Blog Archives - Institute for Ecological Civilization

Learning for Impact Initiative Launch

EcoCiv has recently launched a new initiative, Learning for Impact (LFI). This initiative represents an intentional effort on EcoCiv’s part to become a “learning organization”. Sitting within the IDEAS Hub, it is linked closely with the organization’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) team, but it aims to approach the MEL process in a holistic sense.…

EcoCiv and the UN: Our Special Consultative Status

In 2021, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) granted the Institute for Ecological Civilization special consultative status. What does this mean for our organization? We can now have a special seat at important, international discussions that relate directly to our organization and the future of an ecological civilization. Consultative status means that EcoCiv…

Drinking Water for Today and Tomorrow: South Sudan’s National Training Program

African countries such as South Sudan contribute the least amount of global greenhouse gas emissions but disproportionately feel the effects of climate change. Last year, floods in the country affected and displaced more than 630,000 people. Nhial Tiitmamer, from The Sudd Institute in Juba, writes that “the main climate shocks have been droughts and floods, which have been…

Granting Rights to Nature

The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that humans have integral rights that must be protected. However, where does nature stand? Does it have a legal basis to protect itself? Or is that duty placed onto humans, who may not always have nature’s best interests at heart? Environmental protection is a newer concept,…

Bringing Humanity Back to an Economy

In today’s society, the term ‘economy’ refers to people thinking individually to pursue capital gain. This removes a sense of community and partnership from current economic models, reducing the power and capacity of the community when making decisions concerning their local economy. At the Institute for Ecological Civilization, we attempt to maximize the sense of…

Refugees in the Climate Crisis

In a constantly changing climate, people must transform – whether that be by adapting to their new environment or finding another place that is better suited to their needs. Movement and migrations are a common theme in the world’s history. However, the primary cause of movement has rarely been due to a changing climate, as…

Agrifood Systems: Moving Beyond Binaries

The newly launched Agrifood Systems Program supports localized partners who are working at the intersection of socially equitable and ecologically-rich food and agriculture systems, and connecting them to global resources and knowledge. An intersectional approach to equity and ecology as well as food and agriculture is crucial in moving beyond traditionally binary thinking focused only…

Localization and Climate Adaptation: Different and Urgent Processes

Caption: Participants at the 2020 “Cities Facing Escalating Water Shortages” conference in Cape Town, hosted at the University of the Western Cape. The conference facilitated six teams to prioritize intervention areas related to water in the city. Teams covered natural sciences, the social sciences, politics and governance, economics, the technical sciences, and civil society. The…

Changing the Conservation Narrative

The dominant conservation narrative for centuries was fortress conservation, an approach that protects natural spaces by excluding human populations who are blamed for ecological degradation. This approach resulted in the displacement of local communities that have long had a deep, cultural, economic and ecological connection to this land. These millennia-old connections with the land have…

Systems Change vs Individual Change

It is the idea that true, definitive change can only be realized through solutions that address the root cause of an issue. Those in charge of establishing solutions must look at revolutionizing current perspectives that typically only address the symptoms of systemic issues by incorporating a holistic view when looking at solution-building. The issues we…