Pillar 1
Environmental justice
CIDE’s climate action aims to bring climate change to the fore in the development agenda of the global south around climate mitigation and adaptation. We work with partners such as governments, donors, civil society and communities to design solutions and approaches that are practical, feasible and scalable. We innovate context appropriate initiatives and solutions to address climate challenges at local and national levels. CIDE aims to strengthen and harness the capacities of millions of additional women and girls, in all their diversity, to improve resilience to climate hazards and disaster risks, mitigate the effects of climate change and address loss and damage, including through access to quality education, community-based cooperative models and land rights.
Our actions include;
Sustainable Food Systems Action
The environmental footprint of our food systems cannot be ignored. As the global population has been increasing, so too has the demand for food. In many developing countries, agriculture is still the main source of livelihood for the majority of the population. As both commercial and subsistence agriculture expands, there is increased pressure on the environment. Large scale land clearance for agriculture use contributes to deforestation and climate change. The increasing and repeated use of inorganic fertilizers to increase and improve crop yields leads to soil acidity and abandoning of large pieces of land. Data from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) shows that methane has contributed around 30% to global warming. Around 32% of this is as a result of livestock emissions. Livestock production forms a significant proportion of agriculture output in the developing world. CIDE aims to support and promote sustainable practices in our food system from production, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal. We partner with local farmers and other actors along the food value chain to maintain the integrity of local food systems and knowledge.
Waste management
As cities develop and expand in the developing world, so too does the problem of waste management. Open dumping and burning is the most common approach to waste disposal at both household and commercial level. Such practices contribute to air pollution and climate change as carbon dioxide and methane gas are emitted from the decomposition of organic waste. More hazardous industrial waste is also finding itself in the environment and water bodies with detrimental effects to people and the environment. Plastic pollution is also rampant as recycling facilities are mainly unavailable. As one of the ways to protect the environment from degradation, Innovating Development is engaging in waste management with policy makers, businesses and communities. We are developing innovative ideas to recycle and process waste in a safe and non-hazardous manner and control plastic pollution.
Biodiversity Conservation
The majority of the world’s biodiversity lies in the global south in their rich forests, wildernesses, deserts, rivers, lakes and oceans. The global south continues to be the main source of natural resources and minerals for the rest of the world extracted from these biodiverse regions. Natural resource extraction, commercial agriculture and fishing and global warming and climate change threaten extinction of species as habitats are destroyed and temperatures get too hot for some species to survive. Local communities get little to no benefits from commercial activities while losing resources that they depend on. For present and future generations to derive sustainable benefits CIDE is committed to identifying issues that are already out there and working with partners to evaluate feasibility and adaptations needed to implement a biodiversity agenda.
Climate Finance
Innovating Development recognizes the ability of people going through the climate crisis to innovate appropriate solutions which requires finance to take off. CIDE will create linkages to climate finance institutions and programmes in order to support climate action.