Terrain, topsoil and Triage

We all face consequences of natural Environment problems that become more serious and urgent. The analogy is a medical disaster. The solution is Environmental Triage.

Three main issues (in order of importance) are Extinction, Climate and Pollution. Where is extinction most severe? Soil supports 98% of global biodiversity and is compromised by topsoil erosion rate at 2,000 tonnes per second (prevention: organic farming). Carbon dioxide is removed from the air by photosynthesis and storage in humus (solution: vermicomposting all organic “wastes” as natural fertilizer). Chemical poisons are mainly from agricultural fertilizers & biocides (solution, again, is organic farming and permaculture design). Soil provides 99% of human food (just 0.5% of calorific value comes from oceans); soil supports 98% of biodiversity and biomass; all rainwater is filtered by soil via earthworm burrows. Only industry-funded studies support chemical farming. The major deficit is lack of a Soil Ecology Institute.

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Community-Led Blue Economy: Sustainable Visitor Management for Mangrove Eco-tourism in Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area

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Evidence for Nature-based Solutions: How Five Countries Built a Regionally Owned Environmental Database for Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria, shared by five East African countries, supports over 45 million people through fisheries, water supply, and agriculture. Declining water quality, rising pollution, and the absence of a shared evidence base made coordinated basin management difficult. To address this, the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), with GIZ support under the EAC4Nature project, developed the first-ever State of the Basin Report (SoBR).

The approach combines joint water quality sampling at 44 stations across three countries, consultations with all five Partner States – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, and integration of findings into the Lake Victoria Basin Water Information System (LVB-WIS).

The SoBR follows a five-year cycle as a shared baseline for planning, policy, and investment. It identifies Nature-based Solutions – wetland rehabilitation, reforestation, and catchment restoration – as the most cost-effective pathway to improve water quality and build climate resilience. All five Partner States endorsed the report.

Restoring Lake Hawassa: How Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships and Nature-Based Solutions reverse Catchment Degradation

In Ethiopia’s Rift Valley, Lake Hawassa faces accelerating degradation from deforestation, pollution, erosion and rapid urbanisation – pressures no single actor can address alone. This solution establishes an inclusive multi-stakeholder partnership uniting public authorities, private companies and civil society to protect the lake through coordinated catchment stewardship.

Guided by the Natural Resources Risk and Action Framework (NRAF) developed between 2015 and 2020, partners jointly assessed risks, planned actions and implemented nature-based solutions (NbS).

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Creating a multi-stakeholder platform,
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Joint planning,
Ecohydrological restoration,
Waste management,
Public and private financing; and
Monitoring.

The partnership is now fully government-managed, and the approach upscaled to federal guidelines for restoring, rehabilitating and protecting surface water bodies all over the country.

URUGUAY. Strengthening biodiversity and land conservation policies as pillars of sustainable development.

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URUGUAY. Financial Incentives for Sustainable Production

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From Blanket to Precision: A Data-Driven Decision Support Tool for Site-Specific Fertilizer Recommendations in Ethiopia

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Strengthen Resilience of Coastal Communities through Local Early Action Plan-Climate Change Adaptation

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Located within the Coral Triangle, Mabul Island is rich in marine biodiversity but highly vulnerable to sea level rise, coastal erosion, wave levels during monsoon and typhoon. These threats affect critical ecosystems, fisheries, tourism, and local livelihoods.

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Para el MAR: Strengthening MPAs Through Localized Approach to Achieving Philippines’ 30×30 Target

The MPA Support Network (MSN) is a multi-sectoral alliance established to strengthen and sustain the management of MPAs in the Philippines. In 2007, MSN launched the Para el MAR (PEM), a biennial national incentive mechanism that recognizes effectively-managed MPAs.

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Since its establishment, PEM addressed challenges on effective MPA management and sustainable funding for long-term protection. MSN has witnessed an upward trend in effective MPA management in the country especially among repeat contenders.

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