The International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, formally opened in November 2000, provides a mechanism for accessing satellite data to help respond to natural disasters.

If a disaster strikes, authorised users can call a single number and request any and all participating satellites to collect data over the affected area.

The charter's website publishes a list of participating space agencies and organisations as well as information on all disasters that have activated the charter, including high resolution images of the resulting satellite data.

The International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2ie) is a research and training institute specialising in water, energy and the environment. It provides educational facilities to develop research capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship on the African continent, focusing on water and environmental management; solar energy and biofuels; eco-material; and civil engineering. The 2ie website publishes information on available courses including how to apply and admission requirements, as well as upcoming conferences and workshops, jobs and internships, and access to online libraries.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) aims to find research-based solutions for hunger, malnutrition, and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the development needs of tropical countries in the region. It works with partners towards enhancing the quality and productivity of crops such as cowpea, cassava and maize; reducing the risks facing producers and consumers; and growing financial gains from agriculture. Its website publishes information on current research programmes, reports, news, press releases and events, as well as a blog about applications of the research, development news and conference proceedings.

IPGRI is an international research institute for the conservation and use of plant genetic resources, and is a centre of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). It operates within the framework of three programmes and 20 multidisciplinary projects, which support regional networks, assist capacity-building efforts, develop methods for measuring genetic diversity and more. Click here for information on training support and online training materials.

International Rice Functional Genomics Consortium was formed in 2003 following publication of draft sequences of two rice subtypes by the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project. The Consortium will facilitate research in the post-sequencing "functional genomics" era. Objectives include establishing an integrated online network of rice functional genomics databases. The Consortium includes member institutes in China and India, as well as the International Rice Research Institute and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture.

This website publishes information on the Joint Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology, which provides a mechanism for technical experts to coordinate ocean and marine data, combining expertise from the World Meteorological Organisation and UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. The organisation develops and oversees standards and procedures for monitoring and responds to users' needs for information and capacity building. The website contains useful guides and reports on these topics, including an online catalogue of practices and standards, and a handbook that aims to help guide sustainable coastal and marine development.

The Millennium Promise is a non-profit organisation, founded in 2005 by philanthropist and business leader Ray Chambers and economist Jeffrey D. Sachs, committed to supporting efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to halve extreme poverty by 2015. It oversees the Millennium Villages project, which helps integrate social and business development services to meet the basic needs of more than 500,000 people living in rural areas across ten Sub-Saharan African countries.

The website provides information on their work, which covers the areas of health and nutrition; agriculture and environment; gender equality; business development; education; and infrastructure. It highlights progress towards the MDGs, success stories and toolkits, and publishes a blog, press releases, news, videos, links to useful resources, as well as information on how to get involved.

This is a single page of links to agriculture and environment-related information, hosted by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. When it comes to land degradation, the organisation is mostly concerned with developing numerical indicators in areas such as biological diversity, soil erosion, and farm management.

The Packard Foundation provides grants to non-profit organisations in the areas of: conservation and science; population; and children, families, and communities. In recent years the foundation has awarded some US$200 million annually in grants. Click here for more information on the foundation's funding programmes.

The Stockholm Environment Institute is an international not-for-profit research organisation that aims to promote sustainable development through scientific analysis that supports decision-making on the national and international level. It focuses on four broad themes: reducing climate risks; managing land, water and air resources; improving governance; and developing new visions and pathways to development. The website provides free access to the institute's publications, describes current projects and links to useful modelling or policy tools such as LEAP (the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning system) and IPAT-S.