Natural Resource Management

The world’s natural capital safeguards and underpins the health and well-being of billions of people. In low-income countries, populations rely on water, land, forests, soil, wildlife, and fisheries for half of all wealth. Climate change is threatening these benefits as extreme weather events and slow-onset climate impacts degrade ecosystems and natural resources–many of which are conserved and sustainably managed by Indigenous Peoples and local communities. USAID’s Climate Strategy includes strengthening natural resource management to manage and reduce climate risks and build local capacity for resilience and resource sharing, including through socio-ecological approaches. USAID will need to continually strengthen the integration of biodiversity conservation and natural resource management considerations in its sector programming and policies to combat the climate crisis.