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The document examines how national governments can engage the private sector to support climate adaptation, noting that business participation depends on a strong business case. It suggests that governments must move beyond treating the private sector as a homogenous unit and instead target specific actors—such as small and medium enterprises or specialized solution providers—whose interests align with public goods. While 'win-win' scenarios exist in sectors like water purification and agriculture, the paper warns of 'negative alignment' where private investments can lead to land grabbing or the displacement of local populations. It recommends a policy mix of incentives, procurement contracts, and collaboration with civil society to ensure private actions support rather than undermine community resilience.

The executive summary argues that REDD mechanisms are flawed because they focus on reducing emissions rather than stopping deforestation, potentially rewarding polluters and harming Indigenous Peoples. It warns that funding REDD through carbon offsetting undermines climate mitigation in industrialized nations and risks displacing forest-dependent communities. The author advocates for grant-based funding, the exclusion of plantations from forest definitions, and a rights-based approach to forest conservation.

The report identifies climate change as a 'threat multiplier' in northern Kenya, where it exacerbates natural resource scarcity and competition, particularly over pasture and water. Through field research in the Lekurruki and Sera community conservancies, the study finds that while climate change increases the risk of violent conflict, the outcome depends heavily on the efficacy of natural resource management (NRM) and local governance. The authors argue that current Kenyan national policies—specifically the National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) and the National Policy on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management (NPPCM)—are disconnected, with the former ignoring security implications and the latter ignoring climate change. The report recommends integrating conflict analysis into climate strategies, enacting the National Land Policy to clarify tenure, and strengthening state security to reduce reliance on privatised or auxiliary agents.

The document examines the technical and political challenges of integrating REDD into global climate policy, focusing on the scope of activities (from REDD to REDD++), financing mechanisms, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) standards, and institutional governance. It highlights the diversity of national circumstances, particularly in Africa, and the need for a phased implementation approach that balances equity with efficiency.

The document examines the historical and political drivers of violence in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, specifically contrasting the conflict formation of the 1980s with the post-2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) era. It argues that while resource scarcity is often cited as a cause of Sahelian conflict, the violence in the Nuba Mountains is rooted in a long history of systemic marginalisation by an Arab-Muslim dominated state hierarchy. The author details the role of the National Islamic Front (NIF) in launching a 'jihad' against the Nuba in the 1990s, involving forced Islamisation and the use of 'murahaleen' militias. The paper concludes that the CPA has failed to address Nuba demands for self-determination, leaving the region volatile ahead of the 2010 elections.

The document analyzes the systemic failures of forest governance in Africa, highlighting how colonial-era centralized bureaucracies and externally imposed paradigms—such as industrial logging, biodiversity conservation, and REDD—have marginalized local stakeholders. It documents widespread corruption where political elites use logging concessions for personal enrichment or political financing, and notes that while some countries have attempted decentralization, these reforms are often bureaucratic and fail to grant genuine tenure rights to communities.

The document analyzes the conflict dynamics of the Tuareg in North Africa and the Sahel, arguing that the violence is rooted in the loss of traditional livelihood resources and systemic political exclusion. It examines how post-independence land reforms, severe droughts in the 1970s and 1980s, and the industrial exploitation of uranium and gold have marginalized the Tuareg. The paper details the specific trajectories of conflict in Mali and Niger, the assimilation policies in Algeria, and the destabilizing role of Libya. It concludes that peace requires a comprehensive approach addressing the root causes of poverty and resource inequality rather than treating the Tuareg as terrorists.

The report examines the rise of foreign land and water acquisitions driven by food, energy, and water security concerns. It highlights a shift from market-driven comparative advantage to 'long-distance farming' to meet home-state needs. The authors analyze how the interaction between domestic law, international investment contracts, and international investment agreements (IIAs) often prioritizes foreign investor rights over local users and sustainable development goals, potentially limiting host governments' ability to regulate for public health, environment, or food security.

The paper examines socio-economic challenges in Algeria, Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa. It highlights systemic issues such as poverty, gender inequality, and poor infrastructure, while noting that a lack of reliable data and political will often hinder the implementation of solutions. The author argues that many visible problems are offshoots of unstable economies and historical political dysfunction.

The document identifies a significant gap between Mozambique's agricultural potential and its actual production, attributed to a lack of public investment following Structural Adjustment Programs and a restrictive land ownership regime. While the government has introduced a Green Revolution strategy involving tariff reductions and strategic reserves, the briefing argues that private sector investment is essential, requiring improvements in infrastructure, credit markets, and land tenure transparency.

The report argues that EU consumption and trade policies drive the expansion of monoculture tree plantations in the Global South, which disproportionately harms women by destroying their livelihoods, health, and cultural identities. Through case studies in Nigeria (rubber), Papua New Guinea (oil palm), and Brazil (eucalyptus), the document details the loss of food sovereignty, the erosion of traditional medicinal knowledge, and the increase in gender-based violence and economic dependency. It highlights that while these projects are often framed as 'development,' they frequently result in land theft and environmental degradation. The report concludes by documenting the emergence of women-led resistance movements fighting for land return and food sovereignty.

The document examines governance in Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, Algeria, South Africa, and Benin, identifying a systemic gap between constitutional intentions and practical implementation. The author argues that a lack of 'constitutionalism' leads to executive dominance, weakened legislatures, and compromised judicial independence. Key areas of concern include the manipulation of electoral systems, systemic corruption, marginalization of women and children, and land ownership conflicts. The paper concludes that while the APRM is an effective early-warning system, its impact is limited because member states often ignore its recommendations.

The report examines the history and legal mechanisms used to construct barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, specifically focusing on the 'Real ID Act' and 'Secure Fence Act'. It details how these laws allowed the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive nearly all federal and state laws, including environmental and historic preservation statutes, to expedite construction. The author highlights the resulting environmental damage in areas like the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, the disruption of Native American sacred sites, and the high financial costs of the project. It concludes by calling for a suspension of construction and a legislative review of the wall's effectiveness and constitutionality.

The document defines destructive logging as forest exploitation that threatens ecosystem health and the rights of local and indigenous peoples. It identifies transnational corporations and unsustainable timber demand as primary drivers, facilitated by flawed forestry concession systems and governance policies that often legitimize destructive activities. The paper highlights devastating environmental impacts, such as biodiversity loss, and social consequences, including the impoverishment of indigenous peoples and the erosion of their cultural fabric. It concludes that the complexity of the issue requires diverse approaches, ranging from fighting illegal timber trade to addressing systemic lacks of community land rights.

The manual defines conflict-sensitive conservation (CSC) as programming that accounts for the causes, actors, and impacts of conflict to avoid exacerbating tensions and to support peace. It outlines a three-step institutional process for organizations to adopt CSC—assessing capacity, allocating human resources, and developing guiding principles—and a two-step project-level process involving conflict analysis and the design of sensitive solutions. The manual emphasizes that conservation can inadvertently fuel conflict by restricting resource access, imposing economic burdens, or distributing benefits unequally, but it can also foster peace by addressing root causes of resource scarcity and creating non-threatening spaces for dialogue.

The document examines how Mozambique's reliance on food imports and historical underinvestment in agriculture have made it vulnerable to global price spikes, particularly for rice and wheat. It details the transition from state-supported agriculture to neoliberal structural adjustment programmes in the 1990s, which led to a decline in the use of fertilizers and pesticides. To counter current food insecurity, the government has introduced the 'Green Revolution' strategy and the 2008–11 Food Production Action Plan (FPAP), increasing the agricultural budget to 10% of the state budget and reducing import tariffs on staples from 25% to 2.5%. The author argues that long-term success depends on improving infrastructure, resolving land tenure conflicts, and attracting private sector investment.

The report analyzes the complex political economy of Southern African agriculture, identifying governance and external financing as the primary uncertainties affecting the region's future. Through a stakeholder workshop in Harare, four distinct scenarios were developed, ranging from a high-investment, high-policy-quality future ('I believe I can fly') to a state of total failure ('This is the end'). The authors argue that while the region currently sits in a precarious position characterized by poor domestic policy and weak state capacity, there are opportunities to pivot toward growth through improved infrastructure, transparent land tenure management, and the strategic adoption of agricultural technologies like GMOs.

The report details a capacity-building workshop for the ICCN focused on managing natural resource conflicts in Kahuzi-Biega National Park. It identifies three primary conflict categories: park-population tensions, disputes over resource access, and intra/inter-institutional conflicts. Key drivers include the park's expansion without community consensus, the presence of armed groups like the FDLR, and the displacement of Batwa pygmies. The workshop utilized tools such as conflict trees and stakeholder analysis to prioritize strategies, identifying institutional capacity building for the army and ICCN, co-management, and the complete delimitation of the park as top priorities.

The report critiques REDD as a flawed approach that focuses on reducing rather than stopping deforestation, potentially rewarding polluters through carbon offsetting. It highlights significant risks to Indigenous Peoples' land rights, the danger of replacing natural forests with carbon-poor plantations, and methodological failures such as 'leakage'. The author argues that market-based funding is volatile and inequitable, suggesting instead that funding should be grant-based, managed by the UN, and focused on addressing the underlying drivers of deforestation.

The report argues that REDD, as currently designed, focuses on reducing rather than stopping deforestation and risks becoming a tool for corporate profit rather than climate mitigation. It highlights significant risks to indigenous land rights, the potential for 'leakage' where deforestation simply moves to other areas, and the danger of replacing natural forests with monoculture plantations. The author criticizes the use of carbon markets to fund REDD, suggesting instead public funding derived from fossil fuel taxes and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies.