A map of the evidence of climate change and biodiversity interventions on environmental and human outcomes in L&MICs

Climate change and biodiversity loss are interconnected crises, with feedback loops that can exacerbate both issues. Low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs) are disproportionately affected by both crises as livelihoods in these countries often depend on local natural, animal, and plant resources. They also face greater exposure to changing environmental conditions and to more frequent and severe negative shocks. The severity of these two crises, the possible irreversible changes that they bring, and the limited resources to tackle these issues underscore the crucial need for evidence-informed action.

Evidence Gap Maps (EGMs) provide a structured overview of the state of the evidence and easy access to individual studies to inform policy, programming and research decisions. Leveraging and connecting related resources and previous synthesis efforts, we will present the findings of a systematic search and categorisation of impact evaluations and systematic reviews of climate change and biodiversity interventions implemented in L&MICs. Based on the latest strategic and policy papers around climate change and biodiversity, the EGM covers interventions focused on mitigation, adaptation, protection, conservation, and restoration across four natural systems and productive activities – land and forests, agriculture and livestock, coasts and oceans, and aquaculture and fisheries – and includes evaluations reporting environmental and human outcomes.

We will summarise the main characteristics of the evidence and identify primary evidence and synthesis gaps to guide future research and investments in the climate and biodiversity space.