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The workshop, organized by the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) and funded by the UK's FCDO, brought together 52 stakeholders to address the informality of Niger's ASGM sector. Key discussions focused on the lack of reliable production statistics, environmental degradation, and the security risks posed by the illicit use of explosives and chemicals. Participants identified a need to lower high fixed fees for marketing approval and export taxes to encourage formalization. The report also highlights the socio-economic dynamics in the Agadez region, where 85% of miners work for employers rather than on their own account. The workshop concluded with a set of recommendations to strengthen state presence on mining sites, simplify administrative procedures, and create non-violent conflict management mechanisms.

The report details a three-day workshop in Niger focused on the governance of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). It identifies critical challenges including environmental degradation, the use of prohibited chemicals, and the role of ASM in illicit financial flows and regional insecurity. The document outlines a proposed vision for the sector based on 16 'good practices' and provides a comprehensive list of recommendations to formalize the sector, reduce the tax burden on miners, and improve state surveillance to combat criminality.

The author examines the intersection of communication rights, human rights, and climate justice, arguing that 'communication poverty' prevents vulnerable populations from influencing climate policy. The text details how climate change disproportionately affects the Global South and racialized communities, often exacerbating existing systemic inequalities. It explores various frameworks of climate justice—including historical, per capita, and rights-based approaches—and highlights the role of the grassroots climate justice movement in challenging elite, market-based solutions. The document emphasizes that for Indigenous and marginalized groups to achieve 'parity of participation,' they must have access to media platforms and the ability to develop their own narratives to challenge dominant stereotypes and influence global decision-making processes.

The report analyzes the security landscape of West Africa, identifying a complex interplay of weak governance, economic inequality, and emerging threats like violent extremism and transnational crime. It highlights how these factors undermine regional stability and development, particularly in the Sahel. While Ghana is relatively stable, it faces risks from porous borders and internal community tensions. The document recommends pursuing economic integration via the AfCFTA, addressing youth unemployment, and strengthening regional security alliances to combat terrorism and trafficking.

The report argues that military operations in Intan Jaya, Papua, are illegal because they lack the required presidential decrees and parliamentary approval. It posits that the deployment of TNI and POLRI forces is not merely for security or counter-terrorism against the TPNPB, but is strategically linked to securing mining concessions for companies like PT ANTAM and PT Madinah Qurrata ‘Ain. The study identifies a 'second leg' of military business where active and retired officers hold leadership roles in these companies. This environment of militarization has led to significant human rights violations, including the deaths of civilians and the displacement of local populations, which the report suggests is a structured effort to facilitate investor access to gold reserves.

The conflict in Cabo Delgado is driven by a combination of political marginalisation, economic inequality, and climatic shocks. While the discovery of offshore natural gas promised development, it instead led to forced relocations, inadequate compensation, and unmet employment expectations, which Islamist militants have exploited for recruitment. These grievances are compounded by extreme weather events, including Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, which destroyed infrastructure and increased food insecurity. The document argues that military responses alone are insufficient and calls for inclusive natural resource governance and climate resilience strategies to address the root causes of the insurgency.

The document is a poem by Kumi Naidoo that argues against returning to the 'normal' state of the world prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, describing that state as one of division, inequality, and 'failed economic schemes'. It calls for the creation of a new human existence that respects essential workers and ensures a world where all people can thrive, specifically highlighting the motivation of youth to break down outdated inequalities.

The author contends that the Biden-Harris administration provides an opportunity to reboot transatlantic relations by integrating diverse civil society movements—such as those focused on climate, racial justice, and gender equality—into the political discourse. The text argues that the previous focus on a common security policy is obsolete and should be replaced by a narrative of democratic resilience and inclusivity. It highlights the role of grassroots networks and regional initiatives, such as the 'We Are Still In' and 'Under2Coalition' alliances, as models for strengthening solidarity. The document concludes that achieving a 'build back better' transatlantic relationship requires structural and financial support for civil society and the implementation of joint regulations on hate speech and disinformation.

The authors contend that environmental degradation and climate change are fundamental drivers of food insecurity and conflict. They highlight how resource competition in regions like the Sahel and Yemen fuels violence and extremism, while pointing to natural farming successes in India as a model for resilience. The document recommends that international security institutions acknowledge climate security risks to effectively address stability and displacement.

The document highlights that India's rapid urbanisation leads to the neglect of peri-urban ecosystems—transitional zones between rural and urban areas—resulting in environmental degradation and increased vulnerability to climate change. It argues that these ecosystems are vital for climate resilience but suffer from governance challenges due to unclear administrative boundaries. The brief suggests that an integrated management approach could bridge the rural-urban divide through decentralised, local governance and district-level planning involving multiple stakeholders.

The Council on Strategic Risks condemns the violent attempt to obstruct the 2020 U.S. presidential election certification on January 6th. The Council asserts that while the attack was fueled by political actors and falsehoods, it was also the result of broader systemic risks—such as environmental degradation, climate change, and economic devastation—that create conditions for democratic erosion and instability globally.

The document argues that while a 'grand theory' of migration does not exist, researchers can use 'theoretical triangulation' to formulate testable propositions. It presents ten such propositions covering the roles of pre-existing connections, social networks, involuntary immobility, resource constraints, environmental stress, violent conflict, economic development, development aid, and the effectiveness and unintended consequences of migration policies.

The document proposes integrating Sovacool et al.'s "4E" typology (enclosure, exclusion, encroachment, and entrenchment) with the Mechanisms of Social Change (MOSC) mapping approach to identify causal pathways in adaptation projects. By mapping the solar electricity system in Turkana, Kenya, the authors demonstrate how specific actions—such as consultation, licensing, and facility design—create sequential pathways that determine how benefits and losses are distributed among community members.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) condemns systemic racism and police brutality in the United States, specifically citing the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery. WRI President & CEO Andrew Steer argues that government leaders must address the gross inequality underlying these issues. WRI acknowledges that the environmental movement has historically failed to address these disparities and commits to ensuring that solutions for climate change, environmental degradation, and extreme poverty benefit disproportionately impacted communities of color.

The authors use the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment's accurate prediction of a pandemic to urge policymakers to act on similar warnings regarding climate change. They highlight how environmental degradation and climate hazards threaten global infrastructure, food and water security, and geopolitical stability, particularly in coastal areas and the Arctic.

The report synthesizes the work of UN human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs), including the CEDAW, CESCR, and CRC, on climate change. It details how these bodies use state reporting, communications procedures, and general comments to hold States accountable for human rights violations caused by climate change and insufficient mitigation efforts. Key findings emphasize the need for highest-ambition emissions cuts, the phasing out of fossil fuels, and the protection of vulnerable groups, including women, children, and Indigenous Peoples.

The policy brief examines the conflict between the boom in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and the sustainability of smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Burkina Faso. While ASM provides immediate income and employment, it often displaces farmers, contaminates water sources with mercury and cyanide, and draws young labor away from agriculture. The document highlights that ASM is frequently an unsustainable tool for poverty reduction due to the non-renewable nature of minerals and the shift toward capital-intensive operations funded by external investors. It recommends strengthening institutional capacity, implementing rigorous land-use mapping, and dismantling patronage structures to ensure the coexistence of mining and farming.

The document argues that while climate change is unlikely to be the proximate cause of war between India and Pakistan, it acts as a risk multiplier by increasing the volatility of river flows in the Indus River Basin (IRB). This volatility heightens mutual distrust regarding dam operations and water manipulation, placing unprecedented stress on the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). The author suggests that the IWT's framework of partitioning water is inadequate for modern climate challenges and recommends a shift toward joint sustainable management to prevent natural calamities from triggering armed conflict in a nuclear-armed region.

The document argues that while large youth cohorts are not inherently a security threat, they increase the risk of armed conflict and terrorism when combined with high unemployment, poor governance, and economic marginalization. In the Sahel, particularly Mali, these demographic pressures, coupled with environmental degradation and resource scarcity, create conditions where disenfranchised youth are more susceptible to recruitment by terrorist groups. The author recommends a holistic approach focusing on demographic policies to lower fertility and political and economic reforms to boost youth employment, rather than relying solely on military solutions.

The document examines the Covid-19 pandemic as a systemic shock that exposed deep inequalities and the fragility of market-driven systems. It explores the intersection of public health and biodiversity loss, the role of the welfare state versus authoritarian and populist models, the digital divide in urban centers, and the disproportionate impact of the crisis on marginalized groups, including migrant workers and the elderly. The text advocates for a 'green recovery' that prioritizes a 'foundational economy' of basic needs over growth, promotes digital inclusion as a human right, and recognizes the link between environmental degradation and zoonotic disease emergence.