Search

The governments of Gabon, Jamaica, and Sri Lanka have joined forces to fight back against damaging beauty practices, launching a joint $14-million project to eliminate the use of mercury in skin lightening products. Using cosmetics to inhibit the body’s production of melanin, leading the skin to appear lighter, is a centuries-old practice in many parts of the world that continues to take a toxic toll today.

This publication from the GEF Small Grants Programme summarizes the experiences and lessons learned from six participating community-based REDD+ (CBR+) countries during the pilot phase (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Panama, Paraguay, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia). A case study from each country represents a notable strategy for implementing REDD+ at the local level. These case studies, featuring action from the ground up, have demonstrated the importance of investing in Indigenous Peoples, young people, women, and other marginalized groups affected by climate change.

Spearheaded by Sri Lanka, United Nations member states endorsed a proposed roadmap for action on nitrogen challenges called the Colombo Declaration on Sustainable Nitrogen Management At a time when the world grapples with the menace of air pollution killing 7 million people prematurely every year, Sri Lanka, with support from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), convened a two-day event at which member states came together to adopt what is being called the “Colombo Declaration” with an ambition to halve nitrogen waste by 2030.