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The document argues that conventional formal institution building is insufficient for sustainable development and calls for new collaborations between governments, civil society, and the private sector. It emphasizes the need to link livelihoods in low-income regions with consumption patterns in affluent regions and to integrate disaster risk reduction (DRR) into development planning to build resilience. SEI highlights various projects, including palm oil governance in Southeast Asia, Arctic resilience, and sanitation in East Africa, to illustrate the need for 'hybrid accountability' and 'institutional bricolage' in governance.

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 paper analyzes Zambia's climate change framework and the influence of development cooperation, finding that donors have been central to shaping the national agenda and institutional structures. It identifies that the Zambian government's interests in climate change are driven by the need for funding for civil service activities, the management of political sensitivities regarding food security and disasters, and the mitigation of threats to political stability and the national economy.

The report evaluates climate-smart agriculture practices in Malawi and Zambia, finding strong yield benefits for agroforestry in Malawi but slow adoption, and weak, inconclusive yield and financial benefits for conservation agriculture in Zambia due to high labour costs.

The IFC-PPCR project in Nepal aims to build climate resilience in the agricultural sector by incentivizing private actors to train farmers in improved agronomic practices and expanding access to climate-adaptive finance. The project targets 15,000 farmers growing rice, maize, and sugarcane in the Terai region. Key strategies include using PPCR grants to cover start-up training costs for agribusinesses and developing a risk-sharing facility to encourage local commercial banks to lend to the high-risk agricultural sector. While agribusinesses see a business case through improved crop supply and quality, banks are motivated by market potential and regulatory mandates to increase agricultural lending. The project highlights the importance of early consultation and tailored capacity building to overcome public and private sector reluctance in Least Developed Countries.

The document argues that the global agro-food system is increasingly inefficient due to a disconnection between crop production and livestock, driven by rising demands for animal protein and high rates of food waste. It highlights that international trade of food and feed has increased eightfold over the last 50 years, leading to significant nitrogen pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Using Spain as a primary example, the authors demonstrate how a shift from a Mediterranean diet to one rich in animal proteins has increased nitrogen pollution and created 'emission leakage,' where emissions associated with imported feed in non-Annex B countries exceed those from domestic production. The briefing suggests that reducing animal protein intake, decreasing food waste, and reconnecting crops with livestock are essential for global food security and environmental safety.

The report finds significant institutional gaps in Trinidad and Tobago's readiness for climate adaptation across food production, coastal zone management, and tourism. While basic climate data is available via the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service, there is a critical lack of sector-specific vulnerability assessments, formal prioritisation processes, and national platforms for information exchange. Coordination is strongest in coastal zone management through a Cabinet-appointed Steering Committee, but overall mainstreaming of adaptation into national planning remains limited, with current efforts led by the Environmental Management Authority to integrate climate priorities into development sectors.

The report identifies systemic waste in global land use, highlighting beef production as the most inefficient sector in terms of land, biomass, and emissions. It argues that the 'nutrition transition' toward animal products is a primary driver of land demand rather than population growth. Through GTAP modeling, the authors demonstrate that shifting diets from beef to chicken could significantly reduce pastureland and cropland needs, freeing land for reforestation and sustainable bioenergy. The report recommends carbon pricing on land-based products, holistic land use planning, and a move away from inflexible biofuel mandates to achieve a more climate-friendly and less wasteful planet.

This briefing note details a vulnerability assessment conducted between 2011 and 2012 in the Monte Alén–Monts de Cristal landscape as part of the COBAM project. The analysis highlights how climate variability, specifically unpredictable rainfall and temperature increases, negatively impacts agricultural production and food security, with female-headed households and those lacking young labor being the most vulnerable social groups.

The document advocates for a shift from top-down development to a resilience-based approach in African agriculture, using conceptual models like the adaptive cycle and panarchy to understand systemic collapse and restoration. Through case studies in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Kenya, it demonstrates how political power, colonial legacies, and rigid policy frameworks can create poverty traps, while local leadership and enabling policies can restore ecological and social resilience.

The document assesses the G-20's food security commitments from an African perspective, focusing on food-price volatility, agricultural productivity, and nutrition. While it finds broad alignment in rhetoric and focus areas, it argues that the G-20 fails to implement critical regulatory reforms in financial markets and trade that would meaningfully benefit Africa.

The G-20 has progressively prioritised global food security since 2009, focusing on price volatility, agricultural productivity, and humanitarian tools. However, the document argues that these efforts have had few measurable effects in Africa due to a lack of implementation of regulatory reforms and insufficient investment. It specifically highlights the negative impact of market-distorting biofuel policies and agricultural protectionism in developed countries, which undermine food security for smallholders in the developing world. The author recommends that South Africa use its G-20 membership to push for the regulation of commodity speculation, the elimination of agricultural subsidies, and increased funding for African agriculture.

The document argues that while climate change is unlikely to be the sole direct cause of conflict, it acts as a 'threat multiplier' that intersects with poor political governance and socio-economic vulnerabilities to increase the risk of violence. In the Zambezi basin, this manifests as competition over dwindling water and food supplies, migration-induced tensions, and the manipulation of resource scarcity by political elites. Case studies of Bulawayo and Chinde highlight how chronic water shortages, flooding, and political marginalisation create flashpoints for unrest. The author emphasizes that strengthening Local Adaptive Capacity (LAC) and community resilience through grassroots organisations and traditional governance can mitigate these risks.

One year after the death of Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's foreign policy remains focused on domestic stability and regional security, particularly in the Horn of Africa. While the country has seen significant economic growth and maintains a strategic alliance with the US to combat terrorism, its diplomatic effectiveness is hindered by a gap between its stated commitment to democracy and its domestic political reality. The author argues that embracing genuine democratic reforms would improve Ethiopia's international prestige and its ability to act as a regional broker for peace and stability.

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 report examines the socio-economic importance of small-scale fisheries in Mozambique, which support approximately 334,000 people. It analyzes the pressures on the sector, including internal issues like overfishing and illegal 'chicocota' netting, and external pressures from the expansion of coal and gas extractive industries, tourism-driven marine protected areas, and climate change. The document evaluates the effectiveness of co-management through Community Fisheries Councils (CCPs) and recommends improving financial transparency, community involvement in environmental impact assessments, and adaptive governance to enhance resilience against climate-related hazards.

The author contends that soil carbon markets are financially and technically unviable due to low carbon prices, measurement challenges, and the high cost of implementation. The text argues that pushing for emission reductions in agriculture burdens small farmers in India, Africa, and Latin America, potentially leading to the takeover of agricultural operations by non-farmers. It advocates for agro-ecological approaches and financial support for adaptation over market-based mitigation burdens.

The document applies an eight-step process to analyze climate risks in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, by comparing local community perceptions of floods, droughts, and sea-level rise with historical data from the Dar es Salaam International Airport station and future projections under the RCP8.5 scenario. While historical data only partially confirm local perceptions of specific flood and drought events, future projections strongly suggest increasing maximum temperatures and a likely decrease in the length of the long rainy season. The study concludes that these trends threaten agriculture and health, necessitating 'climate-smart' agricultural practices and improved coastal infrastructure.

The report analyzes President Barack Obama's 2013 visit to Africa, framing it as an effort to shift US-Africa relations from a focus on security and counter-terrorism toward economic growth, trade, and democratic investment. It highlights the competitive pressure from China's dominant trade position and the US's efforts to address energy poverty and youth unemployment through initiatives like YALI and renewable energy financing.

The report argues that climate change shifts the probability curve of temperature and precipitation, making once-rare extreme events common. It highlights that while a 4°C rise in average temperature may seem small, it significantly increases the likelihood of deadly heat waves and catastrophic floods. The document cites specific examples from the United States, Russia, and Australia to illustrate the economic and social risks, attributing 90% of global warming to human activity and urging immediate emissions reductions and adaptation measures.