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The document examines the vulnerabilities of rural indigenous communities in Mexico and Colombia, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and proposes a resilience-based approach to public policy. It details two community projects: one in the Sierra Norte of Puebla, Mexico, focusing on productive strengthening, food security, and community savings; and another in the Guaviare department, Colombia, focusing on ancestral knowledge recovery (chagras), poultry entrepreneurship, and sustainable training. The brief argues that resilience requires delegating decision-making to communities, adopting an intersectional lens to support women and youth, and moving away from paternalistic, assistance-based government models toward long-term productive development.

The document examines the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental crises on women in Latin America and the Caribbean, specifically focusing on socioeconomic gaps, reproductive health, and water scarcity. Through case studies in Puebla (Mexico) and the Valparaíso Region (Chile), it argues for a three-dimensional approach to resilience—community, institutional, and policy-based—to ensure that decarbonization and recovery processes are inclusive and gender-just.

The document examines the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting gaps in economic participation and reproductive health. Through case studies in Mexico (adolescent pregnancy in Puebla) and Chile (community gardens in Concón and water management in Petorca), it argues for a three-dimensional approach to resilience: community, institutional, and public policy. It recommends the transversalization of gender perspectives in government strategies, the generation of gender-disaggregated data, and the strengthening of local female leadership to ensure a just transition toward decarbonization.

The document examines the anti-corruption potential of the Escazú Agreement in Colombia, arguing that its pillars of transparency, public participation, and justice can mitigate the abuse of power for private gain. It details WWF Colombia's work evaluating Decrees 1384 and 1396 (which implement Law 70 of 1993 regarding Afro-Colombian land and resource rights) against these pillars. The research found a pattern of inadequate access to environmental information, leading to recommendations for reforms such as establishing an environmental function within the National Ombudsman's office and improving prior consultation methodologies for ethnic communities.

The African Nature Based Tourism Platform, funded by the Global Environment Facility, is working to mobilize $15 million for tourism-reliant communities and SMEs across 11 countries in eastern and southern Africa. Based on 687 surveys conducted in early 2021, the Platform identified critical vulnerabilities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including severe revenue losses and threats to food and water security. These insights have informed the development of community-led grant proposals focusing on climate-smart agriculture, water security through solar-powered boreholes, and inclusive governance. Specific successful funding mobilizations include a $1.4 million EU grant for governance in Tanzania's Wildlife Management Areas and various projects in Malawi, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Kenya aimed at diversifying livelihoods to reduce reliance on tourism and prevent the unsustainable use of natural resources.

The 2023 Forest Pathways Report by WWF International highlights that the world is off track to meet 2030 goals to halt deforestation, with a 21% divergence from targets in 2022. It identifies a massive funding gap, where approximately US$2.2 billion in annual public forest-positive finance is dwarfed by up to US$1 trillion in environmentally harmful subsidies. The report emphasizes the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, noting that their territories often have lower deforestation rates. It advocates for a shift from single-value carbon offsets to a 'contributions approach' and the repurposing of agricultural subsidies. Case studies from Brazil, Colombia, Gabon, and Australia illustrate specific challenges and successful interventions in forest conservation and restoration.

The Mgundeni community in northern KwaZulu-Natal became the first land reform community in South Africa to sign a voluntary biodiversity stewardship agreement in 2009. In partnership with WWF and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the community has implemented sustainable livestock and vegetable projects, restored 124 ha of land, and adopted rotational grazing and fire management practices. These initiatives led to a significant increase in cattle herd size and a reduction in winter mortality rates, resulting in the community receiving the 2022 WWF Living Planet Award.

The Kimarishe Serengeti solar project, completed in November 2022, provides an off-grid energy solution for a lodge in Serengeti National Park. The installation features a 145.8 kWp solar array and 320 kWh of lithium-ion battery storage, reducing diesel reliance and ensuring 24/7 power for operations such as laundry and water pumps. The project also integrated fiber-based internet and VOIP services to improve connectivity in the remote region.

The DHL Tanzania Solar System, completed in March 2021, consists of a 36.72 kWp solar array and two Fronius Symo 15.0-3-M inverters designed to offset daytime electricity consumption at the Mikocheni office. The system integrates with the national grid and utilizes Fronius Solar Web for real-time remote monitoring of energy production and performance. The installation aims to reduce utility bills, lower carbon emissions, and support DHL's global sustainability targets by reducing reliance on fossil-fuel energy.

The KISIMA project, a partnership between the NGO Oikos East Africa and the company GadgetroniX, replaced inefficient diesel-powered pumps with AC current solar water pumping systems in 11 communities within Tanzania's Manyara Region. The project provided safe and sustainable water access to over 240,000 people, reduced operational costs, and included training for local institutions to ensure long-term water management and climate resilience.

The report argues that renewable energy projects in energy-scarce areas, specifically refugee camps, often overlook the potential to provoke or exacerbate conflict due to unequal energy access. An analysis of 11 projects in Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp reveals that conflict potential is rarely discussed and data on resulting tensions is lacking. The authors recommend local community engagement and stakeholder inclusion to mitigate these risks.

Jamaica developed its first Adaptation Communication (AdCom) starting in July 2021 with support from the NAP Global Network to document adaptation barriers, priorities, and support needs. The process emphasized a people-centered approach and identified synergies between national reporting frameworks and disaster risk management. However, the process faced challenges due to the global pandemic, which necessitated virtual consultations and limited the ability to conduct targeted consultations with vulnerable groups such as children, youth, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The document argues that the AdCom serves as a tool to shift international support from piecemeal projects to strategic programmatic support aligned with Jamaica's national adaptation goals.

The document examines the transition from coal to renewable energy in northwestern China, specifically focusing on Shaanxi province. It argues that because provincial grids are the core units of China's power system planning, customized pathways are necessary based on regional resource endowments and economic structures. The report provides six recommendations for Shaanxi to achieve early carbon peaking, including creating market conditions for renewables, accelerating energy storage, exploring demand-side flexibility, managing the coal power transition, improving interprovincial clean energy exports via HVDC lines, and decoupling economic growth from coal investment.

The Twezimbe Women’s Group in Uganda's Kalungu district adopted a solar power irrigation system to mitigate the impact of drought and unpredictable rainfall on their horticultural projects. Despite initial losses and challenges with land access and pests, the group diversified their crops and established a year-round production cycle to support their catering business. The group now advocates for increased financial support, capacity building for value addition, and gender-sensitive adaptation strategies.

The report examines the role of nature-based infrastructure (NBI) in urban environments, highlighting its cost-effectiveness and climate resilience compared to traditional grey infrastructure. It identifies four key NBI types—urban green spaces, green roofs, stormwater infrastructure, and wetlands and lakes—and argues that incorporating nature into urban planning generates significant societal returns and supports other sustainable infrastructure investments.

The 'Todos al Parque' program in Barranquilla, Colombia, has transformed 258 public spaces since 2011, focusing on the city's most deprived neighborhoods through a co-design process with residents. By increasing green space from 0.86m² to a level where 93% of households are within an 8-minute walk of a park, the initiative has reduced crime, improved public health, and increased tax compliance. The program's success led to the creation of a regional network of 'biodivercities' involving eight Latin American cities and inspired a similar state-level program in the Atlántico Department.

In June 2022, the WTO's 164 members reached a historic agreement to tackle harmful fisheries subsidies, marking the first multilateral trade deal centered on environmental sustainability. The process involved over 20 years of negotiations and was supported by a combination of impartial technical policy advice from the IISD and high-ambition advocacy from The Pew Charitable Trusts. To create external pressure, the 'Stop Funding Overfishing' campaign was launched, eventually gathering 182 signatories, including the World Wildlife Fund and Oceana. The final agreement, adopted at the Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12), includes prohibitions on subsidies for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, fishing of overfished stocks, and fishing on the unregulated high seas. To ensure future progress, the deal includes a clause stating the agreement expires if a more comprehensive deal is not reached within four years of entry into force.

The report argues that open-source planning models allow nonutility stakeholders to challenge utility-led resource plans, potentially identifying lower-cost, cleaner energy pathways. Using the GenX tool to analyze the 2021 resource plan from Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, the authors found opportunities for near-term customer savings. The report recommends that regulators increase data transparency, allow early stakeholder review of assumptions, and reduce cost barriers to modeling tools.

Uruguay employs a sectoral and regional approach to climate adaptation, coordinated by the National Climate Change Response System (SNRCC). The country has implemented sectoral National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) for agriculture, cities and infrastructure, and coastal areas, with additional plans for public health and energy under development. A key priority is reducing vulnerability in coastal zones, where 70% of the population resides, through high-resolution risk mapping and projects like the Adaptation Fund-supported disaster risk reduction in the Uruguay River watershed. The government is currently developing a GIS mapping system to track over 481 climate adaptation projects and an information system to monitor NDC progress using indicators such as gender sensitivity.

The report finds that investments in climate resilient infrastructure (CRI) are in their nascent stages, representing only about 1.1% of average annual infrastructure investment in 2019/20. It proposes a five-principle framework to define and track CRI, though data gaps limited its operationalization to three principles. The study highlights a significant gap between investment and vulnerability, noting no correlation between per capita CRI investment and the ND-GAIN Vulnerability Index. It recommends the adoption of common resilience principles, mandated double materiality disclosures, and the creation of a standardized CRI taxonomy to scale finance.