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The guidebook introduces a systems-based approach to the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus, arguing that agricultural investments are most sustainable when they protect underlying environmental determinants and social capital. It proposes a four-stage operational process: assessing the current WEF security system, envisioning future landscape scenarios, developing a specific investment strategy, and transforming the system through implementation and adaptive management. The framework emphasizes the use of watershed-scale analysis, stakeholder engagement, and quantitative modeling to identify synergies and trade-offs, ensuring that investments do not harm tenure rights or ecosystem services.

The report evaluates 30 companies on their palm oil sourcing policies, finding that while some leaders like Nestlé and Unilever have strong commitments, many others rely on inadequate RSPO standards or have no commitments at all. It highlights the severe climate impact of palm oil production, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia, where peatland drainage and forest clearing release massive amounts of carbon dioxide. The authors argue for a new industry standard requiring traceable, deforestation-free, and peat-free palm oil to protect biodiversity and mitigate global warming.

The report evaluates the impact of the Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP), a consortium of Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and WWF-US, funded by USAID. The program focused on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM), and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) across Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. Key achievements include the improved management of over 11 million hectares of marine and coastal areas, the adoption of over 100 policies, and the training of over 10,000 individuals. The report highlights the necessity of regional-scale management for transboundary marine resources but notes challenges such as political instability, weak enforcement capacity, and telecommunications gaps. It concludes that sustainable ocean governance requires government leadership, community engagement, and integrated ecosystem-based approaches.

The report examines the five-year campaign by the Save Mapungubwe Coalition to protect the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site from the Vele Colliery project operated by Coal of Africa (CoAL). It analyzes three primary engagement strategies: strategic litigation to challenge mining licenses, bilateral negotiations to establish best-practice environmental standards, and multilateral participation in the Vele Colliery Environmental Management Committee (EMC). The document concludes that while litigation and negotiations have limitations, they provide essential leverage, and that inclusive multi-stakeholder governance via EMCs can effectively monitor corporate compliance. It also highlights the correlation between CoAL's non-compliance with environmental laws and the decline of its JSE share price.

The document presents a systematic framework for evaluating supply security risks related to sustainability at both national and corporate levels in China. It defines risk through the interaction of domestic vulnerability and exposure with foreign supply hazards, including sustainability issues and national environments. The methodology employs a scoring system (0-3) across indicators of economic importance, vulnerability, and loss exposure to identify 'hotspots' in supply chains. The report concludes with five policy recommendations for the Chinese government to improve supply chain risk management, including capacity building for embassies, alignment with international standards, and the integration of sustainability into green procurement.

The paper analyzes the mandate of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) through a six-part analytic framework: who is reviewed, by whom, about what, through what process, by what standards, and with what effects. Drawing on case studies such as the OECD Environmental Performance Review and the WTO Trade Policy Review, the authors argue that effective review processes are typically country-owned and based on peer reciprocity. They highlight the challenge of measuring 'impact' versus 'effort' and the need for standardized reporting to ensure data comparability. The document concludes that the HLPF mechanism should be flexible, resource-matched, and open to innovative approaches to avoid becoming an undue burden on developing countries.

The report identifies China as highly vulnerable to copper supply disruptions due to its heavy reliance on imports, particularly from Chile, Australia, and Peru. It highlights significant sustainability risks associated with copper mining, including high greenhouse gas emissions, energy intensity, and social conflicts. To mitigate these risks, the document recommends that the Chinese government strengthen the capacity of its embassies, engage with international sustainability standards, explore fiscal incentives, and integrate green procurement criteria into public policy.

The report uses the IISD Supply Risk Tool to analyze China's copper supply chain, finding high vulnerability due to heavy reliance on a few major producers like Chile, Peru, and Australia. It identifies resource nationalism and environmental/social governance (ESG) issues—specifically greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, and labor rights—as critical risks that could disrupt supply. The document recommends that the Chinese government enhance the capacity of its embassies, align with international standards, and integrate supply chain sustainability into green procurement and national planning.

The report introduces the IISD Supply Risk Tool, a framework designed to identify 'hot spots' where social and environmental hazards in foreign supply chains threaten the security of supply for Chinese enterprises and the national economy. It defines supply risk as a combination of demand-side factors (economic importance and vulnerability) and supply-side hazards (country environment and producer sustainability). The methodology uses a scoring system (0-3) to calculate hazard loss exposure and overall supply risk, which was piloted using copper and palm oil supply chains. The authors argue that China lacks a central government mandate to manage its international import footprint and recommend policy steps including strengthening embassy capabilities, engaging with international standards, and integrating sustainability into green public procurement.

The report identifies China as highly vulnerable to palm oil supply disruptions due to its 98% import dependence and the concentration of production in Malaysia and Indonesia. It highlights critical sustainability risks, particularly deforestation, biodiversity loss, and greenhouse gas emissions, which pose both reputational risks to enterprises and systemic risks to national supply security. The document recommends five policy steps for the Chinese government, including building embassy capabilities, engaging with international standards, exploring fiscal incentives, implementing green public procurement, and integrating supply chain risk into corporate social responsibility guidelines.

The report critiques the draft EU Regulation on Access and Benefit Sharing, highlighting concerns over its temporal scope, the potential for 'regressive' interpretations of sovereign rights, and a 'light touch' administrative approach that may fail to ensure effective compliance with the Nagoya Protocol.

Friends of the Earth opposes the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act (HR 3830/S 1900), arguing that its 'Fast Track' authority would shift power from Congress to the executive branch and rush the approval of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The organization contends that these agreements would allow corporations to sue governments for the costs of complying with environmental regulations and could undermine climate measures, such as efforts to block the Keystone XL pipeline or fossil fuel export terminals. Additionally, the document warns that the agreements could inhibit the use of the 'precautionary principle' regarding toxic chemicals and food safety, and potentially lead to the privatization of nature through patents on plants and animals.

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) opposes the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) system, whether market-based or publicly funded. FoEI argues that REDD treats forests as mere carbon stocks, which ignores their social and cultural value and creates perverse incentives for deforestation. The document highlights risks such as the criminalization of traditional forest management, the displacement of communities, and the failure of carbon offsets to permanently reduce emissions. Instead of financial incentives, FoEI proposes strengthening the land rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, supporting collective forest management, and demanding that industrialized nations reduce fossil fuel emissions without relying on offsets.

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) argues that REDD schemes, whether market-based or publicly funded, fail to address the root causes of climate change and risk harming the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. FoEI contends that REDD commodifies forests, reduces them to 'carbon stocks', and creates perverse incentives for deforestation while enabling industrialized nations to avoid direct emission reductions through offsets. The organization advocates for the recognition of communal land rights and the empowerment of forest-dependent populations as the only effective means of forest conservation.

The IAI activities plan for 2014-2015 focuses on institutional restructuring, the monitoring of CRN3 projects, and the leadership of the Latin American Future Earth Network. Key initiatives include a training event in Panama, the closure of a MacArthur Foundation project on Andean biodiversity, and participation in IPBES and UNFCCC processes, including planned events for the CoP in Lima.

The 2014 SAIIA Young Leaders Declaration outlines youth-led recommendations for the Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on economic inclusivity, environmental protection, and social equity in South Africa and globally.

The document assesses the socio-economic analysis (SMA) methodologies used by four Baltic Sea nations to meet the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. It identifies discrepancies in baseline scenario development and analytical approaches—specifically between ecosystem services and marine accounting—and provides evidence from case studies in Estonia and Latvia regarding public willingness to pay for environmental improvements. The brief recommends a combined qualitative and quantitative approach to measure the cost-effectiveness of new policy measures and emphasizes the need for cross-border coordination to close 'policy gaps' in marine protection.

The document analyzes the socio-economic complexity of agricultural-forest frontiers, specifically in the Brazilian Amazon, where a diverse mix of actors—from subsistence smallholders to large-scale commercial farms—compete for resources. It argues that 'one-size-fits-all' policies are ineffective and recommends tailored interventions that account for the different capacities and responsibilities of these actors. The brief highlights both the risks of actor diversity, such as land displacement and increased inequality driven by soy expansion, and the opportunities for collective action, citing the success of the zero-deforestation pact in Paragominas.

The document describes a methodology developed by SEI for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to evaluate the coherence and effectiveness of national implementation of MEA clusters. Tested in Estonia and Tanzania on four biodiversity-related agreements, the methodology uses 15 governance categories to score performance as 'strong', 'moderate', or 'weak'. Findings indicate the tool is useful and relatively easy to apply, though outcomes are harder to trace than processes, and the methodology may require adaptation to specific national contexts.

The CLEANED framework provides a participatory, rapid assessment tool for evaluating the environmental footprints of livestock and aquaculture interventions across the entire value chain. It focuses on four main impact categories: water availability and quality, soil and land health, biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emissions. Designed for use in developing countries, the tool combines public global datasets with local participatory GIS data to provide scores (adverse, positive, or static) for specific spatial units. A pilot application in Tanzania's dairy sector demonstrated the tool's ability to visualize how increased milk demand could expand fodder production areas.