The , "Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarized world" presents ways forward that hinges on reimagining cooperation in ways that do not assume away divergent interests or opinions but work with them to deliver global public goods that benefit us all. This report is the first in a new trilogy of human development reports that will further explore the layers of uncertainty: how to address polarization (2023-24), shape our shared digital future to advance human development (2025), and marshal human aspirations to navigate the Anthropocene (2026).
UNDP
The Cerrado savannah, situated primarily in Brazil, is the world's most diverse savannah in terms of its biodiversity. The 51³Ô¹Ï Development Programme () collaborates with local partners to promote livelihoods, safeguard ecosystems, preserve traditions, and bring socio-biodiversity to market shelves. The Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN), in partnership with UNDP, was chosen in 1994 to manage the Small Grants Programme in Brazil, which is known as the Fund for Promotion of Productive Eco-social Landscapes. SGP Brazil has supported over 890 projects in the Cerrado, Caatinga and Amazon regions so far.
Voznesensk, a city in Mykolaiv Oblast with a population of about 40,000, was occupied by Russian invasion forces in March 2022. The town was heavily bombarded because of its strategic location, on the way to Kyiv, Odesa and other major cities. The occupation lasted only three days, but more than 700 buildings were damaged or destroyed. The 51³Ô¹Ï Development Programme () – together with the EU and the Governments of Sweden and Denmark – opened a Recovery and Development Office in the city in early January 2023 to coordinate international aid and support local authorities, NGOs, and businesses. In June 2023, UNDP helped set up a community security and recovery working group and is building two additional police stations to serve over 5,000 residents.
Ukraine is heavily landmine-contaminated due to war, with an area four and a half times the size of Switzerland affected. The UN has been leading the mine action programme since 2016. Clearing mines is a difficult and expensive long-term prospect, with the full demining package estimated to cost more than $37 billion. International partners, including are helping Ukraine.
Part community exchange, part communion with the natural world, part experiential hospitality, ECO EGYPT answers the call to the innate human desire for freedom, exploration and wonderment. Ecotourism done well offers a heightened sense of discovery through awe-inspiring natural landscapes and authentic engagement with unique local cultures. With the goal of prompting natural rediscovery and boosting the importance of ecological conservation, ECO EGYPT Experiences sheds light on the myriad wildlife, plant diversity, and natural landscapes on offer throughout the country. This work is implemented by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency and Egypt, and financed by the Global Environment Facility.
Alaa Abu Mudallah started the "Khotwa" training center in Gaza to address the lack of practical and technical support for students. The center thrived, with 400-500 students each month, until it was hit and demolished during the Gaza escalation of May 2021, forcing Alaa to start over. As the economic situation worsens in the fourth month of the Gaza war, Alaa has lost everything and is now relying on her savings to survive, which she finds humiliating. An earlier estimated that if the war continued for more than three months, poverty would increase by 20-45 percent and the Human Development Index would plummet, setting back progress by 11-16 years.
is a UNDP video series exploring the trends shaping our world. From digitalization to inequality, the nature and climate emergency to crisis response, we examine the critical challenges we must address to achieve the future envisioned in the .
Season 2 Episode 4: Futures scope - Development practice is vastly different that what it was 50 years ago.
Urbanization has led to around 4.4 billion people living in cities today, accounting for 56% of the global population. This has made cities economic powerhouses but has come at a cost. The Global Environment Facility () Small Grants Programme (), implemented by the 51³Ô¹Ï Development Programme (), supports local communities in developing sustainable urban solutions. SGP operates in 127 countries, providing financial and technical support to community-based organizations. Their focus areas include clean energy access and sustainable transport, biodiversity conservation, land use planning, climate action, and more. SGP has supported over 28,000 community-based projects in 136 countries with over $795 million in project funding.
is an initiative led by the (UNDP) that aims to make economies work for gender equality. The earnings gap between men and women is only one part of a broader gender imbalance that has many causes and serious consequences for women's well-being and overall development progress. According to the if women earned the same as men over their lifetimes, the world could reap a significant 'gender dividend'. This is why lifting women out of poverty is critical to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality and has multiplier effects for all 17 Goals. Equanomics envisions a new path by dismantling economic structures that generate and perpetuate gender inequality, and it is helping countries take it by building expertise and supporting partners that want to transform their economies to work better for everyone.
Galapagos Islands has implemented selected innovative solutions for waste management in order to preserve its open-air biological museum status.
The devastating earthquakes in western Afghanistan have left a trail of sorrow, as narrated through the poignant stories of survivors like Dawood, Mahzada, and Raiza Gul. Trapped under debris and haunted by the cries of his daughter, Dawood emerged from the wreckage to discover the loss of his brother and another daughter. Mahzada's simple life in the village crumbled with the walls during the earthquake, leaving her family in darkness and despair. Meanwhile, Raiza Gul, saved by a twist of fate as she checked on her sheep, witnessed the collapse of her village and the tragic demise of 27 family members. These narratives emphasize the urgent need for comprehensive humanitarian aid, addressing shelter, medical care, and the unique vulnerabilities of women and children, to help these shattered communities rebuild amidst the harsh conditions of winter and the challenges of displacement.
"I want my old life back." It’s a powerful reflection of how people feel when they’re in the thick of crisis, when unthinkable tragedy has struck. Because behind each crisis headline, where we read of millions uprooted or facing trauma or conflict, are the individual humans who just want to once again walk their children to school along safe roads, eat a warm meal, go shopping, laugh with friends, live free from fear and dread. As we close 2023, we hear from people around the world who have faced tremendous adversity this year, and see how they're working, with support, to get back the most basic and also most precious right—that to a ‘normal’ life.
The Earth is now . The harmful impacts of climate change have already become a harsh reality, but climate change does not affect everyone in the same way. The differential impacts undermine development efforts and most severely affect the poorest and most vulnerable, who often rely directly on natural resources for their livelihoods and subsistence. There is an urgent need to address the challenges. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (), implemented by , has over three decades of experience in providing financial and technical support to civil society and community-based organizations at the local level to tackle global environmental issues while improving livelihoods.
presents its 3 episode of season two, ; The nature and climate crisis is rapidly transitioning from the theoretical and distant to the very real and immediate. Yet transformational change is still possible – and already happening in some places.
Fighting has resumed in Gaza after a temporary humanitarian truce that allowed desperately needed assistance to reach people displaced by the war. The temporary halt provided some respite for residents who endured constant shelling, repeated displacement and sleepless nights. One of them is Asmaa Marouf. A UN Volunteer, Asmaa was working as a geographic information systems specialist with the (UNDP). When the war began, she was forced to flee her home along with her children. Asmaa shares her experience, her fears, her hopes and her belief that the current war is different from the previous escalations she has lived through. Her words underscore the need for a full humanitarian ceasefire.