The “Sound of Silence” Farmer Field School in Egypt brought together 15 deaf and speech-impaired farmers in a learning environment shaped by their needs. They transformed what was once a barrier into a source of collective strength, becoming some of the most skilled date growers in Egypt’s New Valley Governorate.

Water scarcity is becoming an increasingly pressing issue in several regions of Uzbekistan. Climate change, declining precipitation and increasing pressure on surface and groundwater resources are complicating irrigation water supply, particularly in foothill and rural areas. Ice stupas are artificial glaciers and an innovative water harvesting technology that helps households and farms access water in spring and summer.

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.

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’ is hailed as a game-changing approach in boosting resilience and productivity in Samoa’s agriculture sector, amid climate challenges.

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.

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.

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.

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 – Deve...

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.

The last sprint toward 2030, the GEF-9 cycle will implementing the agenda for the world’s family of funds for the environment.

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 ...

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. 

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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...