Submitting guest blogs is open to Global Washington’s members of the Atlas level and above. We value a diversity of opinions on a broad range of subjects of interest to the global health and development community.
Blog article submissions should be 500-1500 words. Photos, graphs, videos, and other art that supports the main themes are strongly encouraged.
You may not be the best writer, and that’s okay. We can help you shape and edit your contribution. The most important thing is that it furthers an important conversation in your field, and that it is relatively jargon-free. Anyone without a background in global development should still be able to engage with your ideas.
If you include statistics or reference current research, please hyperlink your sources in the text, wherever possible.
Have an idea of what you’d like to write about? Let’s continue the conversation! Email comms@globalWA.org and put “Blog Idea” in the subject line.
Partnerships are key to driving large-scale investment in the world’s natural capital
by Seth Olson, Analyst, Innovation
In 2014, Credit Suisse released a groundbreaking report that called attention to the 250-350 billion dollar funding gap in the conservation of natural resources. Several entrepreneurs, impact investors, and donor organizations reframed this gap as an opportunity. They began driving capital toward conservation and regenerative enterprises in their communities and across the globe.
Five years later, the growth of the conservation finance industry has led to better data analysis—and more sophisticated models. Organizations are realizing that they can amplify their impact by working together, rather than trying to take deals from start to finish on their own. Moving forward, it is partnerships that will accelerate the conservation finance industry’s growth.
On Thursday, June 11, 2019, the World Affairs Council of Seattle hosted an event to highlight the alarming increase in wildlife poaching and trafficking of illegal animal products globally. With spokespersons from University of Washington, Vulcan, Woodland Park Zoo and the Port of Seattle, the event gave a sense of the scale of the challenge, as well as what local organizations are doing to address it.
As a community partner to WAC Seattle, Global Washington supported the event and distributed copies of a new issue brief with specifics about organizations that have ties to Washington state and are working at the intersection of wildlife conservation and human development.
The event opened with a lively presentation by Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Detective Lauren Wendt, together with her partner, a Labrador retriever named Benny, who helps track down smugglers of illegal wildlife products. Together Detective Wendt and K9 Officer Benny patrol the state’s ports of entry to shut down illegal trafficking operations.
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Detective Lauren Wendt with her K9 partner, Benny.
Health is one of the most critical parts of the Sustainable Development Goals to which all governments and agencies across the globe have committed to achieving by 2030. Women and girls are an important part of health programs and services, as they are not just consumers of services but also a part of service delivery. Health programs have been built on universal principles and frameworks, with the aim of reaching the maximum number of individuals. But sometimes these programs are more focused on reproduction and maternal health, including service delivery, and neglect to include women and girls as individuals, or acknowledge their personal agency. This critical aspect should be an integral part of ideating, planning, policy-making, programming and implementation. Continue Reading
