Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities have been the guardians of biodiversity for thousands of years. As a result, today, they conserve the world’s richest biodiversity on their lands and territories.

In this Make Change Happen episode we learn about the term biocultural heritage, which comes from the lived experience of Indigenous Peoples, and is critical to the success of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework up for negotiation in Kunming later this year.

Hosted by Liz Carlile, this podcast features IIED’s principal researcher Krystyna Swiderska; Alejandro Argumedo, Quechuan native from southern Peru and coordinator of the Mountain Indigenous People’s Network; Pierre Du Plessis, expert negotiator in the Convention on Biological Diversity from Namibia; and Joji Carino, Ibaloi Igorot from the Philippines, senior policy adviser with Forest People’s programme, and Indigenous Peoples’ negotiator on biodiversity.

You can follow some of the people you have heard in this episode on Twitter at @lizcarlile and @KrystynaSwider4. Follow the podcast on @IIED_Voices for all the latest updates.

11. Indigenous knowledge, people and nature – all crucial to Kunming

The urban dimensions of COVID-19 have been largely ignored and yet the economic impacts of the pandemic are especially severe in cities and towns in the global South, where low-income residents have been disproportionately affected. 

In this episode of Make Change Happen, expert practitioners discuss the effects of the pandemic in urban areas, and they share a range of inclusive, locally led responses from the global South.

12. Wanted: an inclusive vision of urban recovery from COVID-19

Forest and farm smallholders are fighting for their livelihoods and food security. New research shows producers’ practical measures for climate resilience have impact, but barriers remain to scaling the work up and out. 

In this ‘super year’ of climate and nature, the latest episode of the Make Change Happen podcast hosts a discussion on what support smallholders need, and who should provide it.

Guests include Ugandan young agriprenuer Elizabeth Nsimadala, IIED Climate Change director Clare Shakya and Duncan Macqueen, leader of IIED's forest team and an expert on locally controlled forestry, climate-resilient forest enterprises and forest governance approaches.

13. Getting climate resilience right: the case for backing smallholder organisations

Experts discuss the connections between the climate emergency, loss of biodiversity and rising inequalities, and why it is important to include nature in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to address these crises globally.

The latest episode of the Make Change Happen podcast focuses on why and how developing countries are incorporating nature-based solutions in their NDCs to increase and deliver their climate ambitions.

Guests include Nathalie Seddon, professor of biodiversity and director of the Nature Based Solutions initiative at the University of Oxford; Bob Natifu, acting commissioner on climate change in the Ministry of Water and Environment in Uganda; Maria Caballero Espejo, climate adaptation specialist from the Ministry of Environment of Peru (website in Spanish); Sarshen Scorgie, director of climate strategy at Conservation South Africa; and Harriet Drani, programme officer at IUCN in Uganda.

14. Walking the talk of climate ambition: why that walk needs nature too

In the year IIED celebrates 50 years of working for a fairer and more sustainable world, we invite two eminent former colleagues to look back at where we came from, how we have developed, and where we should be going.

Achala Abeysinghe, Asia regional director for the Global Green Growth Institute and ex-IIED vice-president David Runnalls, a fellow with the International Institute for Sustainable Development in Canada, join host Liz Carlile for the discussion.

Among the issues that arise are climate finance, partnerships and how to support the poorest and the most vulnerable to ensure their voices are heard and they are able to achieve their goals in vital decision-making arenas – from village councils to international conventions.

15. IIED at 50: reflecting on the past, looking to the future

To reflect on International Women’s Day, and the 2022 theme ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’, this episode of Make Change Happen discusses how gender equity and intersectionality approaches are central to climate justice, and that means putting people’s rights, lived experiences and priorities at the centre of every response.

Heather McGray, director of the Climate Justice Resilience Fund, Vitumbiko Chinoko, project manager at the Open Forum on Agriculture and Technology in Nairobi, and IIED’s Tracy Kajumba join host Liz Carlile.

We explore what is meant by the term ‘climate justice’, and unpack how through shifting the dynamics of oppression, and taking an intersectional approach to climate responses, the burdens of climate change are more likely to be shared fairly and equitably.

16. Shifting the power – climate justice means gender justice

As IIED celebrates its 50th birthday, this episode of Make Change Happen brings together four established members of the IIED family to reflect on key movements in the journey towards sustainable development.

Host Liz Carlile, IIED's director of communications, is joined by ex-colleagues Steve Bass, now a consultant in sustainable development; Saleemul Huq, director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD); and former IIED director Camilla Toulmin, who is now a professor at the University of Lancaster’s Environment Centre and an associate at the Institute for New Economic Thinking. All three are also senior associates working with IIED.

They discuss some of the key movements that have pushed sustainable development forward in recent decades, how the landscape has changed, and what might come next.

17. Making sustainable development a reality: movements that inspire change

In this episode of Make Change Happen, we discuss racism and decolonisation in the development sector.

Hosted by Liz Carlile, IIED’s outgoing director of communications, this episode features Natalie Lartey, IIED’s advocacy and engagement manager; Maryam Mohsin, head of media and communications at Bond; and Mpho Tapela, executive director of Youth Unlimited Network in Botswana.

We explore how development organisations have responded to the Black Lives Matter movement, with a particular focus on language and narratives.

18. Uncomfortable conversations? Confronting development’s White gaze

At COP26, political leaders called for more action to address biodiversity loss and climate change together. In this episode of Make Change Happen, we discuss how this must be financed and the possible mechanisms for spurring actions on the ground.

Hosted for the first time by James Persad, IIED’s new director of communications, this episode features Mandy Barnett from the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), Moses Egaru of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Yiching Song from the Farmers’ Seed Network China and Xiaoting Hou Jones, senior researcher at IIED's Natural Resources research group.

19. A spur to action – getting money to the local level for nature and climate

Our last episode of 2022 brings together experts from across the world to explore how far climate mitigation action can respond to pervasive urban poverty in the global South – seen in a lack of housing and basic services such as water, sanitation and energy – and contribute to more just and equitable cities. 

This special episode is hosted by Anna Walnycki, principal researcher in IIED’s Human Settlements research group. Alongside two IIED colleagues, principal researcher Aditya Bahadur and researcher Tucker Landesman, she is joined by two experts working on urban mitigation projects. Bijal Brahmbhatt is executive director of the Mahila Housing Trust in Gujarat, India; Daniel Kozak is senior researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina and director of the Research Center Habitat and Energy.

20. Can mitigation deliver better cities in the global South?

In this episode, launched to coincide with International Women’s Day, an all-women panel share the transformative change driven by women as they take on leadership roles at every level – from remote rural villages to international conventions.

Hosted by James Persad, director of IIED’s Communications group, this podcast features Ritu Bharadwaj, principal researcher in IIED’s Climate Change research group; Omaira Bolaños, director of the Latin America and Gender Justice programmes at Rights and Resources Initiative; and Ivonne Higuero, secretary-general of CITES. 

Participants discuss what women leadership looks like, why spaces must be created for women leaders in climate and biodiversity, and practical measures to make this happen.

Read more: https://www.iied.org/ripple-effects-revolutions-women-leaders-climate-biodiversity

IIED’s ‘Make Change Happen’ podcast provides an opportunity to hear our researchers and guests discuss key global development challenges and explain what we are doing to support positive change.

21. Ripple effects and revolutions: women leaders in climate and biodiversity

In this episode of Make Change Happen, marking LGBTQI+ Pride month, we want to spark conversations about how urban development and climate action can be truly inclusive of queer communities. What can we learn from queer thinking and practice? How can we challenge LGBTQI+ erasure in decision making to deliver stronger and more equitable change? 

Hosted by Tucker Landesman, senior researcher in IIED’s Human Settlements research group, this podcast features lawyer and urban planner Rodrigo Faria G. Iacovini, working with the Instituto Pólis in Sao Paul, Brazil and queer activist Sarah Louis Montgomery, project coordinator at the global network GenderCC-Women for Climate Justice in Berlin, Germany. 

Both guests share their experience working with queer communities and activists to bridge gaps between LGBTQI+ civil society and urban development and climate action, respectively, to achieve a just result.

22. Challenging queer erasure in climate action and urban development

According to UNHCR, the global number of people forcibly displaced by conflict, violence, human rights abuses, and other forms of persecution has reached 110 million. When asked to imagine the living conditions of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), rows of white tents or temporary structures often come to mind. In fact, around 60% of refugees and IDPs live in towns and cities.

This episode of Make Change Happen is hosted by Lucy Earle, director of IIED's Human Settlements research group, and features Nassim Majidi, co-founder and executive director of Samuel Hall; Jack Makau, associate director of Slum Dwellers International in Kenya; and Samer Saliba, director of city practice at the Mayors Migration Council.

The podcast discusses challenges and lessons from ‘participatory forums’ – part of a 3.5-year research project – that bring together different stakeholders and refugee representatives together.

Read more: https://www.iied.org/help-cities-help-people-bringing-everyone-together-refugee-response-make-change-happen-podcast

As a listener of IIED's Make Change Happen podcast, we value your opinion and are keen to understand your preferences and gather valuable feedback to enhance our podcast. Please, take this survey to help us create content that resonates with you: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/IIEDpodcastsurvey

Your responses will play a crucial role in shaping the future of the Make Change Happen podcast, making it an even more informative experience for all.

23. Help cities help people – bringing everyone together in the refugee response

This special guest episode, produced by the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) looks at the work of a social network in Delhi that delivered food relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Delhi Coordinated Relief Network succeeded in reaching some of the most vulnerable neighbourhoods in the city during an unprecedented crisis.

This episode of Make Change Happen is hosted by Rashee Mehra of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, with guests Juhi Jain, deputy director of the Centre for Advocacy and Research and Dr Gautam Bhan, the associate dean of the School of Human Development at IIHS.

24. Filling in the gaps: how Delhi organisations provided food relief during COVID-19

Despite global efforts to tackle the impacts of climate change, we are failing to achieve critical climate objectives. IIED’s Hidden Handbrake campaign aims to reveal and explain the bureaucratic, political, legal and practical barriers to countries taking effective action in response to climate change.  

Progress on mitigation and adaptation measures and anticipatory actions to reduce the potential of loss and damage is drastically slowed where these barriers exist. They must be brought out into the open, challenged and removed.

This episode is a conversation between Tom Mitchell, executive director of IIED, and Sejal Patel, a senior researcher in IIED focusing on climate finance and climate-resilient development. The episode also has vital contributions from three climate and environment specialists: Megan Rowling and David Shukman, both highly regarded journalists, and Achala Abeysinghe, regional director and head of programmes at the Global Green Growth Institute.

Read more: https://www.iied.org/hidden-handbrakes-whats-holding-back-climate-action

25. Hidden handbrakes – what’s holding back climate action?

Critical minerals – such as cobalt, lithium and copper – are in the headlines, attracting global attention for their potential in supporting the green energy pathway and accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels.

They make green technologies including electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines possible. The opportunities are huge and demand is booming.

But this doesn't come without issues. If not managed well, extraction can have negative impacts on communities, ecosystems and local economies.

This episode is a conversation between IIED senior researcher Eric Bisil and executive director of Africa Resources Watch (Afrewatch) Emmanuel Umpula. They discuss the potential of critical minerals in speeding up the fossil fuel phase-out, and how they can support the productivity and economic growth of countries that are rich in these minerals.

Other contributors include Ketakandriana Rafitoson, executive director of Publish What You Pay, IIED senior researcher Rose Mosi and IIED’s head of energy Ben Garside.

26. Critical minerals and the green energy transition

IIED has launched a 'Manifesto for a thriving world’ and the need for new responses to a range of compounding crises, greater uncertainty and growing injustice.

In this episode, the chair of IIED's board of trustees Tara Shine and trustee John Taylor discuss the intitute's plans for the future and changing ways of working.

Tom Mitchell, IIED's executive director, stresses the importance of IIED being outward looking and being grounded in evidence and including the knowledge and voices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

And Crissy Guerrero of the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme in Asia gives  a practical example, outlining a certification scheme designed by forest producers to replace a system created by external parties for designating what can be labelled as organic.

27. Confronting injustice with collective action – IIED's new manifesto

There is a critical need to reform the international financial architecture (IFA) – the framework of institutions, policies, rules and practices that govern the global financial system.

In the episode, IIED’s Laura Kelly and Mohsen Gul set the scene by explaining why the IFA needs to be fit for purpose and work for everyone, including the least developed countries (LDCs), and why discussions around IFA reforms must include the voices of lower-income countries, LDCs and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

IIED’s chief economist Paul Steele then outlines three priorities for reform of the IFA. We also hear from IIED’s Ritu Bharadwaj who discusses the Global SIDS Debt Sustainability Support Service, co-designed by IIED to alleviate crippling levels of debt and build economic resilience, and IIED partner Isatou Camara, who calls for faster and more accessible funding to reach the most vulnerable countries.

28. Money, politics and power – reforming the international financial architecture

Our latest episode revisits the key themes covered on Make Change Happen during 2025, including critical minerals, climate action and reform of the international financial architecture.

As well as reflecting on the progress made, our hosts –  IIED’s Simon Cullen and Lindlyn Moma – highlight the big opportunities for global action in 2025, discussing what it will take to see change in the nature, climate and inequality crises.

29. Taking stock – opportunities for action in 2025

In this episode, IIED’s climate diplomacy researcher Camilla More and senior climate finance researcher Sejal Patel discuss why so many countries missed the recent deadline for submitting their 2035 climate targets – and the implications for global climate action.

31. Country climate targets: another missed deadline

In this episode, IIED’s senior researcher Karen Wong-Pérez talks to IIED’s senior press and PR manager, Simon Cullen, about global progress towards gender justice and why the journey towards gender-just environmental action isn’t moving quickly enough.

32. Gender justice: why is progress so slow?

In this episode, IIED researcher Francesca Booker and Ritchel Cahilig from the Haribon Foundation talk about the critical role local leadership plays not only in restoring nature itself but also in conserving local culture, identity and communities too.

33. Locally-led nature restoration: critical for a sustainable future

With nearly three quarters of our planet covered by water, the ocean is the earth’s essential life support system. But much of the ocean is under-regulated and over-exploited. 

In the first episode of a new podcast from the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED), we examine international efforts to protect the ocean, support marine biodiversity and create sustainable fisheries.

Joining host Liz Carlile to discuss how to protect our ocean are experts Essam Yassin Mohammed, an environmental economics specialist whose fascination with fisheries began when he fell in love with the orangeface butterflyfish that lives in the Red Sea, and the more business-focused Laura Kelly, formerly of UK’s Department for International Development (DIFD). 

They discuss the close links between the high seas and coastal communities, and international efforts to improve regulation of the high seas in the BBNJ negotiations, plus how a cargo of rubber ducks that was washed overboard a container ship in the Pacific in 1992 illustrates the inter-connectedness of our ocean...

The Make Change Happen podcast tackles the critical challenges of our time, from climate crisis to biodiversity loss and increasing inequality. It provides in-depth coverage of key issues, and relates how we will play our part to make change happen.

Follow the panellists on Twitter: @EYMohammed, @LauraKellyIIED and @LizCarlile. Follow the podcast on @IIED_Voices for the latest updates.

Further reading:

How the fate of a shipment of bath toys missing since 1992 led to greater knowledge of the world's oceans: www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/lost-at-sea-on-the-trail-of-moby-duck-2226788.html

Full episode transcript and panellist biographies: www.iied.org/protecting-our-ocean-make-change-happen-podcast-episode-1 

More information on IIED's blue economy work: www.iied.org/inclusive-blue-economy

1 Protecting the ocean

Access to electricity in the poorest countries has begun to accelerate, energy efficiency continues to improve, and renewable energy is making gains in the electricity sector. Despite this progress, around a billion people remain without access to electricity while some 3 billion are without access to clean cooking fuels and technologies.  

Off-grid and mini-grid solutions can be designed to provide affordable electricity to poor communities in hard-to-reach areas, but Governments hoping to harness these technologies to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 — universal access to energy by 2030 — need to find new ways to attract more finance as they currently receive only a fraction of the annual global investment in energy provision.   

To discuss these and other related issues, in this podcast our Director of Communications, Liz Carlile, talks with three expert colleagues from our energy team.

To find out more, visit www.iied.org/energy. You will also find recent briefings and papers on our publications library site at https://pubs.iied.org/energy.

2 Delivering energy access for all

A quarter of the world’s urban population live in informal settlements, mostly in the global South. 

In advance of the 2020 World Urban Forum in February 2020, this episode looks at how IIED’s work with marginalised urban communities developed, and what opportunities exist now for building more inclusive cities.

To discuss these and other related issues, in this podcast our director of communications, Liz Carlile, talks with two urban experts, David Satterthwaite and Anna Walnycki.

Both guests explain why they feel optimistic about the opportunities for inclusive, low-carbon sustainable urbanisation, inspired by successful community-led projects and the urban residents doing this vital work.

To find out more, visit www.iied.org/urban. You will also find recent briefings and papers in our Publications Library at pubs.iied.org/urban.

3 Seizing opportunities for urban change

Growth is usually measured by gross domestic product (GDP). But while this can indicate the health of other factors – such as jobs, livelihoods and even poverty reduction – it paints a limited picture. 

GDP does not capture inequality, despite the effect this has on wellbeing. It excludes the environment and the care economy – meaning a huge amount of work done by women literally doesn’t count. 

GDP also largely overlooks greenhouse gas emissions, failing to count the cost to vulnerable countries. In fact, damaging climate shocks can even count as ‘positive’ when we focus on GDP, as destruction prompts recovery spending.

Discussing these and other issues are IIED director Andrew Norton,  Essam Yassin Mohammed, IIED’s head of blue economy; Clare Shakya, director of the Climate Change research group; and Paul Steele, IIED's chief economist. 

To find out more about this episode, visit https://www.iied.org/trouble-growth-make-change-happen-podcast-episode-4.

More on IIED's work in this area is available via https://www.iied.org/economics. You will also find recent briefings and papers in our Publications Library at pubs.iied.org/economics.

You can follow the panellists on Twitter: @andynortondev, @clareshakya and @EYMohammed. Follow the podcast on @IIED_Voices for all the latest updates.

4 The trouble with growth

Cities and towns are hugely impacted by both climate change and public health crises. This combined (and intertwined) threat weighs heaviest on the poorest urban communities. Health and climate specialists are already working hard on reducing urban risk and increasing resilience, but what has COVID-19 shown us about how these experts could learn from each other, and how they could work better with knowledgeable local actors? 

Hosted by Anna Walnycki, senior researcher in the Human Settlements group of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the discussion features principal researcher Aditya Bahadur, climate change researcher Sarah McIvor, both also of IIED; and Annie Wilkinson, an anthropologist and health systems researcher at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). 

This episode also includes valuable reflections from climate change researcher Anmol Aurora, based in India, and Dr Joseph M. Macarthy, executive director of the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC), who joins the conversation from Freetown.

In this episode of ‘Make Change Happen’, the guests discuss the similarities between public health crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impacts of climate change on urban settings in the global South. One significant element in common: both have devastating human consequences.

More information: https://www.iied.org/shared-vulnerabilities-connecting-climate-health-cities-make-change-happen-podcast-episode-7

You can follow some of the people you have heard in this episode on Twitter via @AnnaWalnycki, @adibahadur, @wordsbyanmol and @ALSWilkinson. Follow the podcast on @IIED_Voices for all the latest updates.

7. Shared vulnerabilities? Connecting climate and health in cities

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns over debt owed by developing nations are increasing substantially. The burden of developing country debt stands at eight trillion US dollars, so action on debt relief is now more pressing than ever.

Debt swaps for climate and nature could help relieve debt and offer great gains for the wellbeing of the planet. But they are a controversial idea. 

In this episode of ‘Make Change Happen’, guests discuss the challenges and potential of debt swaps for climate and nature, highlight a lived example of a marine debt swap from the Seychelles, and analyse what is needed for these programmes to work.

Hosted by Liz Carlile, IIED’s director of communications, the discussion features Yacouba Dem, from Mali, country director at the Near East Foundation; Jean-Paul Adam, director for technology, climate change and natural resource management in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; and Laura Kelly, director of IIED’s Shaping Sustainable Markets research group.

You can follow some of the people you have heard in this episode on Twitter via @lizcarlile, @LauraKellyIIED, @AdamJeanPaul and the @NearEastFdn organisation. Follow the podcast on @IIED_Voices for all the latest updates.

More details: https://www.iied.org/debt-swaps-for-climate-nature-innovation-for-resilience-make-change-happen-podcast-episode-8

8. Debt swaps for climate and nature: innovation for resilience

Climate change has devastating impacts on our planet and people. Some impacts are very noticeable, but many go unmentioned.

In this episode of Make Change Happen, we acknowledge the untold loss and damage from climate change having devastating effects on culture and communities.

Hosted by Liz Carlile, this edition’s podcast features IIED’s senior associate director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) in Bangladesh Saleem Huq, senior researcher in IIED’s Climate Change research group Brianna Craft, and Gladys Hub, a climate activist from the Solomon Islands, who is also a UNICEF Pacific Supporter and a full-time pharmacist. 

You can follow some of the people you have heard in this episode on Twitter at @lizcarlile, @SaleemulHuq, @pbnclimate, and @Gladys_H. Follow the podcast on @IIED_Voices for all the latest updates.

10. Loss and damage – recognising the costs of climate change

IIED's mission is to build a fairer, more sustainable world, using evidence, action and influence in partnership with others. We link local priorities to global challenges, and our 2019-2024 strategy details how we will Make Change Happen

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