest in a series focusing on the transition to a predominantly urban world, David Satterthwaite takes a closer look

Climate change, conflict, migration, and land grabs: 35 years of village life in Mali

Camilla Toulmin’s book spanning the last 35 years explores the many forces and pressures facing people and their families in Dlonguébougou, Mali

Allyship not ownership: how NGOs can back social movements

The Green Economy Coalition's Ben Martin continues our series exploring the importance of public climate movements and what this could mean for organisations working on sustainable development. He argues that NGOs are best placed to take a supportive back seat role, not to be backseat drivers

Land rights and investments: why business standards are not enough

International standards can help businesses fill gaps in national law, but addressing issues at scale requires systemic governance reform

Coronavirus and climate change are two crises that need humanity to unite

IIED director Andrew Norton looks at some of the emerging impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, and discusses the possible longer-term effects of the pandemic

Alternative data sources for cities and communities

In the latest in our series of blogs and interviews focusing on the transition to a predominantly urban world, David Satterthwaite looks at community-driven data collection and mapping

Crucial conversations: our favourite five

Communications highlights from our 2019 Annual Review show how we’ve explored new, and refined existing, ways to engage, listen and learn

Supporting more than equal numbers in international climate debates

Women ally with nature to adapt to climate change

To mark International Women’s Day 2020, IIED is profiling seven women in Chile, China and South Africa working to protect and restore nature, promote a more sustainable use of natural resources and adapt to climate change

Making the market work for nature while helping to tackle poverty

Marking World Wildlife Day today (3 March), IIED is proposing a new system that would help protect biodiversity and also reduce poverty, bringing conservation and development together

Cartel or chemist?

Could tapping into the informal services in Nairobi’s Mukuru slum be the answer to better health, schools and water provision?

Coronavirus threat looms large for low-income cities

Weak infrastructure would leave urban settlements in low-income countries highly vulnerable, should the rapid spread of COVID-19 continue

Invisiblising cities: the obsession with national statistics and international comparisons

David Satterthwaite discusses the vast gaps in city data, and explains why planning, governing and servicing cities calls for data that is broken down into city and sub-city level

Is adaptation the missing ingredient from the new UN biodiversity action plan?

This week governments from across the world will meet in Rome to discuss the first draft of a new global action plan to tackle biodiversity loss. Dilys Roe asks whether there is something missing from the agenda

Urban poor community voices take to the stage at the World Urban Forum

Stories from urban poor communities inspired international audiences at the 10th World Urban Forum

Protecting indigenous cultures is crucial for saving the world’s biodiversity

2020 is being hailed as a ‘super year’ for nature, with a series of major international events looking at how we can stop the decline of wildlife and natural ecosystems. Krystyna Swiderska argues that saving biodiversity can’t succeed without working to save indigenous cultures

Which cities went up or down the ranking of the world’s largest cities?

IIED senior fellow David Satterthwaite is curating a series of blogs and interviews on global urban change. In this blog he looks at rapidly growing cities that moved into the list of the top 100 cities, and those that fell off the bottom of the list

Planting pilot has vision to nurture young tree ambassadors

Guest blogger Joanes Ooko Odero reports from Kenya on a new tree-planting initiative

City leaders need to rise to the climate change challenge

City leaders from around the world are meeting in Abu Dhabi for the 10th World Urban Forum on sustainable urbanisation (8-13 February). IIED director Andrew Norton and Maimunah Mohd Sharif, executive director of UN-Habitat, highlight the need for leaders to work with residents of informal settlements in order to prepare for the impacts of climate change

Climate activism and cities: a shared agenda

In the second blog in our series considering the role social movements play in promoting climate action, Anna Walnycki reflects on where the climate movement and inclusive cities agenda meet, and why climate activists should look South to learn from long-standing urban community actors

Tapioca tech in Togo – how producers are organising to transform lives and land

Togo’s expanding populations need both food and means of generating income. After a recent visit, Duncan Macqueen reflects on how multi-tiered self-organisation is supporting sustainable solutions among tapioca producers

Continuity and change in the world’s 20 largest cities

David Satterthwaite looks at changes in the rankings for the world's largest cities, revealing which cities have surged up the top 20, and which have fallen

Jobs, nature and the Green New Deal: lessons from the global South

A new article in the 'Journal of Philosophical Transactions B' explores how experiences from large-scale social protection programmes in the global South could help us link two important elements of ideas for a Green New Deal, creating local jobs for a just transition while increasing ecosystem stewardship