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Une exposition en plein air sur les massacres de la guerre a été retirée de la rue piétonne de Pristina, après avoir provoqué de vives polémiques. Au-delà des accusations et des récupérations politiques, le Kosovo est toujours incapable de faire face à cette mémoire douloureuse. Point de vue.

- Articles / Histoire, Une - Diaporama - En premier, Kosovo, Culture et éducation, Une - Diaporama, Kosovo 2.0, Bombardements OTAN

Une exposition en plein air sur les massacres de la guerre a été retirée de la rue piétonne de Pristina, après avoir provoqué de vives polémiques. Au-delà des accusations et des récupérations politiques, le Kosovo est toujours incapable de faire face à cette mémoire douloureuse. Point de vue.

- Articles / Histoire, Une - Diaporama - En premier, Kosovo, Culture et éducation, Une - Diaporama, Kosovo 2.0, Bombardements OTAN

A crew member with The Greater Cape Town Water Fund looks out over the landscape where the team is working to remove invasive alien plants for improved water security. Credit: Roshni Lodhia/ The Nature Conservancy

By Louise Stafford
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Apr 16 2026 (IPS)

In 2018, Cape Town came perilously close to becoming the first major city in the world to run out of water. Known as “Day Zero”, it was more than just a crisis, it marked a pivotal moment. It made clear that water insecurity is not a distant threat, but an immediate reality.

It also revealed something equally important, water security depends not only on built infrastructure, such as dams, desalination plants and groundwater extraction, but on the health of the natural systems that sustain them. Ecological infrastructure – our catchments, rivers and wetlands – is as essential as the roads we travel and the grids that power our homes.

South Africa is in a period of structural water scarcity. According to the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan, the country could face a water deficit of up to 17% by 2030. Much of the focus has rightly been on failing built infrastructure, such as non-revenue water, ageing infrastructure, and wastewater discharge into rivers. But an equally critical, and often overlooked, part of the problem lies upstream.

Degraded catchments, driven by poor land management, erosion, invasive alien plants, river diversion, and the loss of wetlands and riparian areas, are undermining the very systems that produce and regulate water.

The Hidden Drain on South Africa’s Water

The impact of alien tree invasions on our water resources is not unknown in South Africa. Multiple scientific studies emphasized the scale of the problem. The invasion of catchment areas by alien tree species, such as pine and Australian acacias, has a significant effect on streamflow. They reduce South Africa’s water availability by an estimated 1.4 billion cubic metres every year, enough to irrigate between 140,000 and 280,000 hectares of farmland according to WWF-SA, drawing on research by the CSIR and partners.

That is water that could otherwise sustain crops, support rural economies, households and strengthen national food security. In the greater Cape Town region, these species consume around 55 million cubic metres annually, roughly equivalent to two months of the City of Cape Town’s water supply.

South Africa has taken important steps to address alien plant invasions through programmes like Working for Water and through the efforts of landowners. However, these initiatives face persistent challenges such as limited funding, uneven prioritisation, and interruptions in implementation that reduce long-term effectiveness.

Restoring catchments requires continuity and scale. Traditional public budgets cannot keep up. Short-term grants and project‑based funding cycles are mismatched with the long‑term reality of managing and restoring South Africa’s catchments. Catchments do not operate on three-year budget cycles. They require decades of commitment. To secure our water future, we must rethink how we value and finance the ecological infrastructure that underpins our economy.

Science Meets Implementation: A Proven Model

The Water Fund model has added a valuable new option to address catchment restoration. South Africa’s first, the Greater Cape Town Water Fund (GCTWF), provides compelling proof that investing in ecological infrastructure and prioritizing headwaters deliver measurable results. Over the past seven years, with support of the private sector and City of Cape Town, over 40,000 hectares have been cleared of invasive alien plants priority catchments. Importantly, the cleared areas have been followed up multiple times to prevent regrowth.

This work increases water flows into dams of the Western Cape Water Supply System by 36 million cubic meters per year. The benefits extend far beyond water. The programme creates job opportunities, reduces wildfire risk, and supports the recovery of native fynbos and freshwater ecosystems — while building resilience to climate change.

The Greater Cape Town Water Fund demonstrates that ecological infrastructure can deliver reliable, measurable returns. Yet scaling this model has been constrained by one persistent challenge namely predictable funding to plan and reach the set target of clearing 54,300 hectares to replenish the water losses.

Rethinking How We Fund Water Security

What about a new funding approach? One that can crowd in private capital while ensuring accountability for results and bridging the gap between short term and sustainable funding. This is the foundation of the FRB Cape water performance-based bond, developed through a partnership between Rand Merchant Bank and The Nature Conservancy.

The Cape Water Performance-based Bond, a first of its kind financial instrument designed to unlock non‑traditional funding sources and secure a consistent five‑year funding stream to accelerate invasive plant control in priority catchments of the Greater Cape Town region. This marks an important milestone not only for Cape Town but for South Africa as a whole, a shift toward mobilizing capital markets to invest in nature at scale.

Accountability is built in. Rigorous monitoring and data collection tracks delivery and ensures a positive return on investment. “Clearly demonstrating what an investment has achieved is the backbone of impact finance. Investment returns in the FRB Cape water performance-based bond rely on performance and so we require systems to independently verify results. This independence and transparency are critical to ensure trust in these results, and to scale nature-based impact finance products.” Chris Barichievy, Director of Science, Conservation Alpha

Taking Impact To Scale

Water security underpins economic stability. From farms to factories, every sector depends on a reliable flow of water. When systems fail, the costs are staggering. When they succeed, they quietly power equity and prosperity.

The Cape Water Performance-based Bond matters because it can be replicated. Cities across Africa face similar challenges, degraded landscapes, limited public funds, rising demand. This model offers a science-based, practical path forward that can be adapted to different contexts.

From Vision to Delivery

This is where vision meets action. Governments and other roleplayers need to recognize that healthy catchments are as essential as pipes, treatment plants and pumps. Healthy catchments enable water to reach our dams, which is the first step in securing our water supply.

The capital markets are the world’s largest funding pools. Yet the opportunity for capital markets to play a role in the water supply system has been limited – until now. Martin Potgieter from RMB said: “This Cape Water Performance-based Bond gives financial institutions and investors the opportunity to participate in the security of the water supply system. It gives investors a low-risk entry to the funding of a water catchment, while at the same time enabling a project that delivers lasting, systemic impact.”

Large and critical interventions need long-term planning and commitment, with the Cape Water Performance-based Bond providing five years of predictable funding.

Without this change, the risks to our water security will only grow. In 2018, Cape Town has shown the world what it means to be pushed to the edge. Now, it is showing the world what it means to lead. By building financing systems that match the scale of the challenge, we can secure a future where both nature and people thrive.

Louise Stafford is the South Africa Country Director at The Nature Conservancy

 

Le groupe bancaire panafricain Ecobank a annoncé, mardi 14 avril 2025, des résultats financiers en forte progression pour l'exercice 2025, avec un bénéfice avant impôt de 801 millions de dollars, en hausse de 21 % sur un an, porté par la croissance de ses principales activités et l'exécution de sa stratégie.

Les revenus nets du groupe Ecobank se sont établis à 2,45 milliards de dollars, en progression de 17 %, grâce notamment aux performances de la Banque des Grandes Entreprises et d'Investissement (CIB) et de la Banque Commerciale et des Particuliers (CCB). « Ces résultats illustrent le succès de la mise en œuvre rigoureuse de notre stratégie Croissance, Transformation et Rendement », souligne le groupe dans son communiqué.

La dynamique a été soutenue par « l'intensification de l'activité clientèle, l'augmentation des volumes de commerce » ainsi que l'expansion des services de paiements et de crédit à travers son réseau africain.

Dans le détail, la division CIB a enregistré une progression marquée, avec un bénéfice avant impôt de 697 millions de dollars (+40 %), tiré par le financement du commerce et les activités de marchés. De son côté, la CCB a affiché un bénéfice de 480 millions de dollars (+27 %), soutenu par une hausse de 33 % de l'activité de crédit.

Le groupe a également amélioré son efficacité opérationnelle, avec un coefficient d'exploitation ramené à un niveau record de 48,3 %, contre 52,8 % un an plus tôt. Parallèlement, les dépôts de la clientèle ont augmenté de 4,9 milliards de dollars pour atteindre 25,3 milliards, traduisant « un approfondissement des relations clients ».

Cette performance s'inscrit dans un contexte de diversification géographique, la région Afrique centrale, orientale et australe (CESA) apparaissant comme la plus dynamique, tandis que l'Afrique de l'Ouest anglophone et francophone reste fortement rentable.

Malgré ces résultats, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated a fait état de pressions accrues sur la qualité des actifs, notamment au Nigeria, en raison de la hausse des prêts non performants liée à des expositions héritées. Le groupe a renforcé ses provisions, portant le taux de pertes de crédit attendues à 7,8 %.

Son ratio d'adéquation des fonds propres s'est toutefois maintenu à un niveau jugé confortable, à 16,7 %, au-dessus des exigences réglementaires.

« Nos performances en 2025 démontrent une fois de plus que notre stratégie (…) produit des résultats tangibles », a déclaré le directeur général du groupe, Jeremy Awori, mettant en avant un rendement des capitaux propres tangibles de 27,8 %.

Il a également souligné les investissements réalisés pour améliorer l'expérience client, avec « une augmentation de 1 000 points de base du taux de satisfaction client, désormais établi à 70 % ».

Fort de ces résultats, le conseil d'administration a recommandé le versement d'un dividende de 40 millions de dollars, soit 0,0016 dollar par action, sous réserve de l'approbation des actionnaires lors de la prochaine assemblée générale annuelle.

Présent dans 34 pays d'Afrique subsaharienne et à l'international, le groupe revendique plus de 32 millions de clients et plus de 14 000 employés, confirmant sa position de premier groupe bancaire panafricain privé.

A Cotonou, la capitale économique du Bénin, la mairie va bientôt lancer un projet de réhabilitation des clôtures de deux collèges d'enseignement général, et celle de la direction de la Police municipale. Le processus de formalisation d'un financement mixte, visant leur réalisation, est déjà lancé.

Les clôtures du CEG Les Pylônes et du CEG Le Littoral feront bientôt peau neuve. Et ce, grâce à un financement mixte de 156 millions de francs CFA dont le processus de formalisation est déjà enclenché. L'initiative vise à sécuriser le cadre de vie des apprenants des deux collèges bénéficiaires, ainsi que celui des usagers de la Police municipale.

Selon La Marina, les travaux à réaliser au CEG Le Littoral incluent également la remise en état du terrain de sport attenant, offrant ainsi un espace de pratique renouvelé pour la jeunesse. Le média renseigne par ailleurs que le chantier devra être livré dans un délai de quatre mois à compter du démarrage effectif des opérations, conformément aux directives de la Direction des services techniques (DST) de la mairie.

F. A. A.

Le nouveau président de l'Assemblée nationale, Joseph Djogbénou a prononcé son discours d'investiture ce mercredi 15 avril 2026, au Palais des gouverneurs à Porto-Novo. Devant un parterre de personnalités composé des présidents d'institutions de la République, des membres du gouvernement et d'anciens présidents de l'Assemblée nationale, il a défini les priorités de la 10e législature et assuré Romuald Wadagni, président élu, du soutien du Parlement.

La 10e législature entame ses travaux au Parlement avec la première session ordinaire de l'année 2026. Cette législature selon son président, ouvre une période et une expérience nouvelle de législation et de contrôle de l'action du gouvernement. « Si l'Assemblée nationale garde le monopole du contrôle de l'action du gouvernement, elle ne conduira plus seule, le processus de législation.

La nouvelle rédaction de l'article 119 de la Constitution dispose que le Parlement exerce le pouvoir législatif et contrôle l'action du gouvernement. Il est composé de deux assemblées, l'Assemblée nationale et le Sénat », a déclaré Joseph Djogbénou. Il a précisé que l'attelage constitutionnel entre le Sénat et l'Assemblée nationale, n'institue pas les deux organes dans « un duel institutionnel ». « Les deux organes constituent plutôt un duo dans une complémentarité utile et fertile », a souligné le président de l'Assemblée nationale. A cet effet, l'un des premiers défis à relever par la 10e législature, est relative à la mise en conformité du Règlement intérieur de l'Assemblée nationale.

Exhortant les parlementaires à restés attachés aux objectifs politiques fondamentaux de la Nation, et pourvoir de ressources législatives pertinentes, le président du parlement a évoqué la politique de régionalisation du développement défendue par le Président élu Romuald Wadagni. Cette option selon Joseph Djogbénou, doit avoir « un prolongement législatif ». Et la 10e législature a-t-il insisté, doit être celle des réponses législatives pertinentes aux rapports sociaux et économiques individuels ou de groupe.

« Le droit des obligations civiles, celui des personnes et de la famille, du patrimoine et de la protection sociale recevront au cours de cette législature, les réponses appropriées », a assuré Joseph Djogbénou insistant sur la nécessité pour la nouvelle mandature de garantir aux concitoyens des solutions nouvelles et celles renouvelées qui protègent la vie, la société et l'État. Elle devra également assuré d'après lui, la simplification des normes, leur accessibilité ainsi que la stabilité et la sécurité juridique.

Des assurances à au président élu Romuald Wadagni
Le président de l'Assemblée nationale a réitéré ses félicitations à Romuald Wadagni, président élu au terme du scrutin présidentiel du 12 avril 2026 ; et à sa colistière Mariam Chabi-Talata. Le duo gagnant de cette élection, a-t-il assuré, peut compter sur le Parlement pour lui donner les moyens législatifs de sa politique de développement.

Pour lui, leur élection est « l'expression la plus parfaite du peuple béninois en faveur de la politique de reconstruction nationale et de développement profond et durable, engagée depuis 2016 par le gouvernement de M. Patrice Talon ». Elle relève également de l'adhésion du peuple béninois à un projet de société portant de solutions à la demande sociale, garantissant avec plus d'assurance, le droit au mieux-être de chaque Béninoise et de chaque Béninois, a-t-il indiqué réitérant le soutien de l'institution qu'il préside.

F. A. A.

The GEF actively supports climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods in Zanzibar, with a specific focus on the seaweed farming sector, which is crucial for over 20,000 farmers—mostly women—in the region. Here a woman identified as Jazaa is pictured working as a seaweed farmer. She carefully attaches little seaweed seedlings to the rope that she will harvest after two months. Credit: Natalija Gormalova/Climate Visuals Countdown

By Umar Manzoor Shah
SRINAGAR, India, Apr 16 2026 (IPS)

The Global Environment Facility, widely known as the GEF, plays a central role in financing environmental protection across the world. It supports developing countries in tackling climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, pollution, and threats to ecosystems.

Since its establishment in the early 1990s, the GEF has grown as a multilateral environmental fund, supporting projects in more than 170 countries.

Over time, the GEF has evolved into what it calls a “family of funds”, each targeting a specific global environmental challenge while operating under a shared strategic framework.

This explainer looks at how the GEF funding works, the origins of its financing model, and the role of six major funds that channel resources toward global environmental goals.

While the GEF predates the 1992 Rio ‘Earth’ Summit, its importance as a financial mechanism grew after the summit. Here UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali opens the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, which aimed to develop a global blueprint for balancing economic development with environmental protection. Credit: Michos Tzavaras/UN Photo

Origins of the GEF Funding Model

The GEF was created in 1991, before the Rio ‘Earth’ Summit in 1992, which aimed to develop a global blueprint for balancing economic development with environmental protection; however, its importance grew after the summit.

The Rio Summit produced three major environmental conventions. These were the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity, and, later in 1994, the Convention to Combat Desertification. The GEF became the financial mechanism for these agreements, meaning it mobilises and distributes funds to help countries implement them.

Over the past 35 years, the GEF has expanded its mandate. Today it supports multiple conventions and environmental initiatives through a structured set of trust funds. This architecture allows the facility to coordinate funding across different environmental priorities while maintaining specialised programs for each global commitment.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is now focusing on solving environmental problems together instead of separately. It looks at climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution as connected issues and works with governments, international groups, civil society, and businesses to address them.

The GEF Trust Fund was initially created to support multiple environmental agreements simultaneously. Over time, countries preferred more specific funding for their particular needs.

Because of these changes, the GEF now has different funds, each designed for different purposes and methods of giving money.

Some funds – like the Trust Fund, the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and part of the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) – use a system that helps countries know in advance how much funding they can expect.

The GEF Trust Fund

The Global Environment Facility Trust Fund is the main source of funds for the GEF. It provides grants to support environmental projects in developing countries.

The Trust Fund finances activities across several environmental areas.

These include

• Biodiversity conservation,
• Climate change mitigation,
• Land degradation control,
• International waters management, and
• Chemicals and waste reduction.

Countries receive funding through a system known as the System for Transparent Allocation of Resources, or STAR, which distributes funds based on their environmental needs and eligibility.

Projects funded by the Trust Fund often focus on creating global environmental benefits. These may include:

• Protecting endangered species,
• Restoring ecosystems,
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and
• Improving pollution management systems.

The Trust Fund operates through periodic “replenishment” cycles. Donor countries pledge new contributions every four years, which allows the GEF to finance programs during the next funding period. For example, the GEF-9 cycle will cover the period from July 2026 to June 2030 and focus on scaling up environmental investments while mobilising private capital and strengthening country ownership of environmental policies.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has created Integrated Programs. These are special programs designed to address multiple environmental goals at the same time in a more coordinated and efficient way.

For example, the Food Systems Integrated Program does not fund separate projects for climate change, biodiversity, and land degradation. Instead, it combines them into one unified project, which helps achieve stronger and longer-lasting results while making better use of funding.

 

The GEF helps fund biodiversity across the globe, helping to create conditions to prevent the further endangerment of species like the Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii). Credit: Thomas Gabernig/Unsplash

Global Biodiversity Framework Fund

The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund is a relatively new component of the GEF family of funds. It was created to help countries implement the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which was adopted in 2022 under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The biodiversity framework sets ambitious targets for protecting nature by 2030. Its most prominent targets include the “30 by 30” target, which calls for protecting at least 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean areas by the end of the decade.  The Framework also sets a 30 percent target for the restoration of ecosystems and a target of mobilising 30 billion dollars in international financial flows to developing countries for biodiversity action.

The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund supports actions that help countries meet these targets.

Actions that are supported include the following:

• Expanding protected areas,
• Restoring degraded ecosystems,
• Protecting endangered species, and
• Strengthening biodiversity monitoring.

Another important focus is the integration of biodiversity into economic planning. Many projects supported by this fund work with governments and businesses to match financial flows with biodiversity goals. This means reducing financial support for activities that damage the environment and encouraging more sustainable farming, forestry, and fishing practices.

By providing targeted financing for biodiversity commitments, the fund helps translate global agreements into practical actions at the national and local levels.

It is also important to highlight that the fund sets a target of providing at least 20% of its resources to support actions by Indigenous Peoples and local communities. This form of direct financing is unique for a multilateral environmental fund.  To date, this target has been exceeded and mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund and the Tropical Forest Forever Facility are considering replicating this approach.

GEF-9 biodiversity investments will bring together four interconnected pathways:

• Scaling up financial flows to close the nature financing gap,
• Embedding environmental priorities in national development strategies,
• Mobilising private capital through blended finance, and
• Empowering Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and civil society as active conservation partners.

“A renewed emphasis on the Forest Biomes Integrated Program will continue directing investment into the landscapes most critical for achieving 30×30 – ensuring that GEF financing remains focused where the stakes are highest,” said Chizuru Aoki, the head of the GEF Conventions and Funds Division.

 

Medicinal and aromatic plant species, such as the baobab, are often exploited; however, the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing aims to ensure fair use of the planet’s genetic resources and secure benefits for Indigenous knowledge holders. Credit Noah Grossenbacher/Unsplash

Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund

The Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund supports countries in implementing the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing. This international agreement, part of the Convention on Biological Diversity, aims to make sure that the genetic resources of the planet are used fairly and equitably, with benefits shared with those who provide them.

Genetic resources include plants, animals, and microorganisms that are used in research and commercial products such as medicines, cosmetics, and agricultural technologies. Historically, many developing countries have expressed concerns that companies and researchers benefit from these resources without sharing profits or knowledge.

The Nagoya Protocol fixes these issues by requiring users to do the following:

• Get permission from the country providing the resources, and
• Agree on how benefits (like money or knowledge) will be shared.

The fund supports countries by helping them:

• Create laws and rules for using genetic resources,
• Improve monitoring systems, and
• Build skills among researchers and policymakers.

Projects funded also support Indigenous peoples and local communities, who often hold traditional knowledge associated with biological resources. Protecting this knowledge and ensuring fair compensation is a key objective of the Nagoya framework.

Least Developed Countries Fund

The Least Developed Countries Fund focuses on supporting climate adaptation in the world’s most vulnerable nations. These countries often face severe environmental risks but lack the finances and systems to respond efficiently.

The fund supports the preparation and implementation of National Adaptation Programs of Action and National Adaptation Plans. These are country-specific strategies that identify the most urgent climate risks facing each country and outline measures to reduce vulnerability.

Typical projects include the following:

• Strengthening climate-resilient agriculture,
• Improving water management systems,
• Protecting coastal zones, and
• Building early warning systems for extreme weather events.

Because many least developed countries face multiple environmental issues at once, the fund often supports integrated projects that address climate change alongside biodiversity conservation and land management.

This funding system makes sure that the poorest and most vulnerable countries get the help they need to deal with climate change, even though they did very little to cause it.

Villagers in Nyamisati, Rufiji District, wade through muddy tidal flats to plant mangrove seedlings—part of a grassroots effort to curb saline intrusion that has begun to poison nearby rice paddies as saltwater seeps underground. The initiative reflects growing local responses to environmental degradation driven by human activity along Tanzania’s coast. The GEF supports projects like these that help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPS

Special Climate Change Fund

The Special Climate Change Fund supports climate action in developing countries and works alongside the Least Developed Countries Fund.

While the Least Developed Countries Fund focuses on the poorest nations, this fund helps other developing countries that are also affected by climate change.

It supports projects that:

• Help countries prepare for climate impacts,
• Include climate planning in development and infrastructure,
• Improve water management and agriculture.
• Reduce disaster risks, and
• Promote environmentally friendly technologies.

The SCCF also, in some cases, supports mitigation efforts, particularly when they involve innovative technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By financing both adaptation and mitigation initiatives, the fund contributes to global efforts to stabilise the climate system.

Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency Trust Fund

The Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency Trust Fund supports countries in implementing transparency requirements under the Paris Agreement.

Under this agreement, countries must regularly report their greenhouse gas emissions and track their progress on climate goals. However, many developing countries do not have the tools or skills to do this properly.

This fund helps by supporting:

• Training for government officials,
• Creation of national emissions data systems, and
• Better monitoring and reporting methods.

Strong reporting systems are important because they:

• Help track climate progress,
• Build trust between countries, and
• Ensure countries meet their commitments.

The fund helps developing countries improve their climate reporting so they can fully take part in global climate efforts.

How the “family of funds” works together

One of the defining features of the GEF funding model is that each part speaks to the others.

Think of it like a team of funds working together, rather than separate, isolated programs.

These funds are coordinated so they can:

• Support the same project from different angles,
• Avoid duplication (no overlapping funding for the same purpose), and
• Align with global environmental agreements.

For example:

• A biodiversity project might use:
  • The main GEF Trust Fund
  • Plus the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund
• A climate adaptation project could combine:
  • Least Developed Countries Fund
  • Special Climate Change Fund

This ‘family’ structure improves:

• Coordination, so different funds work in sync,
• Efficiency, so funds work with less waste and duplication, and
• Flexibility, so projects can tap into multiple funding sources.

Environmental problems are interconnected. A single project (like forest conservation) can:

• Reduce carbon emissions,
• Protect biodiversity,
• Improve water systems, and
• Avoid land degradation.

Because of the integrated funding system, the GEF can support all these goals at once, rather than funding them separately.

The “family of funds” is a coordinated funding system that allows the GEF to:

• Combine resources;
• Support complex, multi-sector projects; and
• Maximise environmental impact

The Future of GEF Financing

As global environmental crises grow, so does the demand for money and resources to meet climate and biodiversity needs. International assessments suggest that hundreds of billions of dollars are needed each year.

The GEF aims to play a “catalytic” role in closing this gap – in short, the GEF acts as a “catalyst” or tool for using limited public funds to unlock much larger investments.

Its funding model mobilises additional resources from

• Governments,
• Development banks, and
• Private investors.

“In practical terms, the mechanisms being supported in GEF-9 include debt-for-nature and debt-for-climate swaps, green bonds, pooled investment vehicles, and outcome-based financing structures. Each of these can serve a different purpose depending on the context – but the common thread is that they allow the GEF to use its resources strategically to unlock much larger pools of capital from the private sector, multiplying the environmental impact that public funding alone could achieve,” Aoki said.

Note: This feature is published with the support of the GEF. IPS is solely responsible for the editorial content, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of the GEF.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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By Hippolyte Balima, Andresa Lagerborg and Evgenia Weaver
WASHINGTON DC, Apr 16 2026 (IPS)

War is again defining the global landscape. After decades of relative calm following the Cold War, the number of active conflicts has surged in recent years to levels not seen since the end of the Second World War.

Meanwhile, rising geopolitical tensions and heightened security concerns are prompting many governments to reassess their priorities and spend more on defense.

Beyond their devastating human toll, wars impose large and lasting economic costs, and pose difficult macroeconomic trade-offs, especially for those countries where the fighting is taking place.

Even without active conflicts, rising defense spending can raise economic vulnerabilities in the medium term. After the war, governments face the urgent post-conflict task of securing durable peace and sustaining recovery.

In an era of proliferating conflicts, our research in two analytical chapters of the latest World Economic Outlook highlights the deep and prolonged economic harm inflicted by war, which has particularly affected sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

We also show that rising defense spending—which can boost demand in the short term—imposes difficult budgetary trade offs that make good policy design and lasting peace more important than ever.

Economic losses

For countries where wars occur, economic activity drops sharply. On average, output in countries where fighting takes place falls by about 3 percent at the onset and continues falling for years, reaching cumulative losses of roughly 7 percent within five years.

Output losses from conflicts typically exceed those associated with financial crises or severe natural disasters. Economic scars also persist even a decade later.

Wars also tend to have significant spillover effects. Countries engaged in foreign conflicts may avoid large economic losses—partly because there is no physical destruction on their own soil.

Yet, neighboring economies or key trading partners with the country where the conflict is taking place will feel the shock. In the early years of a conflict, these countries often experience modest declines in output.

Major conflicts—those involving at least 1,000 battle-related deaths—force difficult trade-offs in economies where they occur. Government budgets deteriorate as spending shifts toward defense and debt increases, while output and tax collection collapse.

These countries may also face strains on their external balances. As imports contract sharply because of lower demand, exports decrease even more substantially, resulting in a temporary widening of the trade deficit.

Heightened uncertainty triggers capital outflows, with both foreign direct investment and portfolio flows declining. This forces wartime governments to rely more heavily on aid and, in some cases, remittances from citizens abroad to finance trade deficits.

Despite these measures, conflicts contribute to sustained exchange rate depreciation, reserve losses, and rising inflation, underscoring how widening external imbalances amplify macroeconomic stress during wartime. Prices tend to increase at a pace higher than most of central banks’ inflation targets, prompting monetary authorities to raise interest rates.

Taken together, our findings show that major conflicts impose substantial economic costs and difficult trade-offs on economies that experience conflicts within their borders, as well as hurting other countries. And these costs extend well beyond short-term disruption, with enduring consequences for both economic potential and human well-being.

Spending trade-offs

More frequent conflicts and rising geopolitical tensions have also prompted many countries to reassess their security priorities and increase defense spending. Others plan to do so. This situation presents policymakers with a crucial question about trade-offs involved with such a boost to spending.

Our analysis looks at episodes of large buildups in defense spending in 164 countries since the Second World War. We find that these booms typically last nearly three years and increase defense spending by 2.7 percentage points of gross domestic product.

That’s broadly similar to what is required by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members to reach the 5 percent of GDP defense spending target by 2035.

Ramping up defense spending primarily acts as a positive demand shock, boosting private consumption and investment, especially in defense-related sectors. This can raise both economic output and prices in the short term, requiring close coordination with monetary policy to temper inflationary pressures.

Overall, the aggregate effects on output of scaling up defense spending are likely modest. Increases in defense spending typically translate almost one for one into higher economic output, rather than having a bigger multiplier effect on activity.

That said, the multiplier or ripple effects of such spending vary widely depending on how outlays are sustained, financed and allocated, and how much equipment is imported.

For instance, output gains are smaller and external balances deteriorate when the stimulus is partly spent to import foreign goods, which is especially the case for arms importers. By contrast, a buildup of defense spending that prioritizes public investment in equipment and infrastructure, together with less fragmented procurement and more common standards, would expand market size, support economies of scale, strengthen industrial capacity, limit import leakages, and support long-term productivity growth.

The choice of how to finance defense spending entails critical trade-offs. Defense spending booms are mostly deficit-financed in the near-term, while higher revenues play a larger role in later years of defense spending booms and when the defense spending buildup is expected to be permanent.

The reliance on deficit financing can stimulate the economy in the short term, but strain fiscal sustainability over the medium term, particularly in countries with limited room in government budgets.

Deficits worsen by about 2.6 percentage points of GDP, and public debt increases by about 7 percentage points within three years of the start of a boom (14 percentage points in wartime). The resulting increase in public debt can crowd out private investment and offset the initial expansionary effect of defense spending.

The buildup of fiscal vulnerabilities can be mitigated by durable financing arrangements, especially when the increase in defense spending is permanent. However, raising revenues come at the cost of reducing consumption and dampening the demand boost, while re-ordering budget priorities tends to come at the expense of government spending on social protection, health, and education.

Policies for recovery

Our analysis also shows that economic recoveries from war are often slow and uneven, and crucially depend on the durability of peace. When peace is sustained, output rebounds but often remains modest relative to wartime losses. By contrast, in fragile economies where conflict flares up again, recoveries frequently stall.

These modest recoveries are driven primarily by labor, as workers are reallocated from military to civilian activities and refugees gradually return, while capital stock and productivity remain subdued.

Early macroeconomic stabilization, decisive debt restructuring, and international support—including aid and capacity development—play a central role in restoring confidence and promoting recovery. Recovery efforts are most effective when complemented by domestic reforms to rebuild institutions and state capacity, promote inclusion and security, and address the lasting human costs of conflict, including lost learning, poorer health, and diminished economic opportunities.

Importantly, effective post-war recovery requires comprehensive and well-coordinated policy packages. Such an approach is far more effective than piecemeal measures. Policies that simultaneously reduce uncertainty and rebuild the capital stock can reinforce expectations, encourage capital inflows, and facilitate the return of displaced people.

Ultimately, successful post-war recovery lays the foundation for stability, renewed hope and improved livelihoods for communities affected by conflict.

This IMF blog is based on Ch. 2 of the April 2026 World Economic Outlook, “Defense Spending: Macroeconomic Consequences and Trade-Offs,” and Ch. 3, “The Macroeconomics of Conflicts and Recovery.” For more on fragile and conflict-affected states: How Fragile States Can Gain by Strengthening Institutions and Core Capacities.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Avec un salaire minimum équivalent à 420 euros, la Macédoine du Nord est le pays qui a les plus faibles revenus dans les Balkans après le Kosovo. Malgré la croissance économique, le gouvernement s'oppose à une hausse significative des salaires, tandis que le coût de la vie continue d'augmenter.

- Articles / Courrier des Balkans, Macédoine du Nord, Economie, Société, Une - Diaporama

La police albanaise a démantelé un vaste réseau de centres d'appel frauduleux, qui aurait extorqué des millions d'euros dans plusieurs pays d'Europe, aux Canada et aux Etats-Unis, confirmant que l'Albanie est bien devenue une plaque tournante de la fraude mondiale.

- Le fil de l'Info / Courrier des Balkans, Albanie, Défense, police et justice

Die Gäste des argentinischen Traditionsklubs Racing Club haben es schwer. Um von der Kabine aufs Spielfeld zu gelangen, müssen sich durch ein Treppen-Labyrinth mit einem Gang von 125 Metern kämpfen. Der Zustand lässt auch zu Wünschen übrig ...

Gefährliches Phänomen am Manly Beach in Sydney: Anfang April filmte Surffotograf Jamen Percy mit einer Drohne eine riesige Unterwasserströmung – und die ist nicht zu unterschätzen: Vom Land unsichtbar, können solche Strömungen Schwimmer ins offene Meer ziehen.

Für die Demokraten ist es sonnenklar: Die Trump-Regierung hat mit dem Iran-Krieg einige Leute um viele Millionen reicher gemacht. Jetzt wird eine Untersuchung wegen Insiderhandels eingeleitet.

L'Ambassadeur du Royaume du Maroc près le Bénin, Son Excellence Monsieur Rachid Rguibi a assisté, ce mercredi 15 avril 2026, à l'instar de plusieurs autres personnalités, à l'ouverture de la première session ordinaire de l'année 2026 de l'Assemblée nationale, et à la cérémonie d'investiture du nouveau président, Joseph Djogbénou. Très satisfait de ce double évènement qui intervient au lendemain de l'élection du nouveau président de la République, le Doyen du Corps diplomatique a salué la vitalité de la démocratie béninoise.

Ce mercredi 15 avril 2026, M.Joseph Djogbénou, président de l'Assemblée nationale a procédé à l'ouverture de la première session ordinaire de l'année 2026. Ensuite, le nouveau président du Parlement a prononcé son discours solennel d'investiture. Mais avant, la deuxième personnalité de l'Etat a été élevée au rang de Dignité de Grand Croix de l'Ordre national du Bénin, l'une des plus grande distinction du pays.

Pour l'ambassadeur du Maroc près le Bénin, cela relève du mérite qui vient couronner tout son parcours et son travail.
Selon SEM. Rachid Rguibi, le double évènement que le Parlement a abrité, fut un « moment exceptionnel, une journée exceptionnelle de démocratie » qui intervient surtout, au lendemain de l'élection présidentielle qui donne la victoire au duo Wadagni-Talata, selon les résultats provisoires de la CENA.

Tout cela, selon le Doyen du Corps diplomatique, prouve que « la démocratie béninoise marche ». L'Ambassadeur de Sa Majesté le Roi a exprimé à cette occasion, le vœu que cette sérénité, cette résilience économique et politique qu'affiche le Bénin continue afin que le pays avance comme le souhaite Son Excellence le président Talon.

F. A. A.

Monsieur Romuald Wadagni est déclaré vainqueur de la présidentielle 2026 suite aux résultats publiés le 14 avril par la Commission Electorale Nationale Autonome (CENA). Le Mouvement Citoyen Agir (MCA), l'un des acteurs clé du fort taux de participation au scrutin dans la région de Savè et environs félicite le nouveau Président de la République pour sa brillante victoire pour la Magistrature Suprême.

Monsieur Denis BABAEKPA, personnalité publique, natif et prince de Kaboua, dignitaire de Savè et Coordonnateur national du Mouvement Citoyen Agir (MCA), présente ses chaleureuses et vives félicitations au nouveau Président élu, Romuald WADAGNI, après la proclamation des résultats provisoires de la présidentielle 2026 par la CENA.

Il profite de l'occasion pour demander au nouvel élu, de prêter une attention particulière aux réelles attentes des populations de cette région précédemment très sensible.

Notre souhait c'est d'aller plus loin au-delà des promesses de campagne déclinées au meeting du 31 mars à Savè pour sceller définitivement un pacte de confiance avec des populations qui ont compris où se trouvent leurs intérêts. Des populations qui sont prêtes et engagées à accompagner le nouveau chef de l'Etat pour la réussite de sa mission républicaine dans la paix, la fraternité et la cohésion sociale.

L'ancien Conseiller technique à la présidence de la République remercie par la même occasion les populations de Kilibo à Savè, en passant par Ouèssè et Kaboua pour avoir répondu favorablement à l'appel du MCA et leur adhésion massive au projet de société du duo WADAGNI-TALATA. Leur mobilisation exceptionnelle pour voter en faveur du Président élu a contribué à la brillante victoire plein d'espoir que tout le peuple célèbre aujourd'hui.

Cette grande victoire à Savè avec des chiffres impressionnants, trouve son explication dans la synergie d'actions entre les partis politiques, les personnalités, les notabilités et plusieurs mouvements, qui n'ont ménagé effort pour faire de Romuald Wadagni, le Président de la continuité.

Parmi ces acteurs, le MCA, très discret dans sa stratégie, s'est illustré par son efficacité et apporté sa contribution à la grande victoire dans cette région du pays, qui a ramé à contre-courant de la dynamique nationale ces dix dernières années.

Après une série de réunions publiques, de rencontres et des débats sur la mobilisation de la majorité silencieuse au profit du Candidat Romuald WADAGNI, le MCA a pris ses quartiers dans la 10e circonscription électorale. Le Mouvement s'y est investi dans la formation de ses membres aux techniques de mobilisation de masse pour réconcilier les électeurs avec les urnes. Objectif : assurer une forte participation au vote, l'acte citoyen principal et démocratique permettant d'exprimer son opinion et de faire un choix. Cette méthode pédagogique et pratique s'est avérée payante au vu des bons résultats observés et du fort taux de participation qui a été enregistré à la satisfaction de tous.

Les résultats de ce scrutin ont montré que les populations de la région de Savè et ses environs ont adopté Romuald Wadagni comme leur fils en qui elles placent beaucoup d'espoir.

L'activiste politique et militant panafricaniste, Kemi Seba a été interpellé dans la matinée de ce mercredi 15 avril 2026 en Afrique du Sud, et sera extradé très bientôt vers le Bénin.

Kemi Seba dans les mailles de la Police sud africaine. Recherché depuis quelques mois par la justice béninoise, il a été interpellé dans la matinée de ce mercredi 15 avril 2026 en Afrique du Sud. Le militant panafricaniste selon une publication de L'Avenir.ci, a été interpellé alors qu'il tentait de quitter le territoire sud africain en direction du Mozambique, avec la complicité d'un réseau russe. Conduit à Pretoria selon le média, il aurait comparu devant une juridiction locale.

Cette première audience a été consacrée à la procédure de son extradition annoncée pour le 20 avril prochain. Au cours de cette audience, Kemi Seba a exprimé sa volonté d'être transféré vers le Niger plutôt qu'au Bénin, son pays d'origine. Une délégation béninoise serait en route pour l'Afrique du Sud suite à son interpellation.
Mis en cause dans le coup d'Etat déjoué du 7 décembre 2025 au Bénin, un mandat d'arrêt international avait été émis contre lui.

Le leader de l'ONG "Urgences panafricanistes" et connu pour ses critiques radicales contre la France et les pouvoirs africains alliés de Paris, a été arrêté lundi, en compagnie d'un fils, pour des "faits présumés de facilitation d'entrée illégale au Zimbabwe via le fleuve Limpopo", selon le communiqué de la police sud-africaine.

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Im neuen Buch «Formel Wahnsinn» erzählt die Blick-Formel-1-Legende Roger Benoit (77) unglaubliche Geschichten. Zehn davon erfährst du hier.

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