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The project targets the Luangwa Upper Sub-Catchment in Zambia's Muchinga Province, specifically focusing on the Mafinga Hills National Forest Reserve and surrounding lands. It aims to combat deforestation and land degradation caused by shifting agriculture (chitemene), unsustainable wood collection, and forest fires. The strategy involves improving the management of the Mafinga Hills NFR, establishing a new Water Resource Protection Area (WRPA), and promoting climate-resilient conservation agriculture and community forestry. The project is funded by the GEF and implemented by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment with technical support from WWF.

Togo's revised NDCs aim for a total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction of 50.57% by 2030 compared to a reference scenario, consisting of a 20.51% unconditional target and a 30.06% conditional target. The plan prioritizes the energy, agriculture, forestry, and waste sectors for mitigation, while focusing on food security, water management, and coastal protection for adaptation. Implementing these goals requires an estimated total investment of 5.48 billion USD, with 78% of the funding needed as international conditional support. The document also outlines a national Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system and a communication strategy to increase public awareness and local ownership of climate actions.

The Food Securities Fund, managed by Clarmondial, provides working capital loans to agricultural aggregators in developing markets to promote sustainable land management and climate mitigation. The fund utilizes risk blending, including a USD 37.5 million USAID credit guarantee and USD 15 million from the Global Environment Facility, to attract institutional investors from Europe and the US. In March 2021, the fund began operations with an investment in East African coffee production supporting nearly 4,000 smallholder farmers using regenerative practices.

The study evaluates seven LULC products—CORINE, S2GLC, LUCAS, a LUCAS-based Landsat map, SIOSE, SIGPAC, and a custom Landsat/CORINE map—for the El Mijares watershed. It finds that no single product provides all necessary LULC details, with raster maps showing only 45.5% overall spatial consistency. While CORINE offers the longest time-series, the authors suggest that extending a Landsat/CORINE approach to the full Landsat series is the most suitable for long-term watershed analysis.

The Sustainable Luangwa project aims to secure water resources and biodiversity in the Luangwa Upper Sub-catchment, specifically targeting the Mafinga Hills National Forest Reserve (NFR) and surrounding areas. Classified as a Category B (Medium-risk) project, it implements a safeguards framework to mitigate risks such as elite capture, conflict over land tenure, and restrictions on natural resource access. Key project components include the establishment of a Water Resource Protection Area (WRPA), improved management of the Mafinga Hills NFR, and the promotion of climate-resilient conservation agriculture. The framework mandates participatory processes, including Livelihood Restoration Plans (LRP) for affected persons and a Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) administered by a Project Management Unit (PMU).

The research paper explores the concept of a restoration economy in Africa, focusing on the South African 'Working for Wetlands' programme. It identifies key enablers for success, such as linking restoration to poverty relief and vocational training, while noting constraints like bureaucratic rigidity and over-reliance on public funding. The author argues that for Africa to 'build back better' post-COVID-19, ecological restoration must be integrated into development planning and funded by the production sectors (mining, agriculture, forestry) that impact ecosystems, moving toward a circular economy model.

The evaluation of Burkina Faso's 2015-2020 National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (NAP) found that 67% of planned actions were either completed or in progress, though the average physical completion rate was lower at 49%. While institutional capacity building (Strategic Area 1) saw a 93% completion rate, sectors like housing and infrastructure and cross-cutting areas for women and civil society struggled significantly due to poor resource mobilisation and a lack of institutional leadership. Key physical achievements included the Zagtouli solar power plant and extensive land recovery, but the report highlights critical failures in monitoring, evaluation, and gender-disaggregated data collection.

The evaluation of Burkina Faso's 2015–2020 National Adaptation Plan (NAP) reveals a mixed record of implementation. While 67% of planned actions were either completed or are ongoing, the overall physical realization rate stands at 49%. Success was highest in the livestock (75%) and water (84%) sectors, while gender-related and civil society actions saw 0% completion due to a lack of institutional leadership. Key barriers included insufficient financial resource mobilization, security instability, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The report recommends strengthening institutional accountability, improving resource mobilization strategies, and better integrating gender and civil society into future adaptation frameworks.

The project in Myanmar’s Upper Chindwin Basin aims to protect Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and support sustainable livelihoods. It addresses threats such as commercial mining, logging, and overfishing through the development of Community Action Plans (CAP) and the implementation of sustainable land and water management practices.

The project aims to establish two connectivity corridors in the Ecuadorian Amazon to combat habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss. It focuses on the Putumayo-Aguarico and Palora-Pastaza landscapes, targeting the creation of 50,000 hectares of new protected areas. The strategy involves promoting Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in agricultural areas, strengthening bioeconomy initiatives for indigenous and local communities, and creating multi-level governance platforms to integrate connectivity into territorial planning. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with a total cost of $6,423,853 and significant co-financing from the Ecuadorian government and international partners.

The Sustainable Landscape Finance Coalition, a partnership between WWF South Africa and Wilderness Foundation Africa, employs a four-stage 'Finance Solution Approach' to bridge the funding gap for biodiversity and landscape conservation. The Coalition has launched six incubators investigating tools such as biodiversity tax incentives, carbon payments, and green bonds, while scaling existing successes like the Section 37D tax deduction, which is projected to release R1.4 billion into protected areas by 2026.

The Republic of Chad is seeking a second GCF readiness grant to address gaps in climate finance mobilization. The proposal focuses on four main outcomes: strengthening the institutional capacity of the National Designated Authority (NDA), updating the national GCF website, operationalizing the No-Objection Procedure (NOP), and establishing a Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) tool for climate finance flows. Additionally, it aims to update the Chad Country Programme and develop at least three high-quality project concept notes in sectors such as agriculture, water, and fisheries. A significant component of the request is the mobilization of the private sector through a landscape analysis and a call for project ideas to reduce the country's climate investment deficit.

The review examines six key ASEAN guidelines, including those on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), crop insurance, responsible investment, public-private partnerships, and gender mainstreaming. It finds that while these guidelines often lack documented evidence of national-level implementation due to ASEAN's non-binding governance and lack of funding, they serve as critical tools for regional consensus and multilateral policy-making, such as submissions to the UNFCCC. The report recommends moving toward more strategic, intersectoral policy-making, improving the accessibility and readability of documents, and pairing guidelines with concrete implementation plans and monitoring frameworks.

The 2020 assessment of Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) finds that global progress in forest governance remains slow, with weak legal frameworks and limited enforcement continuing to drive deforestation. While some countries have implemented positive measures—such as Indonesia's permanent Forest and Peatland Moratorium and the regional Pacto de Leticia in the Amazon—these are offset by deregulation in countries like Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. The report highlights a critical gap in land tenure, noting that only about half of the lands customarily held by Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are legally recognized. Furthermore, violence against environmental defenders reached a record high in 2019, with 212 killings reported globally.

The Budget Justice Coalition (BJC) argues that South Africa's National Treasury has implemented a regressive austerity budget since 2012, prioritising debt reduction over essential social spending. This approach has led to systemic underinvestment in health, education, and social security, which the BJC claims was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report, 'Imali Yesizwe', advocates for a transition to a human rights-based budget that focuses on progressive tax reform, the introduction of a Universal Basic Income Grant (UBIG), and increased investment in the care economy and clean energy. It specifically criticises the use of Zero Based Budgeting (ZBB) as a tool for cuts and calls for greater fiscal transparency and public participation in the budgeting process to ensure the progressive realisation of constitutional rights.

The project proposes a USD 45 million intervention to restore 50,648 hectares of degraded land and support land-based enterprises in four Kenyan counties. It aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 7.1 million tCO2eq and benefit 57,250 direct beneficiaries through climate-smart agriculture, reforestation, and the creation of 25,000 green jobs. The initiative focuses on three main components: enhancing climate-smart land practices, transforming rural livelihoods via green enterprises, and improving policy and climate information systems.

The ESMF provides the guidelines, legal frameworks, and procedural requirements for managing environmental and social risks for a GEF-funded project in Ecuador's Amazon. It focuses on establishing connectivity corridors in the Putumayo-Aguarico and Palora-Pastaza landscapes, ensuring the protection of biodiversity and the rights of indigenous peoples through Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).

The ESMF provides a structured approach to managing risks for a conservation project in eastern Mongolia, focusing on land management, biodiversity, and community livelihoods. It outlines mitigation measures for environmental risks like soil erosion and social risks such as access restrictions to natural resources, while ensuring compliance with FAO and WWF safeguards.

The Regional Programme for Sustainable Land Management and Strengthening the Resilience of Rural Communities and Ecosystems to Climate Change in the Liptako-Gourma Region (ALG) seeks to address severe drought, soil erosion, and water scarcity affecting approximately 16 million people across Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. With an indicative total cost of USD 43,556,466, the programme focuses on achieving land degradation neutrality, diversifying rural incomes through off-season agriculture and non-timber forest products, and overcoming financial and institutional barriers to sustainable land management. The initiative is led by the Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD) as the accredited entity and the Liptako-Gourma Authority (ALG) as the executing entity.

The document examines the link between community land tenure and global sustainability goals, highlighting that while indigenous and rural communities manage over 50% of the world's land, only 10% is legally recognized. It presents evidence that secure tenure reduces deforestation and carbon emissions more cheaply than technological carbon capture. The author calls for legal reforms, simplified formalization procedures, and a more equitable playing field between communities and corporations to protect these critical carbon sinks and support rural livelihoods.