River basins host complex and interrelated natural and human communities which depend on the basins’ resources to survive and thrive. Planning and managing resources at the basin level are critical to understanding interactions and addressing impacts to mutually benefit people, ecosystems, and wildlife. While natural systems know no boundaries, these basins often span national boundaries…
Wildlife crime in Southern Africa has become easier to track and harder to hide, as Oxpeckers Investigative Journalism launches Africa’s first geomapping tool designed to follow seizures, arrests, court cases and convictions in the region. Check out the media release for #Wildeye Southern Africa, the new online tool developed by Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism, with…
On October, 28, 2021, Chemonics partnered with Foreign Policy to convene a virtual dialogue to examine the nexus of climate and migration and the role of international development in tackling this urgent aspect of the climate crisis. By 2050, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia will generate an estimated 143 million more climate migrants. Worldwide, more…
After a hard day’s work in a South African nature reserve, a reserve manager is approached by someone in their community who offers them a large sum of money for allowing the organized poaching of a rhinoceros in the state park. The rhino is just one of several species in the park’s protected savanna, which…
News: Chemonics International and EPRI Collaborate to Drive Clean Energy Innovation Around the World
Chemonics International and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have entered a formal agreement bringing together decades of international development expertise and technical know-how to advance technology solutions underpinning the clean energy transition. Under this agreement, the organizations will begin work immediately on the recently awarded USAID Sri Lanka Energy Program. This program will support…
In this three-part series, Chris Perine, Chemonics’ director of corporate environmental sustainability, answers questions about how the global development community can adapt to effectively address the climate crisis. His recommendations include areas for further climate research, more thoughtful and human-centered use of data, and new approaches to development programming. 1) What type of research…
Bangladesh’s natural ecosystems include forests, freshwater wetlands, and coastal and marine areas, all harboring important animal and plant biodiversity. Many species live under the threat of extinction due to overexploitation of natural resources, land-use change, widespread pollution, and unplanned urbanization. Although significant efforts have addressed these threats and aimed to safeguard Bangladesh’s remaining biodiversity through…
Sri Lanka’s power system currently faces considerable challenges that limit the country’s ability to secure the electricity supplies it needs to fuel rapid economic growth while progressing toward its target of generating 80% renewable energy by 2030. The Ceylon Electricity Board, a state-owned utility, is financially weak due to non-cost reflective tariffs and high generation…
This case study is one in a series highlighting Chemonics’ experiences and lessons learned with thinking and working politically and applied political economy analysis (APEA). Drawing on the Chemonics-implemented USAID/Guatemala Biodiversity Project, this case study highlights the process, findings, and tools of the project’s baseline APEA (and second APEA iteration) and how these APEAs oriented…
Biodiversity loss is one of Central America’s most pressing challenges. The five-year, $13.9 million USAID Regional Program for the Management of Aquatic Resources and Economic Alternatives, implemented by Chemonics International, was developed to strengthen coastal-marine resource management and biodiversity conservation while improving the livelihoods of local populations. Population growth in coastal marine areas, climate change,…
Matthew S. Mendis is a clean energy, environment, and finance expert with more than 35 years of experience in more than 45 developing countries. Initially, Matthew spent 10 years of his career at the World Bank, including pioneering innovative financing mechanisms for small-scale energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives. Subsequently, he founded and grew Alternative…