Anouk Franck and Annelieke Douma: A huge pile of money
Anouk Franck and Annelieke Douma: A huge pile of money
The rich countries aim to make sure the money spent as efficiently as possible, and thus opt for existing channels and institutions such as the World Bank. But these countries themselves feel the economic crisis and shrinking budgets. In order to keep their ‘climate promise’, they try to encourage the private sector to invest in climate through subsidies. But does the money end up this way with the average poor female farmer in Kenya who sees her crop fail due to increasing drought? That is questionable.
Developing countries aim for "Direct Access", meaning national governments can directly access the dollars. This way they can decide how to spend the money in their own country in the best way. This not only increases country ownership of these governments, it also leads to more effectiveness when it is embedded into existing structures and policies. But even if national governments would get direct access to climate finance, would the dollars trickle down to those who are hit hardest by climate change? Or include promising climate initiatives already being taken up by organizations outside the national government?
The impact of climate change is felt locally. At this level people, civil society, local governments and companies are actively looking for ways to adapt to more difficult conditions. They work on small-scale irrigation, erosion prevention or change to more drought resistant crops. They also often offer sustainable solutions for reducing CO2 emissions. These local actors should therefore not only benefit from climate money, they are also essential for deciding where and how it should be spent to get the best results. They have detailed knowledge of their specific circumstances and know what will or will not work.
Experiences with other climate funds show that most of the money is still channeled through multilateral institutions, of the role of Direct Access is still small, and that it does not reach the local level sufficiently. Will the Green Climate Fund do things differently this time as it said it would? Will national governments and local actors really be taken seriously? And will countries like the Netherlands that take their climate money straight from their development cooperation budget focus on the interests of the most vulnerable groups in poor countries? We will see in Berlin this week.
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Event / 11 maart 2025, 09:30 - 11:15
The Conflict, Gender, Climate Nexus: Localized understanding and policy recommendations
Across the world, women lead efforts to advance peace, gender and environmental justice. From the Philippines to Mozambique, Burkina Faso to Brazil, they face a deadly convergence of violence, environmental destruction, and extractivist land grabs. As corporate interests, state forces or other armed actors expand into their territories, entire communities are displaced, criminalized, or subjected to violent repression. At the same time, worsening climate disasters further erode their means of survival, exacerbating food insecurity, water shortages, forced migration and gendered inequalities.
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News / 4 maart 2025
Feminist March 2025: let's take to the streets for gender justice
Women's rights are under pressure worldwide, and hard-fought rights and freedoms are being dismantled. Whereas until recently the Netherlands was a champion of emancipation, women's rights and gender justice, the current cabinet is breaking with this policy and abandoning millions of women and girls. That is why Both ENDS, together with many other allies, will be taking to the streets on 8 March. It is time to make a strong stand against the dismantling of gender policy and to stand up for gender equality and social justice.
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Letter / 3 maart 2025
Input for FMO’s “investment approach to responsibly managed forest plantations”
Both ENDS has been asked by FMO to comment on its draft investment approach to responsibly managed forest plantations. To follow are a number of observations and recommendations, partially informed by Both ENDS long legacy of working in the forest & land arena, in dialogue with international donors, philanthropic foundations, companies, certification bodies and notably with forest dependent communities and other land users.
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News / 21 februari 2025
Cabinet turns its back on international cooperation and solidarity with callous policy letter
Foreign Trade and Development Minister Klever's published policy letter is coldhearted and callous. It places the Netherlands in international isolation and abandons the most vulnerable people worldwide, including many women, farmers, indigenous peoples and youth.
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Press release / 18 februari 2025
Trade deal fueling resource grab? 120+ groups from Europe and Indonesia sound the alarm
Brussels, 18 February 2025 - Over 120 civil society organizations and trade unions from Indonesia and Europe today call on the Indonesian government and the European Union to stop the negotiations for the Indonesia-EU free trade agreement – the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
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Dossier /
Seeking justice for the affected communities of Vale’s mining disasters in Mariana and Brumadinho
In 2015 and 2019, the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais experienced two severe mining tragedies in Mariana and Brumadinho, due to the same mining company: Vale. Since then, the affected communities have been seeking justice, via the criminal punishment of the responsible parties, and a fair compensation for the loss of their loved ones, their homes and their livelihoods. Both ENDS supports local CSOs by amplifying their quest for justice within an international audience and, more specifically, by raising awareness amongst Dutch investors in Vale about the high risks this company’s activities pose for people and the environment.
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Dossier /
Towards a socially and environmentally just energy transition
To address the climate crisis we need to urgently transition away from fossil fuels towards clean, renewable energy. However, this transition is not only about changing energy sources. It requires an inclusive and fair process that tackles systemic inequalities and demanding consumption patterns, prioritizes environmental and social justice, and which does not repeat mistakes from the past.
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Blog / 30 januari 2025
Brumadinho’s painful “seas of mud”
By Carolina de Moura
Six years ago, Brumadinho tailings dam I, from the Paraopeba Complex, owned by mining company Vale, collapsed. January 25th, 2019, forever changed the lives of thousands. The scars remain open, and the quest for justice, remembrance, and prevention of future mining crimes endures despite all adversities. This was manslaughter coupled with socio-environmental devastation of proportions difficult to measure. These are irreparable losses and damages that could have been avoided if it wasn’t for the greed, negligence, and irresponsibility of decision-makers at Vale, the German certification firm Tüv Süd, and the state of Minas Gerais.
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Blog / 28 januari 2025
Sinking promises in Manila
Yesterday, Global Witness published a new report, "Sunk Costs" - in which I had a modest role to play - that comes up with new facts about the disastrous New Manila International Airport project in the Philippines, for which the Dutch dredging multinational Boskalis received Dutch export credit insurance (ekv) of €1.5 billion.
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News / 22 januari 2025
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Publication / 16 januari 2025
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News / 16 januari 2025
DetoX: Both ENDS leaves X
Both ENDS, along with many other Dutch organisations, is leaving social media platform X. In January, we will join the campaign ‘#DetoX’ by De Goede Zaak and Stem op een Vrouw. We hope that many organisations will follow us so that the hate, misinformation and the undermining of democracy on X are given less space.
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News / 13 januari 2025
New partnership with Netherlands Enterprise Agency for resilient food systems in Sahel
The situation in Africa's Sahel is the world's fastest-growing humanitarian crisis. Over 3 million people are fleeing violence. They are ravaged by hunger, disease and increasing drought caused by climate change. Both ENDS and its partners are successfully working on accelerating the resilience of local food systems and communities in the Sahel, based on ‘Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration’ (FMNR). The project, funded by DOB Ecology, will end in mid-2026, but has already been followed up thanks to a new collaboration with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
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News / 24 december 2024
LILAK's Dare to Trust projects: Dreams transformed into actions
LILAK has worked alongside indigenous women communities for over a decade, focusing on building capacity and advocating for rights to land, the environment, and bodily autonomy. Despite gaining recognition and trust from allies, the journey was challenging. Starting with limited resources, LILAK faced resistance, particularly from patriarchal leaders and the state, which often labeled them as adversaries. Nevertheless, they adapted and continued their work, grounded in solidarity and sisterhood.
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News / 24 december 2024
Dare to Trust: a journey of culture, renewal, and empowerment of Sengwer women
Historically, the Sengwer community has lived in harmony with their environment, relying on forest resources for sustenance and integrating conservation into their daily lives. However, recent government policies aimed at forest protection have limited their access to these ancestral lands. Although these regulations intend to protect the environment, they often disregard the traditional conservation practices of indigenous communities like the Sengwer, who have been natural stewards of these lands for generations. Faced with these restrictions, the Segerger Women’s Conservation Group intensified their conservation efforts, viewing it as both a cultural duty and a means to safeguard their heritage.
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News / 24 december 2024
Forum Suape empowers women's groups with Dare to Trust-grants
Forum Suape decided to help several women’s groups in their network. First, they wanted to understand the desires and needs of each group, with the aim of fostering collective thinking and understanding their collective interests and goals. Five groups were selected, one group had difficulty in organizing themselves. They did not move forward and did not receive the money. The other four had wonderful results.
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News / 24 december 2024
Dare to Trust: Sowing dreams irrigated with droplets of trust (Colectivo CASA)
Collectivo CASA in Bolivia, with support from Both ENDS and Dare to Trust, found great satisfaction in assisting women defenders with personal and economic needs. This support allowed the women to express their needs and develop a shared vision for their improvement. Although managing funds sustainably posed challenges, the women defenders demonstrated their skills by quickly creating a “Plan for Good Living,” (“Buen Vivir” in Spanish) addressing health, economy, empowerment, and food production.
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News / 24 december 2024
NTFP-EP supports grassroots women’s organisations with Dare to Trust-grants
The pilot of Dare to Trust, facilitated by NTFP-EP, was implemented in two grassroots women’s organisations in the Philippines and Cambodia. The Dare to Trust project provided them with the independence to utilize the resources they have and thus handed to them the agency for more grounded and better judgment. By giving more liberty to the communities we are moving them away from bureaucratic processes and power structures, and towards more empowered decision making capabilities.
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News / 23 december 2024
Dare to Trust: LSD supports women to speak up after losing their houses
Lumière Synergie pour Développement (LSD) has helped 63 individual women who all have had problems due to the development of a controversial train project (TER) in Senegal and a recent big earthquake. These communities are displaced by the train project, involuntarily resettled, their property has been destroyed and they have been harassed. Moreover, they have never been consulted and are still waiting to receive fair compensation.
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News / 23 december 2024
Dare to Trust: Beneficiaries Tell Success Stories of Kebetkache Development Empowerment Project
The Dare to Trust-initiative, led by Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre with support from Both ENDS, empowers individuals with business potential who face financial constraints. The program has successfully supported 40 beneficiaries, enabling them to grow their businesses and skills without the need for formal proposals.