Environmental Management.

Too Much, Too Little

On one of the biggest humanitarian projects ever launched in Haiti, USAID is helping the country deal with climate extremes, saving countless lives and precious farmland.

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Specialists
Resources

Brian App

Project Management Director, East and Southern Africa Regional Business Unit

David Fratt

Project Management Director, Asia Regional Business Unit

Greg Minnick

Project Management Director, Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Business Unit

Carlos Morales

Chief of Party, Guatemala Biodiversity Program

Christopher Perine

Chief of Party, USAID Climate Change Adaptation, Thought Leadership and Assessments Project

Final Report: Resilience in the Limpopo Basin (RESLIM) Program

Projects
News and Blog

Building Climate Finance Capacity in Nepal

Strengthening Nepali local governments’ ability to manage green funds can spur investment in and accelerate climate action.

Transforming Jordan’s Recycling Industry

Waste recycling services in Jordan constitute a viable commercial opportunity for Jordan’s private and public sectors to increase the competitiveness of recycling and invigorate the circular economy.

Combatting Wildlife Crime in Southern Africa

The decimation of wildlife through illegal poaching and trade threaten economic development and livelihood security in southern Africa.

Promoting Tourism in Timor-Leste

As Timor-Leste invests in an inclusive and sustainable national tourism strategy, the country is emerging as an “off-the-beaten-path” destination for adventure travelers and eco-tourists.

Restoring Forests in Northern Haiti

In Northern Haiti, deforestation and mangrove loss are putting communities, conservation efforts, and environmental governance at risk.

Helping To Conserve the Peruvian Amazon

With deforestation threatening the Peruvian Amazon and communities that rely on forest-based employment, forest management must be improved.

A Roadmap for Conservation in Colombia

With its peace accord underway, the government of Colombia is pursuing conservation and sustainable rural development goals that will help achieve stability and lasting peace.

Helping Indonesian Coastal Communities Adapt to Climate Change

In Indonesia, coastal communities must adapt to climate change and remediate destructive fishing practices to protect millions of jobs and the country’s economy.

Steps Toward Better Water Management in the Limpopo Basin

Water is essential to economic development, conservation, and population health, but managing water resources to balance these demands is challenging, particularly when multiple countries regulate, compete for, and depend on the same water supply.

Protecting Marine and Terrestrial Biodiversity in Indonesia

With Indonesia’s incredible marine and terrestrial biodiversity at risk, the need to manage conservation areas and protect vulnerable ecosystems more effectively is acute.

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Development Works Here with Brian App

We’d like you to meet Brian App! Brian is a natural resource management specialist with nearly 20 years of experience working in the environmental sector. From flipping through the pages of National Geographic to building more water-secure communities in Africa, he shares some of the highlights of his development journey. Brian is one reason #DevelopmentWorksHere.…

To Improve Water Management, Start Local

Rivers are the world’s main source of clean drinking water, and their economic and environmental value are fundamental to the health of people and ecosystems. However, river basins face interrelated challenges — population growth, industrialization, urbanization, land use changes (including deforestation and land degradation), and changes in water quantity and quality. Climate change acts as…

Development Works Here with Alejandro Arrivillaga

We’d like you to meet Alejandro “Alex” Arrivillaga! Alex is a biologist and the deputy chief of party for the USAID Guatemala Biodiversity Project. He shares some of the insight he’s gained over the course of his 25-year career working with communities to develop shared solutions for biodiversity conservation. Alex is one reason #DevelopmentWorksHere. 1.…

Land and Property Rights Meet the SDGs: Reflections from the 2019 World Bank Land and Poverty Conference

It appears the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are wobbling along fitfully, and the general consensus among attendees at this year’s annual World Bank Land and Poverty Conference seemed to be that we’re not on track to meet our goals related to land and property rights. This year’s conference offered a smorgasbord of lessons learned, applied…

Four Ways to Build Urban Resilience to Water Stress

The United Nations estimates that 68 percent of the world’s population will be concentrated in urban centers by 2050. While water and sanitation access and delivery are generally higher in urban areas, cities still face significant challenges managing, operating, and expanding critical infrastructure, as well as ensuring the financial and environmental sustainability of municipal water…

The Problem with “Success Now”: A Story of Adaptive Management

Although adaptive management is widely promoted — and often required — for development programs, its basic principles can be difficult to adhere to. Strict timelines and prescribed indicators often demand immediate success — success now. How do we implement this seemingly simple approach, which is measured by failure more than success, and requires experienced technical…

News: Looking to the Future of Digital Development

Which digital tools show the greatest promise to maximize development impact around the world? How can organizations and governments make sure that these tools are part of an inclusive approach to development? These are the kinds of questions that participants will discuss at the Digital Development Forum: The Next 10 Years event, hosted by USAID…

News: Addressing Environmental Degradation in Haiti

Cap-Haïtien, Haiti: Chemonics joined USAID/Haiti and officials from the Haitian government for a ceremonial launch today to officially commence USAID’s Haiti Reforestation Project. The five-year Reforestation Project, supported by USAID and implemented by Chemonics, aims to address critical environmental degradation and loss of tree cover in Haiti’s North and North East departments. Representing the U.S.…

News: Chemonics Presents at the 2017 International Civil Society Week

What part should civil society play in protecting the planet? How have recent political crises put the environment at risk? How can civil society hold government institutions accountable to alleviate the resource curse? These are the kinds of questions that environmental protection and democracy and governance experts will tackle at the International Civil Society Week…

3 Questions with Maria Olanda Bata: Withstanding Storms in Mozambique

What are the biggest risks if cities in Mozambique do not become more resilient? It would be a catastrophe. Right now, we’re starting to see the impact of extreme climate events, and we know they will get worse. Even minor-seeming weather events can cause significant problems. For example, it rained lot in the city of…

3 Questions with Nila Wardani: Natural Resource Management Needs to Be Socially Inclusive, Too.

Why is social inclusion important for the development of Indonesia? Indonesia is a big country with some of the greatest diversity in the world. Government development programs have made significant progress on several parameters, such as human development as well as gender development indexes. Women and girls have better access to education, health facilities, and…

A Paradigm Shift is Necessary for REDD+ to Be Sustainable

In 2013 I wrote a book called Redeeming REDD: Policies, Incentives, and Social Feasibility for Avoided Deforestation, published by Earthscan. In the book I argue that reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD, and the latest variant known as REDD+), needs a suite of enabling conditions, independent of market viability as well as measurement,…

Meet 3 Animals that Tell Us About the Health of the Philippines’ Forests

Some animals that depend on the forest tell us a great deal about the health of their environment and the effectiveness of efforts to preserve it. In the Philippines, environmentalists and government officials are using a new system called the LAWIN Forest and Biodiversity Protection System to monitor the state of forests in an unprecedented…

News: Chemonics Partners with Devex on Climate Change Campaign

We are at a pivotal moment in the movement to combat climate change. Extreme weather events are becoming more commonplace, and the health consequences connected to rising temperatures and worsening air quality are affecting communities around the world. And although it might not be easily observable, climate change is having a dramatic economic impact as…

Do Extractives Companies Need Another Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance Standard?

Interest in how extractives companies deal with the environmental, social, and governance aspects of their work is increasing among investors, financial institutions, affected communities, consumers, and NGOs. To meet stakeholders’ expectations and avoid additional regulations, many extractives companies are committing to voluntary environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards — essentially principles, guidelines, and certifications systems…

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