Biodiversity blogs
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To save Africa's wildlife, conservation needs a radical shake-up
3 March 2018To mark World Wildlife Day on 3 March, Dilys Roe and James Mayers highlight that, despite over 100 years of international investment in conservation in Africa, wildlife is in serious trouble. Clearly, conservation needs a rethink
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On pilgrimage in Madre de Dios: starting a journey to sustainable artisanal mining
7 February 2018Pope Francis condemned threats to the Amazon's peoples and forests when he visited Peru. After the world's media has moved on, what next for those working to improve the artisanal mining sector?
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Wild life, wild lives: enough talking already
27 November 2017As conservation policymakers from across the globe meet in Geneva to discuss international wildlife trade, one item on the agenda is the role of local people in making decisions about such issues
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Shaking the money pot to protect nature
25 July 2017Nature gives us a lot: water, timber, minerals, biodiversity, food, clean air… But the perception that natural capital is endless and free leads to overuse and under-investment – and we constantly hear that there's not enough money to invest in the environment. The 22nd Poverty Environment Partnership conference asked how we can shake the piggy bank to give something back to nature
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Spinach soup, gorillas and cow dung baskets – what's the connection?
22 May 2017Tourism generates crucial revenue that helps conserve mountain gorillas and other species in Uganda. We're working to share the financial benefits with local people too, and help them develop better tourism products and services
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Tackling the illegal wildlife trade through community-based approaches: building evidence on what works
20 January 2017Local communities are the first line of defence in tackling the illegal wildlife trade. But there's little information on initiatives involving local people. IIED's new database aims to gather more evidence on approaches that work, those that don't – and why
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Designing a biocultural heritage labelling system: survey results
16 January 2017Our survey found broad support for a labelling scheme for biocultural heritage-based products. Now we need to get a pilot project off the ground
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Action to protect nature and tackle poverty gathers momentum
2 November 2016An IIED workshop heard how new global agendas and advances in ways to measure the benefits of natural resources are reframing the debate on how to protect the environment while reducing poverty
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Why food diversity must be on the menu
14 October 2016As World Food Day approaches, Seth Cook explores the dangers of losing local crop and animal varieties and what we can do about it
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Towards a fairer future for conservation
5 September 2016Conservation at a crossroads: Phil Franks explains why conservation must take fairness more seriously
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Natural capital accounting: six tips for engaging policymakers
1 August 2016How to engage a policy audience in an approach they are not familiar with – what we've learnt from our work with WAVES
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A valuable learning experience
19 April 2016An intern looks at the lessons he has learnt during his internship with IIED
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Governing the ungoverned 50% of the planet
11 April 2016Essam Yassin Mohammed reports back from the first round of a UN preparatory meeting to create an agreement on the sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the high seas
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Trophy hunting under fire
11 April 2016Cecil the Lion's legacy now extends to princes and politicians, but shouldn't the poor also have a say
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Flaming parrots and palmetto palms
8 February 2016A new business opportunity could help protect Belize's Yellow-headed parrots and benefit local communities as well
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The Paris Agreement – a framework for local inclusion
5 February 2016The Paris Agreement commits governments to climate action. To deliver this agenda successfully, they must engage with all sectors of society, including indigenous peoples, and recognise traditional knowledge
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How can we engage communities to help reduce illegal wildlife trade?
3 September 2015Engaging local communities is recognised as a key approach to tackling the illegal wildlife trade. But a key problem remains: deciding what to do, and how to do it
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Consultation: designing a new biocultural heritage indication
20 August 2015How can indigenous people benefit more from their biocultural heritage? A new project wants to hear your feedback on how a labelling scheme for biocultural heritage-based products could work
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RIP Cecil the lion – what will be his legacy? And who should decide?
31 July 2015Outrage over the death of Cecil the lion has led to calls for a ban on trophy hunting, but would this have the desired results?
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Broadcasting to Bwindi
28 July 2015What happened when a project to get the message out on the need to balance conservation efforts with reducing poverty in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, took to the airwaves?
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Built on collaboration: how conservation research can benefit local people
27 March 2015A collaborative research project into effective conservation in Uganda showed that building relationships with the authorities can be crucial, resulting in immediate action to tackle a problem, benefiting some of the poorest in the community
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Enhancing equity and fairness
23 February 2015A workshop in Uganda finds that when it comes to implementing wildlife conservation, different groups have different perspectives on what is "fair" writes guest blogger Hellena Nambogwe.
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Composing songs for conservation - our journey to Bwindi the Impenetrable
5 January 2015A project in Uganda is using music and video to promote conservation and poverty alleviation, thanks to a creative partnership
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Ensuring equitable management of protected areas: we're still defining the issues
5 December 2014Last month's once-a-decade World Parks Congress didn't talk enough about 'equity' when managing protected areas — but at least it's on the agenda
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It's time to end conservation injustice
17 November 2014Human injustices in the name of nature conservation have to become a relic of the past. It's time to get serious about human rights at the World Park Congress