Over a period of just ten years, Mozambique has lost more than half of its elephants to poaching. Then the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) launched a series of counter-offensives aimed at protecting biodiversity, with support from AFD and Peace Park Foundation. It's the theme of a brand new podcast.

Mobility and reliable transportation are essential for people's access to employment and essential services. They're also key ingredients for cities and the wider economy to function. AFD Group has made this issue a major part of its work in the Western Balkans.

Increasingly, governments, the private sector, civil society and international cooperation are investing in the bioeconomy – a range of economic activities that tap into our biodiversity. It’s an alternative and more sustainable route to development, more in tune with the fight against deforestation, desertification and ecosystem degradation. During this week’s COP15 conference on desertification, which concludes on May 20 in Abidjan, AFD Group celebrates the first anniversary of its bioeconomy technical assistance project on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The project in Ecuador has just received an additional €1 million. We interview the Technical Assistance Coordinator there, Pablo Larco.

UNESCO is holding the World Higher Education Conference in Barcelona May 18-20, as part of an effort to "reshape ideas and practices" in higher education "to ensure sustainable development for the planet and humanity." AFD Group's CEO Rémy Rioux sees it as a chance to reiterate the call for climate change and the environment to be fully integrated into education.

Tunisia is preparing a project for the Green Climate Fund, which will promote climate-resilient agriculture and increase smallholder farmers’ incomes. With COP15 against desertification in full swing in Abidjan from 9 to 20 May, Tunisia’s Director General of Agricultural Land Development tells us about a project supported by AFD Group and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.