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The Asia-Pacific region holds vast natural resources—including some of the most productive and bio-diverse lands, oceans, water, and materials—which are key to providing ecosystem services, supporting livelihoods, and building climate resilience. However, these natural assets are facing enormous human pressure, including anthropogenic climate change, unsustainable consumption and production, and other risk factors which are increasingly threatening human and environmental health and wellbeing.

There is an urgent need to safeguard nature. This requires an integrated approach to land and sea management, strategizing the use of nature-based solutions, addressing the food-energy-water nexus, and promoting One Health. Human health and well-being should be at the core of these nature-positive policy efforts to ensure just, equitable and sustainable futures.

The Environment and Development Division’s work in this area focuses on protecting our ocean, and promoting sustainable food systems, and cross-cutting themes including water management and the environment-health nexus and One Health, .