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Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has grown rapidly, with 40.5 million people directly engaged by 2017, often as a poverty-reduction strategy. While ASM provides a significant portion of global gold, sapphire, diamond, tantalum, and tin supplies, it is characterized by high informality (70-80%) and severe environmental and health risks, most notably the release of approximately 1,400 tonnes of mercury annually. The document advocates for inclusive formalization, the use of ethical certification schemes, and cooperation between ASM and large-scale mining (LSM) to improve sustainability and livelihoods.

The document details the activities of Vietnamese rubber companies HAGL and VRG in Cambodia and Laos, alleging systemic land grabbing, illegal deforestation, and human rights abuses. It highlights the role of international financiers, including Deutsche Bank and the IFC, in supporting these operations and calls for urgent government and financial interventions to stop illegal concessions and hold the companies accountable.

The document assesses the state of education in Sub-Saharan Africa, noting that while progress toward Universal Primary Education (UPE) has been made, the region is unlikely to achieve this goal by 2150 at current rates. It highlights a critical lack of resources, with a need for 1 to 2 billion dollars in immediate support and an additional 3 million teachers. The report emphasizes that primary education must be complemented by secondary education, as only 25% of primary graduates currently enroll in secondary school. Key barriers identified include gender inequality, where 60% of girls in Sub-Saharan Africa were out of school in 2002, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which forces children to leave school to care for sick parents. The document calls for urgent curriculum reform, increased teacher salaries, and a 'zero tolerance' approach to corruption to ensure education leads to genuine economic growth.

The document argues that measuring on-farm food loss is a low-cost, resource-efficient process that provides growers with data to improve operational efficiency and identify new markets for edible but unmarketable produce. Based on a 2021 pilot with seven growers in the US, it highlights that food loss is often driven by strict retail specifications, labor costs, and market dynamics. The SISC Food Loss Metric tool allows growers to categorize unharvested crops as marketable, edible but not marketable, or inedible, with the sampling process taking approximately one hour for two people. The report concludes that while growers see the value in this data, systemic change requires buyers and policymakers to create financial incentives and new sales channels for 'ugly' or surplus produce.

The management plan for Nepal's Eastern Himalaya Landscape (EHL) aims to protect snow leopard populations and their ecosystems against climate change and anthropogenic threats. It identifies 11 critical conservation sites and sets a goal to secure at least 100 breeding-age snow leopards by 2020. The plan is structured for implementation in two phases from 2017 to 2026, focusing on climate resilience, livelihood security, and transboundary cooperation.