By investing in coastal ecosystems, companies can reduce costs, improve operations including employee retention, generate financial gains, or enhance their reputation, write Ignace Beguin Billecocq and Tibor Vegh for the UNFCCC's Race to Resilience website.

Led by Lydia Olander, a project to study the socioeconomic impacts of ecosystem restoration was among 20 projects awarded a combined $2.3 million by the NOAA RESTORE Science Program to scope and design research that will inform future decisions on how to manage natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Ashley National Forest has implemented and refined novel approaches to evaluate ecosystem services in a pilot project with Forest Service Research and Development, the Washington Office, Duke University and Environmental Management and Planning Solutions, Inc. as part of the forest plan revision process.

In a commentary for the SDG Knowledge Hub, the Nicholas Institute's Tibor Vegh and FAO's Kenichi Shono write about the benefits of mangrove conservation and restoration in small island developing states and what can be done to reverse mangrove loss in these countries.

The Nicholas Institute is applying the expertise of its professionals to rapidly evolving environmental and energy issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read four stories about how Nicholas Institute projects are meeting the moment.

Duke hosted The Coming Storm conference for journalists, policymakers, and community leaders to hear about ways to make North Carolina communities more resilient to hurricanes. The group of experts who spoke at the conference included Tim Profeta, director of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, and Lydia Olander, the Nicholas Institute's Ecosystem Services Program director.

America's nearly 1.3 million square miles of forests absorb about 15 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions annually, storing carbon in growing trees, ecosystems, and wood products. By maintaining and expanding this forest carbon "sink," America can reduce greenhouse gas emissions more effectively and for less money, write Robert Bonnie, a Duke University Rubenstein fellow and former undersecretary of Natural Resources and Environment at USDA, and Jad Daley, president and CEO of American Forests, in an op-ed for The Hill.

Throughout April, the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University hosted Dr. Paul Bolger, manager of the Environmental Research Institute at University College Cork in Ireland. Bolger is a 2019 Fulbright Irish Scholar who is investigating how interdisciplinary approaches are being utilized at four American universities—Duke, Arizona State, Columbia, and Cornell—to address global sustainability challenges.

The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University has awarded funding to six research projects for Fiscal Year 2019–20 through the institute's Catalyst Program.

Now in its third year, the Catalyst Program aims to build on the Nicholas Institute’s mission by increasing engagement with Duke faculty to incubate and advance new partnerships, enhance policy-relevant knowledge, and create innovative policy solutions based on new creative synergies.

The nexus between changing environmental conditions and health outcomes is not well understood by many businesses. To break down this barrier, the United Nations Global Compact's "Health is Everyone’s Business" action platform, which facilitates collaboration between companies, has made the case for integrating health and environmental solutions one of its priorities.