Environment & Energy

Featured publications

AAP: Voices from the Ground 16 Apr 2013
Every Drop Matters Volume I 01 Mar 2013

Towards Transformational Change 17 Mar 2013
Synthesis of National Reports for Rio+20 02 Jan 2013

Most recent publications

Results: Tunisia 15 May 2013
Africa Adaptation Programme: Capacity building experiences 16 Apr 2013

Issue Brief: Toward Ocean Recovery 25 Apr 2013
AAP: Voices from the Ground 16 Apr 2013

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Technology provides rural access to energy, empowers Burkinabe women

Rural women farmers in Burkina Faso are benefiting from a regional energy and food processing programme that is turning them into entrepreneurs. Through this scheme, UNDP has helped to install 441 diesel-run generators mounted on a chassis to which a variety of processing equipment can be attached, more

The Bali Road Map: Key Issues Under Negotiation

The briefing document is designed to provide policy makers with key background information – and important insights into current proposals under negotiation – on the four Bali Action Plan building blocks (i.e., mitigation, adaptation, technology, and finance) and land use, land-use change and more

The Business Case for Mainstreaming Gender in REDD+

This paper aims to integrate gender equality considerations into the readiness support delivered by the UN-REDD Programme and seeks to enhance the capacities of governments to design and implement gender-responsive national REDD+ strategies and programmes. Relying on both a human rights and a more

The Contribution of UNDP-GEF Adaptation Initiatives Towards MDG1

This brief discusses the nexus between climate change and MDG1: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. It highlights UNDP-GEF adaptation programming approaches and initiatives to increase the resilience of vulnerable populations to adapt to the long-term impacts of climate change and variability more

The Contribution of UNDP-GEF Adaptation Initiatives Towards MDG3

This brief discusses the nexus between climate change and the third Millennium Development Goal: to promote gender equality and empower women (MDG 3). It describes how initiatives financed by the Global Environment Facility have integrated gender perspectives into climate change adaptation and more

The Energy Challenge for Achieving the Millennium Development Goals

The UN-Energy paper focuses on the importance of energy for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It was drafted collectively by the United Nations (UN) agencies, programmes and organizations working in the area of energy, reflecting their insights and expertise. more

The Energy Challenge: Paying in Pollution for Energy Hunger

The article, part of a New York Times series, examines ways in which the world is, and is not, moving toward a more energy efficient future. It explains that while renewable sources have made some inroads, government subsidies for diesel, kerosene and other fossil fuels have held down prices in more

The Forgotten Billion: MDG Achievement in the Drylands

The purpose of this publication is to highlight the development challenges faced by people who live in drylands and to outline how these challenges can be tackled successfully. Covering about 40 percent of the world’s land surface, dryland is home to more than 2 billion people in nearly 100 more

The Global Conversation Begins - Emerging views for a new development agenda

The United Nations and partners have launched an unprecedented series of consultations with people the world over to seek their views on a new development agenda to build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This global conversation responds to a growing call for active more

The Global Drylands Imperative: Devolving Resource Rights and the MDGs in Africa

The paper analyzes a sample of existing or in-formulation policy frameworks governing access and security of tenure over major natural assets such as land, forests and wildlife. The fundamental question that runs through the analysis in the paper concerns the extent to which security of resource more

The Low Emission Capacity Building Programme Overview Brochure

This brochure succinctly outlines the structure, objectives and support mechanisms established for the LECB Programme – A global initiative to support Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA), Low Emission Development Strategies (LEDS), and Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) as more

The Mekhe Solar Cooker Project

The project aims to create a model for the sustainable use of renewable energy and regeneration of plant resources. The overall goal is to preserve vegetation through reforestation and the use of solar energy as an alternative to firewood. The project’s Technical Advisor, Mr. Abdoulaye Toure, built more

The Montreal Protocol - Partnerships Changing the World

This booklet explores the Montreal Protocol and the Multilateral Fund with a focus on the role of global partnership. The success of the Montreal Protocol and the MLF is attributable to a strong partnership that permeates the entire community responsible for negotiating, managing and implementing more

The Power of Local Action: Learning from Communities on the Frontlines of Sustainable Development

Some of the clearest examples of sustainable development can be seen at the local level in community-driven initiatives centered around the sustainable use of local ecosystems. In the last 20 years, UNDP has compiled an impressive archive of cases that reveal the kinds of development outcomes more

The Right to Water - Factsheet No: 35

This United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) publication explains what the right to water is, illustrates what it means for specific individuals and groups, and then elaborates upon State obligations with respect to the right. It concludes with an overview of national, regional more

The UN-REDD Programme Strategy - 2011-2015

For the purpose of this strategy, REDD+ refers to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries. more

The unresolved land reform debate: Beyond state-led or market-led models

In response to the problem of inequalities in the distribution of land, this Policy Research Brief points toward a land reform model that could both satisfy legitimate and urgent demands for social justice and develop an agrarian system that is economically viable. It draws primarily on a UNDP-ISS more

The why and how of mainstreaming gender in Sustainable Land Management

As part of UNDP's new series "Gender Mainstreaming: a Key Driver of Development in Environment & Energy," this guide looks at why gender is relevant to policymaking and programming in sustainable land management. It details how UNDP can strengthen the gender dimension of its work in more

Thematic Trust Fund on Energy for Sustainable Development – 2004 Report

The energy fund has been instrumental in linking country-level demand for energy services with wider development assistance discussions, expanding public-private partnerships, and better positioning UNDP on energy and the MDGs. The report assesses the fund's outputs and impacts and represents the more

Third African Drought Adaptation Forum Report

The Third African Drought Adaptation Forum was held in September 2008 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Forum was organized so that participants could exchange practical experiences, findings and ideas on how to adapt to the increasing threat of drought and climate change in the drylands of Africa. The more

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