News

Foreign direct investment remains stable in least developed countries, but contracts severely in landlocked developing nations and small island developing states.

An UNCTAD report analyses this group of vulnerable nations in the wake of the pandemic, which is estimated to have led to a dramatic fall in their GDPs, especially in those that depend highly on tourism.

Unsustainable trade is behind the biodiversity crisis threatening our existence. But done sustainably, international commerce can help protect our planet’s precious resources.

The sustainable use and trade of indigenous plants has created valuable economic opportunities for 2,500 Namibian women and their communities.

By Rachid Bouhia, Economist, UNCTAD, and Emily Wilkinson, Researcher, ODI

By Dona Bertarelli, UNCTAD Special Adviser for the Blue Economy

By Isabelle Durant, Acting Secretary-General of UNCTAD

Guidelines to help governments, companies and consumers benefit from sustainable trade in precious plants and animals now include elements such as climate resilience and marine biodiversity.

The island nation seeks to overcome the challenges on its development path to sustain the spectacular economic growth it has achieved in recent years.

Despite setbacks due to repeated natural disasters, the island nation has enjoyed steady economic growth since the mid-2000s.