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In response to the 2019 'megafire' in the Chiquitano Forest, which burned approximately 3.6 million hectares, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) developed a pilot framework to help Bolivian policymakers use watersheds as the primary management unit for land and water planning. The framework combines remote sensing data on land use and fire from 2001 to 2019 with watershed maps and water-related indicators, such as groundwater recharge areas, to identify vulnerable zones. While current restoration plans in the Santa Cruz Department focus on socio-economic and governance actions, they lack water resource components. SEI's tool distinguishes between fires in intact forests versus those in areas already converted to agriculture and identifies northern Chiquitania as having the highest groundwater recharge potential. Future work involves adding criteria like ecosystem relevance and population size, and developing a regional-scale model using the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) tool to quantify the hydrological impacts of forest cover loss.

The document describes a two-part methodology: first, using a "bathtub model" combining Digital Elevation Models, tidal gauge data, and NOAA sea level rise projections to map future 100-year-flood zones; second, performing a buffer analysis around 9,689 Superfund sites to determine if people of color and low-income households are disproportionately located near sites at risk of flooding.

The report finds that 1.61 billion children lived in conflict-affected countries in 2019, with 426 million residing in specific conflict zones (within 50 km of fighting). Africa has the highest absolute number of affected children, while the Middle East has the highest proportional share. The number of children in conflict zones has generally increased since the 1990s, with millions exposed to continuous conflict throughout their childhood.

The report details the implementation of a low-cost sensor network to monitor air quality in Acre, Brazil, finding that many municipalities frequently exceeded WHO safety limits for PM2.5, primarily during the dry season months of August and September.

The PRIO Conflict Recurrence Database reveals that approximately half of all conflict episodes between 1989 and 2018 recurred, often driven by the same or overlapping grievances. The analysis indicates that while actors may change—with new groups emerging or alliances forming—the underlying issues frequently persist, suggesting that peacebuilding efforts often fail to address the root causes of violence. The data shows a high frequency of rapid recurrence, with 90% of recurring conflicts returning within eight years.

The study evaluates the relationship between three drought indicators and communal conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa (1989-2014) using multilevel logistic regression. It finds that while all three measures are positively associated with conflict, the strength of the relationship increases as the measure moves from meteorological (SPEI) to agricultural (NDVI) and finally to socio-economic (EM-DAT) impacts. Specifically, socio-economic droughts approximately double the odds of experiencing violent conflict. However, the author notes that the NDVI effect may be driven by spatial correlation—where conflicts and vegetation loss occur in the same land types—rather than a direct temporal causal link. The study concludes that preventing meteorological droughts from escalating into socio-economic disasters could potentially reduce communal conflict risks.

The report identifies that 76% of Sidhi district's land area (over 363,000 hectares) has potential for landscape restoration through eight specific tree-based interventions. These include assisted natural regeneration, agri-horti-forestry (wadi), and trees on boundaries. Implementation could generate 3.75 million person-days of wage employment, resulting in INR 710 million in income, and sequester 7 million metric tons of carbon over 10–20 years. However, significant barriers exist, including insecure land tenure, poor market access, and a lack of technical knowledge. The authors recommend establishing 'accelerators' in policy, knowledge, technology, and business to coordinate stakeholders and scale restoration efforts.

The 2020 Plowprint Report finds that between 2014 and 2018, grasslands in the Great Plains were tilled at an average rate of four football fields per minute. In 2018, approximately 2.1 million acres were converted across the U.S. and Canada, though this was offset by a 2 million acre increase in perennial cover. Wheat is the primary driver of conversion in the Northern Great Plains, while corn and soy dominate conversion across the U.S. The report also introduces a new analysis of northern Mexico's grasslands and updates its tracking methodology to improve spatial resolution and accuracy.

The research analyzes the relationship between satellite-based law enforcement (DETER) and the growth of secondary vegetation in the Brazilian Amazon from 2004 to 2014. It finds that increased enforcement in a cell's neighborhood significantly increases the probability and area of forest regeneration, supporting a 'deterrence channel' where illegal land use is abandoned. The study suggests that improving monitoring systems to detect secondary vegetation could further increase forest cover.

This briefing describes the use of open spatial data to identify environmental 'hotspots' in Manitoba to optimize the allocation of limited resources for water quality, sustainable agriculture, and carbon sequestration.

The briefing identifies three specific water-quality hotspots in Manitoba based on 2016 Census of Agriculture data: the Southwest Red River Valley (high fertilizer application), Southwestern Manitoba (high conservation tillage), and the Southeast Red River Valley (high non-incorporated manure application). It argues that spatial targeting of natural infrastructure, such as engineered wetlands, and beneficial management practices can maximize the efficiency of public investments to reduce nutrient runoff into Lake Winnipeg.

The Mpumalanga Provincial Spatial Development Framework proposes a polycentric growth management model to address apartheid-era spatial imbalances and promote sustainable economic diversification. It identifies five key economic growth and innovation centres—Mbombela, Emalahleni, Middleburg, Secunda, and Ermelo—and a network of alternative growth centres to decentralise economic activity. The framework emphasises enhancing connectivity via the N4 Maputo Corridor and other strategic routes, protecting high-potential agricultural land and biodiversity, and transitioning the province's coal-dependent economy toward low-carbon and climate-resilient alternatives. It also outlines strategies for urban densification, the development of sustainable human settlements, and the creation of Rural Economic Zones (REZ) to transform rural livelihoods.

The report analyzes Mpumalanga's spatial status, identifying a resource-rich province dominated by coal mining and agriculture but facing severe environmental degradation and infrastructure backlogs. Key findings highlight that while the province is a national energy hub, it suffers from poor air quality in the Highveld, critical water scarcity, and significant housing shortages. The analysis emphasizes the need for urban restructuring, agrarian transformation in rural areas, and the protection of strategic water source areas and biodiversity corridors against mining encroachment.

The report examines the adoption of no-till farming, tractors, and fertilizers in Brazil from 2006 to 2017. It finds that while no-till farming has become more spatially decentralized, tractor use has become more concentrated in wealthy, urbanized regions, and fertilizer use has increased without a clear spatial pattern.

The report identifies three distinct patterns of agricultural technology adoption in Brazil from 2006 to 2017. The Direct Planting System (DPS) is converging, becoming more widespread across the country. Tractor use is diverging, with increased concentration in wealthier, urbanized regions of the South and Southeast. Fertilizer use has increased overall but lacks a clear spatial pattern, with growth scattered across diverse regions including the Cerrado and Caatinga.

The research finds that protected territories in the Brazilian Amazon effectively shield the vegetation within their boundaries from advancing deforestation, particularly in high-risk contexts. However, this protection does not reduce the overall level of deforestation in the region; instead, it appears to deflect clearing activities to unprotected areas. The shielding effect is most pronounced in protected areas for sustainable use and decreases as proximity to transport infrastructure increases.

The authors created the CACAO database, which uses a 110x110 km grid to map conflicts, climate data, and socio-economic variables across Africa. Initial descriptive analysis shows that conflicts often overlap with areas rich in natural resources and populated regions, while the relationship with temperature and precipitation changes is more complex and requires further spatial and temporal analysis.

The report defines and maps 22 national Strategic Water Source Areas for surface water (SWSA-sw) and 37 for groundwater (SWSA-gw) in South Africa, including transboundary areas in Lesotho and Swaziland. It links these areas to major urban centres and agricultural sectors, highlighting that a small percentage of land provides a disproportionate amount of the region's water. The study identifies significant threats from invasive alien plants, mining, and land degradation, and recommends integrating SWSAs into national policy, legislation, and spatial planning to ensure long-term water security.

This policy brief develops a metric for 'convenient access' to public transit by combining spatial (distance to stop) and temporal (bus frequency) data. Applying this to Winnipeg, the analysis finds that only 53% of the population has convenient access during peak hours. It further demonstrates that proposed cuts to 22 bus routes would have resulted in 5.6% of residents losing convenient access and 5.54% losing all access to transit. The brief argues that such quantitative monitoring is essential for informing sustainable urban development and evaluating the impact of policy changes on ridership.

The report finds that while voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) are increasingly adopted in key agricultural sectors, they remain a marginal force globally, covering less than 1% of global agricultural area as of 2014. VSSs show strong alignment with habitat conservation, with 87% prohibiting production on recently converted forestland, but are poorly equipped to address climate change, with no standards requiring strict GHG emission reductions. The analysis reveals that standards typically mandate practices rather than performance outcomes, and their impact is often limited by a reliance on developed-country demand and a tendency to be adopted where compliance is least costly. The report suggests five policy options, including supporting biodiversity-driven implementation and developing integrated data systems, to better leverage VSSs for biodiversity protection.