The Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, is undergoing a rare transformation as an El Niño event brings exceptional rainfall, triggering the desert bloom. This short-lived phenomenon reawakens dormant ecosystems and offers a powerful lesson in resilience. By studying species like Cistanthe longiscapa, researchers are uncovering drought-resistant traits that can improve crop tolerance in a warming world.
The Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, is undergoing a rare transformation as an El Niño event brings exceptional rainfall, triggering the desert bloom. This short-lived phenomenon reawakens dormant ecosystems and offers a powerful lesson in resilience. By studying species like Cistanthe longiscapa, researchers are uncovering drought-resistant traits that can improve crop tolerance in a warming world.
In an increasingly stressed world, cities can either amplify pressure or offer relief. Thoughtful urban design that includes greenery, walkability, social spaces, and access to light can turn dense environments into places of calm and connection. As urban populations grow, designing for mental wellbeing isn’t a luxury but a necessity for healthier, more liveable cities.
In hyper-arid environments, resilience begins at the smallest scale – the seed. Saudi Arabia’s new seed-based restoration programmes signal a shift from reactive land management to proactive ecological renewal. They also offer lessons for how urban development, cultural investment, and ecological systems must grow together if sustainable cities are to take root.
Cities are shaped as much by light as they are by stone and steel. Yet in today’s urban environments, natural sunlight is rarely treated as a design priority. Streets overheat where asphalt traps solar radiation, buildings block daylight from reaching public spaces, and artificial lighting disrupts both wildlife and human health. The result is not just discomfort, but higher rates of chronic disease, rising energy costs, and ecosystems under stress.
Why Life Is Better with a Little More Green? As cities grow denser and hotter, science points to one clear remedy: green space. Here’s what science says about how greenery sustains our bodies and cities.
Saudi Green Initiative Day highlights large-scale environmental action—10 billion trees, 278 million tonnes of emissions reduced annually, and 30% of land and sea protected by 2030.
As cities in arid climates face rising temperatures, water scarcity, and air pollution, afforestation emerges as a powerful solution. Green Riyadh—one of the world’s most ambitious urban greening projects—is transforming the Saudi capital with 7.5 million trees, cooling the city, improving air quality, and enhancing urban livability.
Nature is now a financial risk—Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund is leading a market shift, proving that investing in nature is an economic necessity.
The report draws attention to the critical role cities play as drivers of the global economy and underscores the untapped potential of nature-based solutions to address challenges such as ageing infrastructure, water security, and public health.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Commission on Nature-Positive Cities, of which Impact One is a member, releases the Nature Positive: Leaders’ Insights for the Transition in Cities report.
After signing the Davos Baukultur Alliance in June 2023, Impact One returns to the Annual Meeting alongside public and private sector stakeholders to improve the planning, construction, and management of buildings, infrastructure, public spaces, and landscapes.
A new article co-authored by Mikolaj Sekutowicz, CEO of Impact One, discusses how amidst challenges lies a solution: by integrating green-blue infrastructure into a city’s fabric.
A framework for cities to understand and discuss how to rehabilitate nature in the urban context.
From 28-29 April 2024, the Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development will be held by the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Through the partnership with AxessImpact, Impact One expands on its mission to establish sustainable business models for ecosystem preservation and restoration, evaluating ecosystem services beyond carbon removal. This includes the development of new and innovative impact certificates that aim to recognise the value of indigenous communities’ stewardship of their ecosystems, and guarantee the highest standards of accountability and impact of environmental credits.
Leading neurobiologist and professor at the University of Florence, Stefano Mancuso, presents his exhibition The Nation of Plants at the Doha Expo in Qatar. In collaboration with Red Joint Films and Balich Wonder Studio, the exhibition presents solutions for a better future. CEO of Impact One, Mikolaj Sekutowicz, visited the exhibition, guided by Stefano Mancuso himself.
Among his many scientific achievements, Mancuso has demonstrated the crucial impact that plants have, not only on planetary health, but also on our own cognitive skills and healing processes. Plants represent the oldest and most advanced life form that has ever existed. They have continued to support and sustain the lives of all other species.
Winds of Yawanawa, the first-of-its-kind artwork series co-created by Refik Anadol and the Yawanawa and commissioned by Impact One, was put on display to an international audience of the world’s leading figures at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2024.
Refik Anadol, Sense of Healing: AI Data Sculpture A, AURORA Evening of Discovery, July 2022 Refik Anadol’s project, Sense of Healing, stands at the forefront of the intersection between art and science, an area offering transformative possibilities for healing. As holistic approaches to mental and emotional health gain increasing focus, this AI-driven data sculpture, commissioned by Ikona, a cultural impact venture under Impact One, merges neuroscience, art, and advanced technology to create a multisensory experience scientifically proven to enhance relaxation and wellbeing. Refik Anadol, Sense of Healing: AI Data Sculpture A Sense of Healing is a software-based artwork that emerges from Refik Anadol Studio’s long-term research into creating meditative art based on neurological data. Using cutting-edge visualisation tools, the artwork addresses fundamental questions about the brain’s architecture through datasets gathered via EEG sensors, fMRI, and DTI imaging techniques. The artwork’s aim
On COP’s first ever designated Health Day, the Arts, Health & Climate Panel explored the role of the arts in translating the science of climate change, and its impact on human and planetary health.
The Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum (BPCF) was COP28’s multi stakeholder engagement platform dedicated to driving cross-sectoral advancements towards achieving net zero and nature-positive goals. On 2 December 2023, presenting the session “Unlocking the Trillion Dollar Economy” Impact One highlighted the need to redefine the way in which ecosystems are valued economically. With no system in place that correctly values and consequently protects ecosystem services, the session brought together leading experts in the financial and environmental sectors, to call for a collaborative, global push towards ecosystem protection and regeneration led by those who steward the planet’s most vital ecosystems.
