Find out more about how UK aid is helping to build flood resistant homes and rebuild schools across Pakistan, following last year's devastating floods.

Video report from the drought-hit region of Turkana in north-west Kenya, where British aid is helping treat malnourished children and mitigate the effects of repeated failed rains through a long term 'hunger safety net' programme.

The world's poorest people will be first hit and hit hardest by climate change. Droughts, floods and famines are already taking their toll.

In view of climate change, the world has a real chance to take a new approach to solving global problems and seizing global opportunities.

As the UN Conference on Climate Change in Durban approaches, DFID continues to concentrate efforts on protecting forests, helping poor countries to adapt to the changing climate and on supporting countries in low carbon development.

These three infographics show some of the action being taken and what results are being achieved.

Read more: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Stories/Features/2011/Forests-food-and-fuel-our-c...

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell has confirmed that the UK will provide new support to the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The GEF provides grants to developing countries for projects related to issues such as biodiversity, climate change and land degradation. As an independent financial organisation uniting governments, international institutions, NGOs and the private sector, the GEF supports projects that both benefit the global environment and promote sustainable livelihoods.

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http://www.dfid.gov.uk

One of the major effects of climate change is unpredictable weather patterns. Over the past years Zambia has been frequently hit by drought and floods and this has posed serious challenges on agriculture, which is a major source of livelihood for most people.

In 2001/02 a severe drought showed how devastating the impact of climate change can be on national and household food security. Nearly half the population of Zambia was affected, largely because preventative measures could not be put in place early enough, and a lack of reliable information meant that relief and recovery responses were delayed and less effective than they could have been. With climate change likely to increase the frequency and severity of droughts and floods in Zambia, more effective ‘Early Warning Systems’ are becoming ever more important.

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http://www.dfid.gov.uk

Like most hill women in the Indian state of Orissa, Pulka Wadeka can’t read or write.

Then again, thanks to five months specialist training funded by UKaid from the Department for International Development, she can set up and operate a solar-powered 12-volt electricity system.

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http://www.dfid.gov.uk

Alfonso Wajuyata lives deep in the Amazon rainforest. Alfonso’s two-storey wooden house is far away from any town or city but every so often the air fills with the drone of heavy traffic. It is the sound of the trucks carrying felled logs to Ecuador’s timber markets. Much of this timber has been cut down illegally.

“Illegal loggers are coming in and chopping down a vast number of trees,” says Alfonso, pointing to gaps which used to be covered in vegetation. “It causes contamination – they spill fuel and throw plastic everywhere. They leave rubbish all over the forest and no-one comes to clean it up.”

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http://www.dfid.gov.uk

Fifty-three-year-old rice farmer Ngo Van Vung, with three sons and four daughters, is head of one of the poorest families in An Lap, in Vietnam’s Bac Giang province. Although they still live in a deteriorating, run-down house, their lives have recently improved greatly – thanks to the fish growing in their rice field just across the road.

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http://www.dfid.gov.uk

In most developing countries agriculture and poverty are closely interlinked.  As a result, changes in public policy and expenditure to agriculture can make a significant contribution to achieving poverty reduction and broader Millennium Development Goals.  This requires a set of public actions and investments to foster broad-based growth in agriculture and other forms of rural enterprise.  This paper reviews recent policy and expenditure reforms in agriculture, what has driven these reforms, and the main areas of debate that are likely to shape future reforms.  

Download the paper (316 KB, DOC)
http://dfid-agriculture-consultation.nri.org

This guidance note is for government and civil society organisations working on disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiatives at community level, in partnership with vulnerable communities.

It shows what a ‘disaster-resilient community’ might consist of, by setting out the many different elements of resilience. It also provides some ideas about how to progress towards resilience.

Download the publication (440 KB, PDF)
http://jtic.org