News
Friends of clean air: A #thaiRAIN success story
October 17, 2024
Too hard to breathe Air pollution has topped Thailand’s environmental challenges over the past decade. According to the State of Global Air Report, toxic haze was linked to 32,200 deaths in 2019 — higher than those caused by COVID. Thailand’s average PM2.5 concentration in 2023 was 4.7 times above the World Health Organization’s air quality […]
Silent heroes: Partnering with informal waste collectors to reduce plastic pollution
October 14, 2024
Each day, massive amounts of plastic waste continue to be generated in cities across Vietnam. With 1.8 million tons of plastic discarded annually, the recycling rate of just 27% feels alarmingly inadequate. Each year, between 280,000 and 730,000 tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean — equivalent to the weight of about 2,000 […]
The Climate Q&A…with Winrock International climate leaders
October 9, 2024
This year marked the 15th annual convening of Climate Week NYC, an event held alongside the U.N. General Assembly in New York City that brings together leaders from across sectors to champion inclusive climate action. Three common and interconnected threads at this year’s event were: 1) The urgency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare […]
Southeast Asia “center of excellence” in the making: a #thaiRAIN success story
September 19, 2024
We need to talk about agri-food climate-smart innovations Southeast Asian farmers are facing the concrete effects of climate change, such as unusual weather, rising temperatures, water shortages, increasing pest infestations and devastating floods. The region has invested in R&D and innovations for many years, but the results have been unsatisfactory. Crop yield increases have stalled […]
The Climate Q&A… with Krysla Lima: A transformational shift in community-based conservation and management of peatlands
September 12, 2024
Krysla Lima, senior specialist with Winrock International’s Ecosystem Services team, is a natural resources and climate-smart agriculture specialist focusing on improving economic and environmental outcomes through innovative, market-based approaches and evidence-based policy and program implementation. With over 10 years of experience in sustainable agriculture and climate change mitigation program implementation in Asia, Africa and Latin […]
Community partnerships and action to reduce pollution from open burning in Vietnam
September 10, 2024
Open burning, both of household waste and agricultural straw, is a major source of air pollution in rural and urban Vietnam, contributing to deteriorating air quality and increasing public health risks. To tackle this pressing issue, the USAID Reducing Pollution project, implemented by Winrock International, is supporting community-driven solutions aimed at reducing open burning and […]
Winrock International announces new director for climate and environment
August 29, 2024
“Climate work is a critical part of Winrock’s mission, impacting a wide range of our locally led programming including sustainable agriculture and water, safe migration and counter-trafficking, climate finance, net zero, carbon crediting and markets, ecosystems and clean energy,” said Winrock President and CEO Maqsoda Maqsodi. “We’re in a pivotal climate moment in history, and […]
A climate game changer for U.S. Caribbean island communities
August 29, 2024
Gathered in the offices of the USDA Caribbean Climate Hub in Puerto Rico, four sets of teams comprising farmers, agriculture extension experts and young interns with the U.S. Forestry Service are having fun while honing their strategic and systems thinking skills in a high-stakes game. The object of the contest is the survival of their […]
Sustainable agri-radio programming: Reaching farmers with information about climate-resilient agriculture
August 27, 2024
Radio is one of the most widely used information and communication technology tools used to disseminate agricultural information and services to smallholder producers in low-income countries. Radio is widely accessible by the majority of farmers, both men and women, and can be used not only to provide technical, market and climate information, but also to […]
Helping communities map a resilient future in the Sahel
August 23, 2024
“This year the 2024 Esri Map Book (Volume 39) acknowledges that humans are a dominant part of our planet’s ecosystem and will increasingly need to play a role in creating its future. The maps in this book illustrate many practical ways organizations and individuals are impacting our world and using GIS and The Geographic Approach to help […]