Ecosystem services blog posts

How can decision analysis help save biodiversity hot spots while improving the livelihoods of people in East Africa? Thrive talks to two researchers from ICRAF to find out.

International recognition for Colombo and the other newly named Wetland Cities brings both benefits and responsibilities. 

Doubling the number of lady beetles in their fields could give cotton growers an extra US$300 million a year 

How can we connect a growing urban class to the farmers who produce our food? A new online platform in Lao PDR aims to bridge this divide and restore the country’s rich natural heritage.

Severe flooding and drought caused by extreme weather patterns lead to about 10,000 deaths and US$40 billion in damage a year, with the number and extremity of the events is slated to increase in the future. The agricultural sector is particularly vulnerable.

The Niger River Basin in arid West and Central Africa, home to more than 130 million people across nine countries, is in a buzz of development activity. 

Originally posted on the Chicago Council on Global Affairs blog, this piece discusses the importance of monitoring and understanding river health.

Interview: How do we evaluate food systems while considering the social, human, and environmental dimensions across the value chain?

We need natural infrastructure - like forests, swamps, aquifers and grasslands - to overcome droughts and floods that have a high economic cost.

In an era of rampant land development and increasing climate unpredictability, the world is growing used to alarming images of flooded city streets. But cities can combat these floods by turning themselves into "sponge cities". 

"What gets measured, gets managed." Proper management of ecosystem services could support 41 SDG targets spread across 12 SDG goals. Here's how.