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Surat, a bustling Indian city of 7 million people, sits at the meeting point of the Tapti River and the Arabian Sea, and its identity has been shaped by water. But the same geography that for centuries has driven Surat's growth is now threatening its future.

The United Nations Environment Programme co-hosted the Global Forum for the GEF Integrated Programs in Nairobi, bringing together partners to exchange knowledge and advance practical solutions for environmental action.

"As the host of several major multilateral environmental agreements, and as one of the three initial, founding implementing agencies of the GEF, and the home of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel, we are pleased to co-host this important forum."

The state of Andhra Pradesh in India may be famous for its stunning emerald-green slopes covered in lush vegetation.  Over the past few decades, however, the region has lost 30 to 40 per cent of its original forest cover, according to Dinesh Kumar, a local government official.  

Toybu Ahmed’s green rain jacket blends into the lush jungle as he climbs a steep slope enveloped in milky fog on the island of Anjouan in the Comoros. He moves carefully along narrow paths carved into the hillside. Around him, new trees rise from the soil – a fragile sign of recovery. 

Across the rural landscapes of Damour in Lebanon, water quietly shapes the rhythm of daily life. It determines when crops are planted, how food is prepared and whether a family’s income will last through the season. For many households, it is women who manage this delicate balance. They rise early to tend fields, maintain irrigation systems, wash produce and preserve food, ensuring that both land and family continue to thrive.

In Montenegro’s informal recycling sector, survival and exposure often go hand in hand.

Each day, workers handle discarded electronics, stripped cables and broken appliances, frequently without adequate protective equipment. In the process, they are exposed to hazardous substances including mercury, lead, dioxins and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). According to the World Health Organization, chemical exposure contributes to at least 2 million deaths globally every year, and global chemical production is projected to double by 2030.

Early in the morning, before the heat becomes unbearable, Phillip Williamson hacks his way through dense scrubland, surrounded by swarms of mosquitoes. He cuts tangles of vines and carefully avoids rash-inducing leaves.

Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region lies along the country’s southern edge, its hills rolling into the Turkish border. Centuries-old fortresses and monasteries, now tourist attractions and heritage sites, sit atop high plateaus overlooking villages shaped for generations by small-scale farming.  

“When new farmers come and see the soil is improving, and costs go down and yields go up, they want to join us,” said Thanu Thanakhet, a farmer in Thailand’s largest rice-producing province, Ubon Ratchathani. “Seeing is believing.”  

In the rural community of El Mora in Turrialba, Costa Rica, a long-standing commitment to collective water stewardship has laid the foundation for an innovative transformation. Known for its organised community water system and strong culture of conservation, El Mora is now demonstrating how local leadership can drive regional progress through the UNEP and IADB–led, GEF-funded and Cartagena Convention-executed  CReW+ project.

In the heart of central Mali, the village of Diaborki has long lived with uncertainty, shaped by drought, insecurity and dwindling opportunities. But in 2025, a turning point arrived with the UNEP–led, GEF–funded NB-ITTAS project, which selected the village as a pilot site for sustainable groundwater management. What followed is a powerful example of how access to water can restore stability, dignity and economic hope in communities at the frontline of climate impacts.

A new Global Environment Facility program is supporting the expansion of work to monitor the distribution of long-lasting chemicals and mercury: toxic substances that present major risks to human and environmental health.

The indigenous communities of Yaxley, San Antonio Segundo, and Yodzonot Nuevo share not only the scenic beauty of Mexico's Caribbean coast, its customs, and way of life, but they have also experienced common challenges in water and sanitation. Paradoxically, water surrounds them; their proximity to the ocean and the Sian Ka'an reserve contrasts with the lack of water for everyday use, a common element of daily life.

Innovative city infrastructure can look like concrete and iron — or like mangroves. The Brazilian city of Recife, built across three islands, has embraced nature as an ally in urban planning and public space design. Rather than resisting the natural environment, the city is now designing solutions around it.

When Iya Kande’s youngest son turned two months old, she began using a skin-lightening soap on his face and body. 

Kande, whose last name has been changed to protect her identity, lives in northern Nigeria. She was hoping a fairer complexion would ingratiate the boy with his grandmother, who like many in the region had come to equate light skin with beauty.  

René Etoua Meto'o runs a small cacao plantation just outside of Cameroon’s Dja Faunal Reserve, one of the world’s largest intact stretches of rainforest.  

From March to May each year, dark smoke laden with harmful particulate matter and carbon dioxide drifts across the mountain forests of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) as frantic villagers try to beat back the flames tearing through the trees. 

Once upon a time, in the vibrant lands of Morocco and Lebanon, two nations embarked on an extraordinary journey to protect their precious water resources. Their story is one of innovation, resilience, and unity, overcoming challenges and driving a vision for a sustainable future.

The story of Morocco

In the steep red hills of the Ngororero district in northwest Rwanda, Antoine Nsanzumuhire gently lifts a honeycomb from one of his beehives. Bees are swirling around him as he delicately lifts the latticework, rich in golden honey. 

When passengers step out of the arrivals’ terminal at Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaría International Airport, there’s a chance they’ll be greeted by what is a rare sight in Central America: an electric taxi. 

The bright red sedans—of which there are six—whir passengers to the nearby Costa Rican capital, San Jose, and other parts of the country.   

For much of the last decade, Somalia has tipped in and out of drought, with dry spells withering rivers, turning farms into dustbowls and forcing millions from their homes. 

With waves rippling from its bow, a small motorboat shoots across the languid Gambia River, the rat-tattle of its outboard motor echoing out across the waterway.  

This week, delegates from around the world will gather in New York City to discuss what has been called one of the most important environmental accords in recent history: the Agreement on Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (

The sun has set in Johannesburg, South Africa and Nntuthuzelo Ndwandwa, 39, is returning home from her job as a customer care consultant. When once she would have glanced nervously into the shadows, now she walks through a complex illuminated by solar-powered lights and enters her home, where a solar-powered heater doles out warm water for washing up. 

Uşak, a city of 500,000 residents in western Türkiye, is famous for its brightly coloured wool rugs, known as kilims. Once made largely by hand, today the tapestries are created by a battery of machines.  

While it is faster than hand-weaving, the equipment has a downside. It is driven by power-hungry electric motors, many of which are decades old and inefficient.