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The research examines the 'mixed reception' of Mozambican refugees in South Africa, arguing that despite ethnic solidarity and eventual legal amnesties, former refugees remained a marginalized underclass. It details how the apartheid government's refusal to grant refugee status ghettoized arrivals in homelands like Gazankulu, creating a vulnerable labour pool. The document highlights a three-tiered agricultural labour market in the lowveld where undocumented migrants were exploited as 'spare chaps' with minimal pay. It further critiques the UNHCR's flawed repatriation programme and suggests that a deep-seated xenophobic impulse in South African society continues to render permanent residents 'de facto undocumented' in practice.

The document examines two distinct waves of forced migration to South Africa: Mozambicans fleeing civil war in the 1980s and Congolese migrants arriving from the 1990s. It highlights a persistent gap between the legal rights granted to refugees and the social reality of their reception, characterized by economic marginalization and xenophobia. Mozambican refugees, primarily rural peasants, were often ghettoized in homelands like Gazankulu and exploited as low-wage agricultural labor. Congolese migrants, typically urban and middle-class, face significant social dislocation, with many highly educated professionals relegated to survivalist roles such as car guarding and street vending. In both cases, the author argues that state officials and local communities often ignore formal legal statuses, maintaining the migrants' de facto 'illegal' status to sustain cheap labor markets or satisfy xenophobic impulses.

The document examines the gap between Burundi's political progress toward democratic elections and the lagging implementation of socio-economic reconstruction outlined in Protocol IV of the Arusha Accords. It highlights critical failures in land tenure reform, the repatriation of refugees, and the support of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The author argues that extreme poverty, unequal resource distribution, and a reliance on short-term humanitarian aid rather than long-term development create a risk of relapse into conflict. Specific challenges include a crippling external debt burden, gender-based violence, and the potential for 'disaster capitalism' to undermine local land rights during the reconstruction process.

The document analyzes the complex relationship between African diasporas and their homelands, contrasting historical forced migrations (the slave trade) with modern voluntary and forced migration. It investigates how migrants influence homeland politics through opposition movements, lobbying, and voting, while highlighting the critical economic role of remittances, particularly for island micro-states and enclaves like Cape Verde, Comores, and Lesotho. The author notes that while diasporas can provide essential financial support, they are often viewed with suspicion by authoritarian regimes and internal political actors.

The report identifies Mali as highly vulnerable to environmental and climatic stresses, particularly droughts and floods, which exacerbate poverty and food insecurity. It highlights that vulnerability is shaped by regional disparities, social hierarchies, and health crises like HIV/AIDS. Environmental degradation, driven by deforestation and unsustainable agricultural expansion (especially cotton), further reduces the resilience of rural populations. The document argues for integrated strategies to reduce vulnerability, focusing on income diversification, improved water and sanitation, and targeted support for the most marginalized groups, including women and children.

The document examines the 'entangling crisis' of food insecurity and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa. It argues that while environmental triggers like drought cause immediate shortages, the severity of these crises is rooted in structural issues, including the removal of agricultural subsidies, the impact of EU agricultural dumping, and the depletion of agricultural labour due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The report calls for a shift from reactive food aid to integrated long-term agricultural investment and improved governance to build community resilience.

The report examines the shrimp industry in Bangladesh, focusing on the tension between international food safety standards (SPS/HACCP) and sustainable production. It finds that while processing plants have complied with these standards, small-scale farmers lack the resources to do so, creating a risk that the industry will shift toward environmentally damaging intensive farming to reduce costs and risks. The author suggests that improving management and training for extensive farmers is a more sustainable alternative to intensification.

The report examines the business relationship between South Africa and Nigeria, highlighting the opportunities presented by Nigeria's large market and the significant hurdles faced by investors. Key challenges include systemic corruption, poor infrastructure—particularly in the power sector—and a lack of policy predictability. While the report notes that the return to democracy in 1999 and the introduction of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) have improved the investment climate, it emphasizes that Nigeria remains a high-risk environment. The document also details the specific impact of South African firms like MTN and the broader economic landscape, including the dominance of the oil and gas sector and the emerging 'new economy' driven by the Nigerian diaspora.

The report examines 'village demining' in Cambodia, where locals use basic tools to clear land for survival. It contrasts this with professional humanitarian mine action, which prioritizes absolute safety and standardized procedures. The author argues that professional agencies often ignore the relative risks—such as starvation and landlessness—that compel villagers to clear mines. The document recommends a paradigm shift toward community-oriented strategies, including the use of mobile quick-response teams and the integration of mine action with broader development and land-titling initiatives to reduce the vulnerabilities that make village demining necessary.

The document examines mine action in Southern Africa, focusing on the transition from emergency de-mining to sustainable development. It highlights the role of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Ottawa Convention, while providing detailed case studies on Mozambique's impact surveys and Angola's operational challenges. The report argues that mine action should be treated as a core development activity rather than a stand-alone technical task, recommending better coordination, national capacity-building, and the use of socio-economic impact surveys to prioritize resources.

The document highlights Somalia's significant superhot rock geothermal resources, noting that just 1% of this endowment could provide 241 GW of energy capacity. It argues that this technology could replace Somalia's current reliance on expensive diesel generators, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and lower electricity costs, which were approximately USD 1.0 per kWh in Mogadishu as of 2020. Additionally, the report emphasizes the low land-use footprint of superhot rock geothermal compared to other energy sources and its potential to create jobs and attract foreign investment.

This report presents the Environmental Management Framework (EMF) and Strategic Environmental Management Plan (SEMP) for the Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Local Municipality (PKISLM) in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Developed by SRK Consulting and BKS, the document provides a spatial and descriptive analysis of the region's environmental attributes—including biodiversity, water resources, and geology—to guide sustainable land-use planning and decision-making. It integrates legal frameworks, stakeholder recommendations, and socio-economic data to establish environmental management zones that balance development with the conservation of critical ecosystems, particularly the grassland biome and various wetland systems.

The Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa (MEJCON-SA) and Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) have lodged an appeal to the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to set aside an environmental authorisation (EA) granted by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on 09 May 2025 to Tetra4 (Pty) Ltd. The EA allows Tetra4 to extend its production right to incorporate 18 additional wells across 80 farm portions in the Free State Province. The appellants argue that Tetra4 used a Basic Assessment Report (BAR) process under section 102 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) to circumvent a previous ministerial order from 01 August 2024, which had set aside a larger 'Cluster 2' expansion due to inadequate climate and groundwater assessments.

The Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme Local Municipality's Spatial Development Framework (SDF) 2020 provides a long-term spatial vision to transform the region's apartheid-era layout into a sustainable, integrated environment. The plan identifies a nodal hierarchy with Volksrust and Vukuzakhe as primary nodes, and Amersfoort, Perdekop, and Wakkerstroom as secondary nodes, with Daggakraal as a rural node. Key strategies focus on densification to prevent urban sprawl, the protection of high-potential agricultural land, and the development of tourism, particularly in the Wakkerstroom wetland area. The framework also addresses critical infrastructure backlogs, projecting a need for 10,234 additional housing units by 2040 and significant increases in water and electricity demand. Environmental management is central, with specific guidelines to protect biodiversity and mitigate climate change through 'green infrastructure' and eco-friendly building materials.

The document outlines the systemic health impacts of the fossil fuel life cycle, emphasizing that pollution affects individuals from fetal development through old age. It highlights the disproportionate burden on marginalized communities and calls for an immediate end to fossil fuel expansion, the elimination of subsidies, and the adoption of a 'polluter-pays' principle to fund a health-centered transition to renewable energy.

The document details how fossil fuel production and combustion cause systemic health damage from fetal development through old age, disproportionately affecting marginalized populations in 'sacrifice zones'. It highlights that global fossil fuel subsidies reached an estimated US$ 7 trillion in 2022, including US$ 5.7 trillion in implicit subsidies representing unaccounted social and health costs. The report advocates for a 'just transition' that includes ending new fossil fuel projects, internalizing health costs via the 'polluter pays' principle, and redirecting financial resources toward renewable energy and public health infrastructure.

The report 'Cradle to Grave' details how fossil fuel production, transport, and combustion cause systemic health harms across all life stages, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. It maps specific toxicants to health outcomes, analyzes the compounding risks of climate change on fossil fuel infrastructure, and documents societal harms including human rights abuses and economic instability. The document concludes with a framework for a health-focused just transition and policy recommendations to end fossil fuel exploration, subsidies, and finance.

The report 'De la cuna a la tumba' (From Cradle to Grave) details how fossil fuel production and use cause systemic health damage across all human life stages, from fetal development to old age. It highlights the disproportionate burden on marginalized communities and indigenous peoples, who often live in 'sacrifice zones.' The document maps specific health risks associated with extraction, refining, transport, and combustion, while also addressing the social disruptions and human rights violations linked to the industry. It concludes with a set of policy recommendations to end fossil fuel exploration, eliminate subsidies, and internalize health costs under the 'polluter pays' principle to achieve a just energy transition.

The document details the lack of state regulation for coal ash disposal in Arizona, noting that the state does not require liners, groundwater monitoring, or dam inspections despite having 58 ponds. It identifies documented groundwater contamination at the Cholla and Coronado plants and argues that coal ash dumps disproportionately affect vulnerable communities, with 20 percent of nearby residents living below the poverty line.

The report details the environmental and public health impacts of waste incinerators in New Jersey, specifically highlighting how these facilities are located in low-income communities of color. It provides data on air pollution emissions and permit violations, criticizes the use of renewable energy subsidies for incineration, and proposes a policy framework to phase out incinerators in favor of zero-waste strategies.