Latest news and updates from the partnership
Research vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen unveils the secrets of the Indian Ocean’s international waters
10/02/2026
The UN-flagged research vessel R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen has completed a landmark scientific mission to the high seas of the southwest Indian Ocean, shedding new light on mysterious deep-sea ecosystems and strengthening the science needed for sustainable ocean management. Organized by FAO’s Common Oceans Deep‑Sea Fisheries Project, the FAO EAF‑Nansen Programme and its partner the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), and Norway, the three-week expedition wrapped up just before the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (BBNJ) entered into force, calling for robust data to guide conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in international waters.
Advancing global forest data transparency
06/02/2026
Over the past two years, under the project “Building global capacity to increase transparency in the forest sector (CBIT-Forest): accelerating capacity-building, knowledge-sharing and awareness raising”, countries around the world have been working to strengthen how forest data are collected, shared and used for climate reporting. A new publication takes stock of what that work has looked like in practice.
Smart Agriculture in Samoa
04/02/2026
‘Smart agriculture’ is hailed as a game-changing approach in boosting resilience and productivity in Samoa’s agriculture sector, amid climate challenges.
FAO to promote new fisheries management course in global webinar
30/01/2026
Rome and online - As adoption of management procedures (MPs) expands worldwide, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will host a global webinar to highlight its new e-learning course series: Management procedures for sustainable tuna fisheries, designed to help meet growing demand for technical training and capacity building.
Consensus builds for robust GEF-9 replenishment
22/01/2026
The third meeting on the Global Environment Facility’s ninth replenishment cycle (GEF-9), held in Bonn, Germany, moved donor governments closer to broad consensus on its size, scope and priorities for the period from July 2026 to June 2030, coinciding with a critical window for progress toward global environmental goals.
FAO welcomes new treaty on safeguarding marine biological diversity in international waters
19/01/2026
The BBNJ Agreement, also known as the High Seas Treaty, recently came into force to protect marine biodiversity in the Ocean Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. FAO stands ready to support Parties and relevant institutions in implementing the Agreement, drawing on its expertise in fisheries governance, marine genetic resources, and the data and systems that will be critical to achieving its objectives.
Join the Global Tuna RFMO Management Strategy Evaluation Workshop online
16/01/2026
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), in the framework of the GEF-funded FAO Common Oceans Tuna Project, is convening this three- day workshop to adv...
The GEF-8 Clean and Healthy Ocean Integrated Program Coordinates Action from Source to Sea
29/12/2025
In early December 2025, partners from around the world gathered in Panama City to advance a shared goal: reducing pollution from land that harms ocean and coastal ecosystems. Co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and CAF – Developmen...
New FAO-GEF projects for sustainable, resilient agriculture
17/12/2025
The GEF has approved eight projects led by the FAO worth nearly $60 million designed to help seven countries improve their management of agricultural landscapes, promote climate-friendly and biodiversity-positive livestock production, and restore forest, coastal, and marine ecosystems.
Uzbekistan will host Eighth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility
17/11/2025
The last sprint toward 2030, the GEF-9 cycle will implementing the agenda for the world’s family of funds for the environment.
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems recognized in Chile
13/11/2025
With GEF support, two traditional agricultural systems rooted in the ancestral knowledge and practices of Indigenous Peoples in the northern Andean highlands and the southern mountain ranges of Chile have been recognized as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) by the Food and ...
Locally led adaptation strengthens resilience and livelihoods of fishers and fish farmers in Timor-Leste
10/11/2025
In the Small Island Developing State of Timor-Leste, where 42 percent of the population live below the national poverty line, communities that rely on aquatic resources face a harsh reality.
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GEF supports FAO's first land degradation neutrality strategy in the Republic of Moldova
28/10/2025
Over the past 60 years, the area of eroded land has increased 1.8 times in Moldova, mainly due to cultivation on sloping lands without the application of soil conservation practices. In response, FAO's land degradation neutrality strategy aims at improving soil health, enhancing sustainability and supporting long-term agricultural resilience in Moldova's districts of Orhei, Rezina and Șoldănești.
Clean and Healthy Ocean Integrated Program featured in flagship UNECE publication on Source-to-Sea Management
16/10/2025
The publication aims to strengthen understanding of source-to-sea management and the linkages between lands, rivers, lakes, aquifers, coasts, and the ocean. It promotes an integrated approach to natural resource management and supports the health and resilience of transboundary ecosystems.
Better food systems for a better future
16/10/2025
The Global Environment Facility’s Food Systems Integrated Program, led by FAO and IFAD, channels $282 million in GEF financing and about $2 billion in co-financing to help countries transform food systems through shifting value chains, business models, finance, policies, institutions, and landscape management.
The Restoration Initiative named a World Restoration Flagship
15/10/2025
The United Nations (UN) has named the GEF, IUCN, FAO, and UNEP supported initiative as one of the four new World Restoration Flagships under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Recognizing global efforts to heal degraded ecosystems, boost community incomes and support food security, the announcement was made during a high-level side event at the World Food Forum in Rome, ahead of World Food Day.
FAO recognizes GEF for driving progress on forests
15/10/2025
The Forestry Division honoured GEF among 24 distinguished nominees at the FAO Global Technical Recognition Ceremony, held on 15 October 2025 at FAO headquarters in Rome.
Supporting the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty
25/09/2025
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is set to support the implementation of a landmark United Nations (UN) treaty aimed at conserving and sustainably using marine biological diversity in waters beyond national jurisdiction. The agreement will come into force in Janua...
An island of chocolate gold
19/09/2025
Morning light spills across Praia das Conchas Roça on the island of Sao Tome, as children walk hand in hand to school with their backpacks. Four of them are the children of Camila Varela De Carvalho, a 32-year-old cocoa farmer. Another four are her nephews, all of whom she is raising.
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Sowing seeds, reaping resilience
08/09/2025
Cambodia’s wet season is becoming unpredictable, but now improved flood-resistant seeds are helping Seuy Phok and other rice farmers have more reliable harvests.