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The analysis finds that current bioeconomy transitions in Brazil, India, and Indonesia often promote unjust production systems that benefit agribusiness while marginalizing traditional communities and local populations.

The document discusses the 'brownfield to brightfield' transition, where contaminated or abandoned mine sites are transformed into renewable energy hubs. It highlights the benefits of this practice, such as mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and turning financial liabilities into economic opportunities. The report specifically details the SunMine solar farm in British Columbia and a wind park converted from a coal mine in Ruhr, Germany, noting that former mine sites are often ideal for such projects due to existing proximity to power lines and the land-clearing nature of the remediation process.

The Jordan Cove Energy Project, a proposed 229-mile pipeline intended to transport fracked gas from Canada for export as LNG via Coos Bay, Oregon, was withdrawn by the company Pembina. The cancellation followed significant grassroots opposition, including lobbying of officials like Representative Peter DeFazio and Senator Ron Wyden, participation in the Climate Strike Week of Action, and the submission of 25,000 member signatures to elected officials.

The report analyzes Investment Dispute Prevention and Management Agencies (DPMAs), which are government bodies designed to prevent or manage investor-state disputes. It critiques the assumptions of international institutions—such as the World Bank and UNCTAD—that promote DPMAs, arguing that these bodies often overlook the tension between public interests and investor rights. The authors propose a four-part typology (Aftercare, Treaty Compliance, Litigation Management, and Administrative Review) and provide case studies from seven countries, including South Korea, Brazil, and Peru, to illustrate how these agencies function in practice.

The document examines the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, highlighting increased job losses, food insecurity, and health vulnerabilities. Through case studies in Zimbabwe, Peru, and the Philippines, it demonstrates how pandemic-related restrictions and market disruptions reinforced gender pay gaps and marginalization. The brief argues for the adoption of rapid gender assessments, gender-disaggregated data analysis, and gender-responsive budgeting to ensure inclusive recovery and structural reform in the ASM sector.

The document argues that COVID-19 exacerbated pre-existing gender inequalities in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, disproportionately affecting women through job losses, reduced incomes, and increased vulnerability to gender-based violence. Using case studies from Zimbabwe, Peru, and the Philippines, it highlights how women's roles—often considered 'peripheral' or informal—left them without government support and increased their domestic burdens. The brief recommends the adoption of rapid gender analyses, sex-disaggregated data collection, and gender-responsive budgeting to create emergency and long-term structural reforms that protect marginalized women in the mining sector.

The briefing analyzes the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya and the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail (HSR) in Indonesia, finding that both projects suffered from poor environmental mitigation, problematic land acquisition, and governance failures. It argues that weak recipient institutions in the Global South compound the reputational and material risks for Chinese contractors.

The report finds that most agreements between Sámi reindeer herding districts and developers in Sweden provide limited benefits and introduce significant risks, often reflecting 'manufactured consent' due to a lack of alternatives. While some agreements include protections for reindeer wellbeing or revenue sharing, many contain harmful clauses such as 'gag orders' (confidentiality) and open consent for undefined projects, particularly in the wind power sector. The authors argue that Sámi districts should broaden their negotiation goals beyond simple economic compensation to include veto rights and project closure conditions, drawing on examples from Australia and Canada.

The document argues that collaborative social accountability—focused on dialogue, trust-building, and inclusive participation—is often more effective than confrontational or purely legal anti-corruption approaches in NRM. Through case studies in Uganda, Nepal, and Vietnam, it demonstrates that empowering marginalized groups, utilizing ICT for monitoring, and conducting political economy analyses can increase state responsiveness and reduce illegal resource extraction.

Laos is highly vulnerable to climate change but has low per capita emissions, with the transport sector being the primary source of CO2. While the government has set ambitious goals to increase forest cover to 70% and expand hydropower, these policies risk negatively impacting the livelihoods of the 70% of the population working in agriculture and forestry. The report identifies significant barriers to a just transition, including low awareness of the concept among policymakers, limited governmental capacity, data gaps, and a heavy reliance on external financing. It recommends improving cross-governmental coordination, enhancing data collection, and establishing participatory mechanisms to engage poor and marginalised communities in climate planning to ensure equitable benefit-sharing.

The report examines the intersection of climate change mitigation and social equity in Laos. While the country has low emissions and high hydropower capacity, its climate goals—such as increasing forest cover to 70%—risk harming the 70% of the population dependent on agriculture and forestry. The document argues that a 'just transition' requires inclusive planning, benefit-sharing mechanisms, and improved government capacity to prevent the further marginalization of poor and vulnerable communities.

The report examines how a 'just transition'—ensuring the costs of moving to low-carbon societies are fairly distributed—can be applied in the Global South. Through studies in nine countries, it identifies systemic barriers such as high rates of informal labour, insecure land tenure, and a lack of socio-economic data. It argues that international climate finance is currently too focused on technical transitions and must be broadened to support the social and economic needs of affected communities, including re-skilling and social safety nets.

The document details a partnership between Tradewinds, a parasol manufacturer, and Mors Design, an upcycling initiative, facilitated by WISP. By repurposing textile offcuts that were previously destined for landfill, Mors Design created a new product line of 'Brollie bags', reducing waste disposal costs for Tradewinds and increasing revenue and artisan employment for Mors Design.

The document outlines the mitigation hierarchy (avoidance, minimization, rehabilitation, and offsets) as a tool for mining companies to achieve no net loss or a net positive impact on biodiversity. It provides detailed case studies of the Mako gold project in Senegal and the Öksüt gold mine in Turkey, demonstrating how baseline studies and strategic planning can reduce ecological footprints and support national conservation goals.

The document outlines a framework for managing the environmental impacts of mining through the 'mitigation hierarchy'—avoid, minimize, rehabilitate, and offset. It provides detailed case studies of the Mako Gold project in Senegal and the Öksüt gold mine in Turkey to illustrate how these principles can be applied to protect priority species and habitats, such as western chimpanzees and the Irano-Anatolian steppe, while aligning with international standards and national policies.

The document outlines a framework for integrating biodiversity protection into mining governance through the 'mitigation hierarchy' (avoidance, minimization, rehabilitation, and compensation). It provides detailed case studies of the Mako gold project in Senegal and the Öksüt gold mine in Turkey to demonstrate how these principles can be applied to achieve 'no net loss' or a 'net gain' of biodiversity. The text also offers guidance for governments on developing national biodiversity policies and institutional frameworks to oversee mining impacts.

The Golden Pride Mine (GPM) in Tanzania, operated by Resolute Mining Limited from 1998 to 2013, serves as a model for inclusive mine closure. The process integrated early community engagement via Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), progressive reclamation of land into Miombo woodlands, and the creation of a pit lake to provide a sustainable water source for local agriculture. While the site was successfully transitioned to the Mineral Resources Institute for training purposes, the 2022 status report indicates ongoing challenges with illegal small-scale mining and vegetation harvesting. The document recommends that governments mandate early engagement, adaptable land-use plans, and the establishment of multidisciplinary closure committees.

The document details the closure process of the Golden Pride Mine (GPM) in Tanzania, operated by Resolute Mining Limited from 1998 to 2013. It emphasizes a multifaceted approach to closure that integrated Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) to align land-use decisions with community needs, such as water security. Key technical achievements include progressive revegetation of miombo forests and the conversion of the open pit into a lake for irrigation and livestock. The study also addresses the challenges of illegal small-scale mining and provides policy recommendations for governments on early engagement, adaptable land-use planning, and the establishment of multidisciplinary closure committees.

The document examines how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing gender inequalities in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector globally, with a focus on women's disproportionate loss of income, increased food insecurity, and limited access to healthcare. Through case studies in Zimbabwe, Peru, and the Philippines, it illustrates how women's roles—often classified as 'secondary'—led to higher layoff rates and exclusion from government aid. The brief argues for a three-tiered policy approach: emergency rapid gender assessments, short-term resilience measures based on gender-disaggregated data, and long-term structural reforms including gender-responsive budgeting and formalization of the sector.

The document explores the 'brownfield to brightfield' transition, where contaminated or abandoned mine sites are repurposed for renewable energy. It highlights two primary examples: the SunMine solar project in Kimberley, BC, and the Windpark Hünxe in Ruhr, Germany. Both cases demonstrate how utilizing former mining land can reduce financial liabilities, leverage existing electrical infrastructure, and provide community economic benefits while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.