GEF Partners

As vital to our existence as air or water, land is one of our greatest shared assets – and degradation of that land one our most pressing common challenges. Unchecked degradation threatens not only human wellbeing but that of the entire planet, contributing to accelerating climate change and loss of biodiversity. Today, with a quarter of our land already degraded and almost half the global population directly affected by land degradation, we are losing this precious resource at a time when we can least afford the social, economic or environmental impacts of this loss.

This publication captures the GEF Small Grant Programme's (SGP) experiences and lessons learned on plastics management, spanning not only the area of chemical and waste management, but also international waters and biodiversity conservation. The projects focus on implementing a circular economy either through recycling, reducing and reusing plastics for new products, influencing consumer use and behavior, or developing better waste collection and management practices at the community level.

Africa is at a tipping point. While efforts to achieve the goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Paris Agreement could drive positive changes following nearly a decade of economic growth across Africa, climate change threatens to derail these gains. Given that temperatures in Africa are rising, and are set to rise faster than the global average during the 21st Century, it is time to mainstream, scale-up and accelerate support for climate change adaptation across the continent.

This publication includes examples from across different continents, ecosystems and cultures, but they all address the priorities of livelihoods and conservation in combination and bring benefits on both fronts. By giving local communities an immediate, concrete stake in the sustainable management of the ocean’s resources, these projects have each secured the local stewardship they need to be a viable, long-term part of the blue economy.

The Good Growth Partnership is pioneering a new approach to cultivating sustainability throughout the commodity supply chain. As a result, it is generating new knowledge and lessons about the ways we can improve the production, demand and financing of soy, beef and palm oil. 

This reporty highlights the significant gains and impacts already observable one year into its implementation.

For more information on this initiative visit http://goodgrowthpartnership.com.