Kule Chitepo, formerly the chief of party on a transboundary cooperation for resilience-building project in Southern Africa, is a leading expert in the development of world-class policy and practice for transformative integrated natural resource management. With over 20 years of experience in East and Southern Africa, he has held strategic leadership positions that have built…
The southern African countries of Angola, Botswana, and Namibia suffer from frequent floods and debilitating droughts. Although many in these countries reside close to the Okavango River — which supports the livelihoods of 880,000 people — they live in extreme poverty and have limited access to adequate water and sanitation services. The USAID Southern Africa…
In December 2015, Colombia’s President Juan Manual Santos made a historic commitment to Colombia’s conservation efforts, promising to expand the National Protected Area System by 2.5 million hectares. The government of Colombia is also pursuing expansive rural development that aligns with its peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). To support these…
In recent years, deforestation in Colombia has more than doubled, and climate change has increased the frequency of extreme weather, threatening ecosystems and biodiversity. In response, the USAID Biodiversity — Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (Bio-REDD+) project collaborated with the Colombian government to equip communities to sustainably manage their environmental resources. To mitigate…
In the Philippines, watersheds are one of the country’s key sources of natural capital: These drainage basins protect vulnerable communities from natural disasters while supporting 35 percent of the country’s energy needs through hydro and geothermal power. Another key source of capital, forests support agriculture as well as timber and non-timber projects that total $100…
With Indonesia’s incredible marine and terrestrial biodiversity at risk, the need to manage conservation areas and protect vulnerable ecosystems more effectively is acute.
The work that BioREDD+ produced in the Colombian Pacific region was designed to achieve USAID’s development objective to strengthen Colombia’s efforts to sustainably manage the country’s environmental resources, by addressing climate change, biodiversity conservation, and environmental governance objectives. The BioREDD+ climate change component focused on mitigation and preparing Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities along Colombia’s Pacific…
The Bago City government received technical support through the Biodiversity and Watersheds Improved for Stronger Economy and Ecosystem Resilience (B+WISER) Program, jointly developed and implemented by USAID and the Philippines’ Department for Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Through this program, Bago City was able to introduce the environmental protection fee on water, with proceeds from…
Between June 26, 2010, and December 17, 2016, Chemonics International implemented the Southern African Regional Environmental Program (SAREP) and provided technical support to the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission to enable it to meet elements of the objectives in its strategic action plan (SAP), while responding to other related needs in areas adjacent to…
Rather than allowing deforestation to continue, and by extension affect the watershed of its rice-growing community, the Filipino municipality of Bago City, enacted a conservation financing model to protect the watershed and better inform the population. The Bago City government receives technical support through the Biodiversity and Watersheds Improved for Stronger Economy and Ecosystem Resilience…
A few weeks after the CITES COP17, which took place earlier this month in Johannesburg, I am left wondering: What impact will the increased prohibitions on the international trade of endangered animal and plant products have? And how will the rural African communities I work with, who deal with dangerous wild animals, see the agreements?…
The challenge of equitable and efficient land allocation Land-use decision making forces politicians and land managers to grapple with choices that pit one interest group against another, and every decision seems destined to create conflict. But what if potential land uses could be ranked and supported by science? Are there win-win scenarios out there, waiting…