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The document serves as a comprehensive manual for Liberian communities to secure benefits from logging operations. It details the legal mandate for Social Agreements (SAs) under the National Forestry Reform Law, outlines the mandatory components of these agreements—such as a code of conduct and financial benefits—and provides a step-by-step process for negotiation. The guide includes a template for SAs and suggested standard clauses to protect traditional practices, water points, and crops, while establishing penalties for company non-compliance. It also incorporates key FDA regulations regarding public participation, land use planning, and benefit sharing.

The assessment finds that while Suriname's Constitution and Mining Decree provide a general basis for mining governance, the legal framework is outdated, lacking a national environmental authority and specific legislation on indigenous rights and mercury use. Key strengths include the use of comprehensive environmental assessment guidelines by NIMOS and the role of the OGS in managing the small-scale gold sector. However, significant gaps exist in financial benefit optimization, socioeconomic planning, and post-mining transition, particularly regarding financial assurances for mine closure. The report recommends updating the Mining Decree, establishing an environmental ministry, and further formalizing the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector.

The document serves as a manual for experts and officials to implement Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in Estonia. It details the legal requirements based on EU directives and Estonian laws (KeHJS and PlanS), outlining the process from screening and scoping to the final report and follow-up. It emphasizes the importance of integrating environmental considerations early in the planning of sectoral development plans and spatial plans, the use of various quantitative and qualitative assessment methods, and the necessity of public and institutional participation to achieve sustainable development goals.

The Centre for Environmental Rights informs the South African Department of Environmental Affairs that a court ruling now requires climate change impact assessments (CCIA) as part of environmental impact assessments (EIA) for coal-fired power stations. The document outlines the minimum requirements for a CCIA, warns that existing authorizations without such assessments may be legally vulnerable, and urges the Department to establish formal guidelines for conducting these assessments.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) is challenging the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs' decision to authorize a 600MW coal-fired power plant for KiPower (Pty) Limited near Delmas, Mpumalanga. Citing the 'Thabametsi judgment', the CER argues that the law requires a comprehensive climate change impact assessment—covering GHG emissions, water scarcity, and social costs—before such authorization is granted. The CER has proposed a legal settlement to require this assessment and set aside the previous decision.

The report evaluates Mongolia's mining sector governance across six themes: legal and policy environment, financial benefit optimization, socio-economic benefit optimization, environmental management, mine closure transition, and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). While Mongolia demonstrates strengths in transparency (EITI participation) and professional human resources, it faces significant challenges in mine closure planning, waste management, and the formalization of ASM. The assessment concludes that Mongolia's overall implementation level of the IGF framework is 'average', with critical gaps in financial guarantees for mine closure and the lack of a comprehensive system for monitoring environmental impacts on water and biodiversity.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submits that the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill [B 15D-2013] is vulnerable to constitutional challenge due to procedural irregularities in Parliament. The CER argues that the Bill dilutes the rights of women and communities to benefit from mineral resources and fails to align environmental management of mines with the higher standards of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). Specifically, the CER opposes the 'deeming' of old-order environmental management programmes as NEMA authorisations, which it claims exonerates companies operating illegally. The submission also calls for the Department of Mineral Resources to be stripped of environmental regulation duties, citing a lack of capacity and an inherent conflict of interest between promoting mining and protecting the environment.

The document analyzes the socio-ecological tensions arising from the Ethiopian government's plan to extract coal from the Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve to produce electricity and chemical fertilizers. While the government views coal as a means to modernize agriculture and reduce fertilizer imports, the author highlights significant risks to the unique wild Coffea arabica populations and the livelihoods of local communities. Key impacts identified include the physical displacement of farmers, loss of biodiversity, and disruption of traditional land-use systems. The brief argues that current mining activities, though limited in scale, could cause irreversible damage if expanded without comprehensive mitigation, transparent re-investigation of impacts, and a harmonized policy approach that integrates biodiversity management with extractive industry goals.

The Centre for Environmental Rights issued a formal request to Exxaro Resources Ltd on 17 February 2017 for specific regulatory and technical documentation regarding the proposed Thabametsi Mine.

The brief provides legal analysis to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding Colombia's request for an advisory opinion on the impact of large-scale projects on the marine environment, specifically in the Greater Caribbean Region. It asserts that state jurisdiction extends to acts or omissions with foreseeable extraterritorial effects and advocates for the 'principle of systemic integration' to align human rights protections with international environmental standards.

The report details an expert meeting on reforming investment-related dispute settlement, highlighting the lack of remedies for affected communities and proposing a 'dispute resolution plus' model that integrates accountability, mediation, and fact-finding into multilateral frameworks.

The 2017 Regulations under the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act (Cap 387) provide a comprehensive framework for environmental assessment in Kenya. They mandate the registration and licensing of environmental experts, define the processes for project reports and Integrated Environmental Impact Assessments (IEIA) for high-risk projects, and set rules for environmental auditing and monitoring. Additionally, the regulations introduce Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) for policies, plans, and programmes to ensure sustainable development. The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is the primary regulatory body responsible for approvals, licensing, and enforcement, including the power to issue improvement notices or revoke licenses for non-compliance.

The document details a workshop involving government officials, Sami representatives, and researchers to address the gap between legal requirements to promote Sami culture and the actual practice of authorities in planning and permitting. Key discussions focused on the necessity of early dialogue, the recognition of traditional knowledge, and the systemic failure to account for cumulative effects of land exploitation. The report highlights a strong convergence between authorities and Sami representatives on the primary obstacles, such as resource shortages and the problematic assumption of 'coexistence' between industry and reindeer husbandry.

The document argues that gender inequality and unequal power relations frequently exclude women from environmental decision-making and the benefits of development programmes. It emphasizes that gender intersects with other vulnerabilities, such as disability and class, and calls for the integration of disaggregated gender data into technical models and climate finance to ensure equitable outcomes in the energy transition and natural resource management.

The assessment finds Senegal's mining framework to be of medium strength, noting a clear permitting process and efforts to formalize artisanal mining, but highlighting significant gaps in the distribution of mining revenues to local communities, weak environmental enforcement, and the continued prevalence of child labour and mercury use in the informal sector.

The review finds that the specialist studies for the Yzermyn underground coal mine are materially incomplete, particularly regarding hydrogeology, wetlands, and hydrology. The groundwater model is classified as low confidence (Class 1), failing to account for seasonal variations or the specific characteristics of dolerite sills, dykes, and faults. This leads to an underestimation of impacts on groundwater-dependent ecosystems, including the potential drying up of springs and wetlands. Hydrological assessments are based on outdated layouts and fail to adhere to General Notice 704 regarding flood line Exclusion Zones. Consequently, the report argues that the issued IWUL lacks sufficient conditions to mitigate environmental risks to an acceptable standard.

The document critiques the ESIA for the 250km Lamu-Garissa road, highlighting risks to the critically endangered Hirola antelope and the Tana River ecosystem. It argues that the preferred route (Alternative I-1) lacks species-specific wildlife crossing data and fails to allocate budget for wildlife protection in its management plan. Additionally, the authors identify failures in stormwater management planning, a lack of impact analysis for the extraction of approximately 1.375 million cubic meters of construction materials, and procedural violations of Kenyan law regarding public participation and gazette notices.

The document identifies six key risks in Liberia's forest conversion laws, including land use conflicts and community dispossession, and suggests reforms such as passing the Land Rights Bill and implementing multi-stakeholder land use planning.

The document analyzes the legal mechanisms for clearing natural forests for other uses in Liberia, highlighting a lack of national land use planning and poor coordination between government agencies. It examines the roles of the Forest Development Authority (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the status of community forest rights, and the challenges of integrating conversion timber into the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union.

The document argues that a robust appeals procedure for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is essential for protecting human rights, ensuring climate integrity, and promoting accountability. Carbon Market Watch recommends that the procedure allow both positive and negative appeals, be open to a broad definition of affected stakeholders beyond project proponents, and cover both procedural and substantive violations. It further suggests that the appeals body must be independent and accountable, and that a separate grievance mechanism is necessary to address adverse social and environmental impacts occurring during project implementation.