In order for REDD+ programs to be truly effective, communities must take ownership of the process to address deforestation and forest degradation. Accordingly, it is crucial that these programs involve women and indigenous groups in sustainable forest management efforts. This article will discuss the need to build the capacity of both men and women, in domestication techniques and the use of indigenous knowledge systems, to address climate change and its affect on communities. In doing so, international development organizations can better address the issue of sustainable forest management, and ensure that all community members benefit from the results of these mechanisms. Read more

Integra LLC is pleased to announce that it has been awarded an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract for USAID’s Restoring the Environment through Prosperity, Livelihoods and Conserving Ecosystems (REPLACE). This five-year, multi-award contract with an overall ceiling price of $700,000,000 will provide technical services to USAID Missions and operating units to improve the sustainable, long-term management of natural resources.  Read more

Featured in ICT Update’s Q&A entitled “Broadband Strategies”, Eric White answers some commonly asked, but seldom answered questions about providing connectivity to rural areas, business models that support it, and current trends in ICT policy.  Read more

Under USAID’s GBI Program, Integra has initiated work with Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communication and the Fondo de Inversion Telecommunicaciones (FITEL), to evaluate and address the gaps in connectivity throughout the country’s rural areas. The collaboration is designed to provide an investment strategy for the use of approximately $44 million in universal service funds to provide Internet connectivity for USAID Peru’s target beneficiaries in jungle regions East of the Andes Mountains. Read more

On July 23, 2013, at a high profile event in Nairobi attended by the US Ambassador, Kenya became only the second country in Africa to launch an elaborate National Broadband Strategy (NBS). They did so with support from the US Government, and in particular with technical assistance provided from USAID’s Global Broadband and Innovations (GBI) Program. Read more …