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The policy brief argues that market discount rates are unsuitable for evaluating long-term environmental impacts and proposes the 'equivalency principle' to determine social discount rates. This principle assumes that undeveloped and developed land of identical attributes should provide equal utility to future generations. Using a case study of a proposed seaport in Pasaia, Basque Country, the authors demonstrate that applying this principle results in lower, site-specific discount rates (between 0.96% and 3%) that would lead to the rejection of the project, whereas a market rate of 11% would justify it in some scenarios.

The report identifies Belize's tourism sector as highly vulnerable to climate change, particularly due to its reliance on the Belize Barrier Reef and coastal assets. It details the risks posed by rising sea temperatures, sea level rise, and intense storms, while providing a comprehensive portfolio of technical, managerial, and policy adaptation options to build resilience.

The document outlines the observed and projected climate impacts in Latin America, emphasizing the need for integrated adaptation and low-carbon development to protect economic growth and human security.

The document investigates the expansion of the oil palm industry in Palawan, operated primarily by Palawan Palm & Vegetable Oil Mills, Inc. (PPVOMI) and Agumil Philippines, Inc. (AGPI). It finds that while promoted as an economic opportunity, the industry has led to significant grievances, including contractual deception of smallholder cooperatives, land dispossession of indigenous peoples, and illegal encroachment into protected forestlands. The study highlights a failure in institutional oversight, noting that environmental clearances were often obtained after project initiation and that the legal framework fails to distribute liability fairly, leaving smallholders with most of the financial risk. It concludes with ten recommendations to strengthen corporate accountability, including contract revision, stricter government 'gatekeeping', and the promotion of RSPO certification.

The African elephant exhibits resilience due to its generalist diet and large population, but is vulnerable to high temperatures, disease, and a critical dependence on fresh water. Climate change is projected to increase heat extremes and create erratic rainfall patterns across sub-Saharan Africa, potentially exacerbating existing threats like poaching and human-elephant conflict. Recommended conservation priorities include securing water sources, maintaining connected habitats, and supporting human adaptation to reduce encroachment.

The report argues that feeding a projected global population of 9 billion by 2050 requires 'sustainable intensification'—producing more food with fewer resources to 'freeze the footprint of food'. Based on expert interviews, it identifies key opportunities in precision agriculture, soil health, genetics, and waste recovery. It highlights the US dairy industry as a potential leader in demonstrating closed-loop systems, particularly through the use of anaerobic digesters to convert manure into renewable energy. The document emphasizes that while incremental improvements are necessary, breakthroughs in technology and data sharing, supported by public and private investment, are essential for systemic change.

The Living Planet Report 2014 highlights a critical decline in global vertebrate populations and an ecological overshoot where humanity requires 1.5 Earths to sustain its current consumption. It emphasizes the interdependence of food, water, and energy security with healthy ecosystems and proposes a 'One Planet Perspective' to align human development with planetary boundaries.

The report by Friends of the Earth International analyzes how water is being transformed from a common good into a financial asset through corporate capture, international trade agreements, and extractive projects. It provides case studies from various regions—including Palestine, Australia, Sri Lanka, the US, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, Switzerland, England, Mozambique, Mexico, and El Salvador—to illustrate the social and environmental impacts of this trend. The document concludes that the 'financialization' of water allows transnational agents to speculate on natural resources, often with the complicity of states, and advocates for the recognition of water as a common good managed through community-led and public systems.

The report finds that while a majority of Texans (70%) believe global warming is occurring, fewer than half (44%) attribute it primarily to human activities. There is high consensus among those who believe in global warming regarding future negative impacts in Texas, specifically heat waves (95%) and water shortages (92%). Additionally, a majority of respondents believe that government officials, citizens, and corporations should all do more to address the issue.

The document is a letter from Bikash Rath of the Regional Centre for Development Cooperation to World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim. It demands the withdrawal of International Finance Corporation (IFC) funding from the Tata Mundra - Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd. (CGPL) 4000 MW coal power project in Gujarat, India. The author alleges that the project has caused massive social and environmental damage, including the depletion of groundwater, destruction of mangroves, and severe health impacts on local communities, while failing to conduct proper impact assessments or consult affected fishing and pastoralist groups.

The report describes a 'ecological Nakba' in the West Bank, where Israeli occupation manifests through the systematic appropriation of land and water, the dumping of toxic and nuclear waste, and the establishment of polluting industries in 'closed zones'. It highlights how environmental protection is used as a tool for land seizure, specifically in areas like Wadi Qana, and details the severe disparity in water access between Palestinian communities and Israeli settlements.

The report details how the Israeli occupation of the West Bank manifests as an 'environmental Nakba,' involving the systematic expropriation of land and water, the dumping of toxic and nuclear waste, and the establishment of polluting industries in 'seam zones.' It highlights specific cases such as the villages of Kafr Dik and Om Elkheir, and the Wadi Qana nature reserve, to illustrate how environmental degradation and 'green washing' are used to displace Palestinians and facilitate settlement expansion.

The report details how Japanese trading companies import timber from Sarawak, Malaysia, where illegal logging and corruption are widespread. It highlights specific cases involving companies like Samling and Rimbunan-Sons, noting that only 5% of Sarawak's primary forest remains. The document criticizes the Japanese government's limited measures compared to the US, EU, and Australia, and urges Japan to mandate supply chain due diligence and ban illegal timber imports to protect global biodiversity and climate stability.

The document advocates for a 'nexus' approach to land management to address the conflict between the need for increased agricultural productivity and the reality of land degradation. It highlights that while 24% of global land is degraded, a significant portion is improving through restoration. The proposed nexus approach seeks to move beyond the narrow goal of maximizing yields to reduce tradeoffs and build synergies between water, energy, food, and climate regulation.

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is a massive engineering effort to divert water from Lesotho to South Africa's Gauteng province while providing Lesotho with hydroelectric power. While technically successful and economically significant for diversifying Lesotho's revenue, the project has been marred by corruption, inadequate community compensation, and unforeseen environmental stresses. Recent droughts and climate change have increased risks of water scarcity and food insecurity in Lesotho, highlighting the need for adaptive management and better benefit-sharing between the two nations.

The saola, a rare bovid discovered in 1992, is facing a high risk of extinction due to intensive commercial hunting using wire snares and habitat fragmentation caused by infrastructure projects like the Ho Chi Minh Highway. While conservation efforts including forest patrols, the creation of protected area corridors, and DNA analysis of leeches are underway, the report emphasizes that the species' survival depends on stronger law enforcement, the reduction of bushmeat demand, and the protection of wet evergreen forest ecosystems in Vietnam and Laos.

A notice of appeal submitted by BirdLife South Africa to the Minister of Mineral Resources on 30 July 2013, challenging the Director-General's decision to grant a mining right (MP 30/5/1/2/2/505 MR) to William Patrick Bower (Pty) Ltd for coal mining in the Belfast district of Mpumalanga Province.

The text highlights the ecological and social costs of coal mining in Central India, specifically the loss of biodiversity and displacement of forest communities. It notes that despite doubling coal production capacity since 2007, 400 million Indians still lack electricity. The document criticizes the failure of 22 out of 29 Indian states to meet Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) targets in 2012 and argues that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) acts as a fossil fuel subsidy by providing credits to coal plants that do not achieve real emission reductions.

The Basque Country exhibits a high resource dependency, with a Total Material Requirement of 108 tons per capita in 2004, 83% of which is imported. This consumption pattern drives significant environmental and social degradation abroad, including oil spills in Nigeria, deforestation for palm oil in Indonesia, toxic pollution from nickel mining in Russia, and watershed degradation from tin mining in Bolivia. The document argues that the economic prosperity of developed regions is linked to an unsustainable use of global resources and calls for a transformation in consumption and production patterns to meet basic human needs without exceeding planetary limits.

The document details how Sime Darby's palm oil operations in Liberia violate national laws and international human rights, specifically regarding land grabs and the lack of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). It highlights environmental risks to the Upper Guinean Forest Ecosystem and lists European banks and pension funds providing financial support to the company.