Sustainable Development

Love the Planet.
Protect People and Their Livelihoods.

Advancing the right of people living in poverty to adequate and sustainable livelihoods is a cornerstone of the International Peace Alliance’s work.

As demand for natural resources grows, climate change intensifies pressure on land, water, forests, and energy systems. Powerful interests often compete for control over the very resources that poor and vulnerable communities depend on for survival.

IPA works to ensure that sustainable development and climate justice are not abstract goals, but lived realities — especially for those most at risk.

IPA's Three Pillars for Sustainable Development

Through a growing network of partners, communities, and institutions, IPA advances new solutions, collaborations, and knowledge-sharing by focusing on three interconnected areas:

Building resilience and fighting the climate crisis

Protecting land rights and natural resources

Supporting small-scale farmers and workers

The Reality in Numbers

821 million

People around the world face chronic food deprivation, returning to levels from almost a decade ago.

20 million

In 2017, over 20 million people in East Africa alone were on the brink of starvation and in need of humanitarian assistance linked to climate-driven crises.

Less than 5%

For products like Ecuadorian bananas or Indian tea, less than 5% of the retail price paid by consumers in Europe and North America reaches small-scale farmers.

100 - 150 million

The World Food Programme estimates that giving women farmers more resources could reduce the number of hungry people by 100–150 million.

1/5

Indigenous Peoples and local communities legally own only one-fifth of the lands they manage and have protected for generations.

Building Resilience and Fighting Climate Change

IPA’s strategy for resilience to the climate crisis provides a broad framework for inclusive humanitarian and development trajectories focused on the poorest of the poor, in four priority areas:

Smallholder agriculture
Water and natural resources
Urban resilience
Ecosystem and landscape management

To this end, IPA promotes and applies science-based and evidence-based methodologies for its sustainable development projects. We advocate a multidisciplinary approach that integrates:

Conservation science
Environmental law
Social sciences
Economic, political, and cultural realities

This ensures that climate resilience is grounded in local context and global best practice.

Protecting Land Rights and Natural Resources

IPA supports communities and peoples in their struggle to defend:

Their land and territories
Their right to life-sustaining resources
Their protection against pollution and environmental degradation

We advocate for fairer laws, public policies, and governance systems at national and global levels.

IPA’s work also focuses on the conservation of areas with high ecological value — including primary forests and low-impact zones — using a holistic approach that emphasizes:

The “sanctuarization” of critical ecosystems
Preservation of biodiversity
Respect for Indigenous and local stewardship

Supporting Small-Scale Farmers and Workers

Climate change has serious implications for food production and food security. Evidence from many countries shows that investment in small-scale farming, particularly women farmers, is one of the most effective ways to:

Increase food production
Reduce hunger
Strengthen local economies
Reduce poverty

Together with its partners, IPA helps to:

Make small farms more productive through sustainable techniques;
Support farmers to organize in cooperatives and producer organizations;
Advocate for public investment in small-scale agriculture;
Promote the right to dignified work in food value chains.