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290 results
Climate Change and Your Health
The report details the public health dangers of flooding, including drowning, waterborne diseases, mold-induced respiratory issues, and mental health trauma. It argues that climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation and sea-level rise, exacerbating these risks, particularly in areas with combined sewer overflow systems and high-density floodplain development.
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Document type: Report
Conservation and Peacebuilding in Sierra Leone
The report examines the intersection of biodiversity conservation and peacebuilding in post-conflict Sierra Leone. It details the current network of protected areas, which covers only 4% of the land and none of the marine territory, and identifies significant threats including demographic pressure, industrial mining, and agricultural expansion. The authors argue that while conservation can foster peace by creating jobs and promoting transparent resource governance, poorly managed efforts—such as those involving disputed boundaries or inequitable benefit-sharing—can exacerbate local tensions. The report concludes with recommendations to strengthen legislative frameworks, improve stakeholder coordination, and involve local communities in decision-making.
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Document type: Report
MACCSAND (PTY) LTD v CITY OF CAPE TOWN & OTHERS CCT 103/11 [2012] ZACC 7
The Constitutional Court ruled that the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) does not override the Land Use Planning Ordinance (LUPO), meaning mining rights holders must still comply with land use zoning requirements. The court clarified that the MPRDA and LUPO serve different purposes—mining governance and land use regulation, respectively—and that their overlap does not constitute an impermissible intrusion of local government into national spheres. Additionally, the court refused to grant a declaratory order on the conflict between the MPRDA and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), dismissing the cross-appeal on the grounds that it lacked a chance of success.
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Document type: Legal commentary
ECOHEALTH AND WATERSHEDS
The report examines how Canadian watershed organizations interact with the determinants of human health. Through self-assessments of five organizations—the Fraser Basin Council, Cowichan Watershed Board, Save Our Seine River Environment Inc., Otonabee Region Conservation Authority, and Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority—the study finds that while watershed activities often have implicit health benefits, there is a significant lack of explicit integration and capacity to collaborate with the public health sector. The authors argue that watersheds can serve as integrative mechanisms for intersectoral action, potentially delivering a "double dividend" of improved environmental and human health.
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Document type: Research paper
Agricultural Water Management Scenarios in the Mkindo Watershed Wami Basin, Tanzania
The report evaluates three AWM scenarios in Tanzania's Mkindo watershed: expanding small-scale irrigation and livestock storage, intensifying agriculture via pumps and drainage channels, and large-scale cash crop expansion. It finds that while technological interventions can increase yields and incomes, they often introduce conflicts between farmers and livestock keepers, environmental pollution, and social displacement.
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Document type: Report
FACT SHEET
The BalticClimate toolkit provides climate science overviews, scenarios, and tailored tools for policy-makers, spatial planners, and the business community in the Baltic Sea Region. It offers projections for sectors such as agriculture, energy, and housing, alongside over 120 practical examples of 'win-win-win' solutions for adaptation, mitigation, and economic development. Specific tools include checklists for policy-makers, a Vulnerability Assessment framework for spatial planners, and a Climate SWOT analysis for small- and medium-sized enterprises.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Scenarios for InVEST: A Primer
The document explains how scenarios—depicted as maps of land cover or marine habitats—are used in InVEST to compare the delivery of ecosystem services under alternative futures. It outlines characteristics of effective scenarios, such as being plausible, legitimate, and scientifically credible, and provides a framework for converting narrative storylines into quantitative maps. Through case studies in Hawaii, Borneo, Tanzania, and Canada, the primer demonstrates how scenarios can inform integrated spatial plans, green economy policies, carbon project feasibility, and marine spatial planning.
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Document type: Guide
Second National Communication on Climate Change for Saint Lucia
The Second National Communication for Saint Lucia details the country's climate profile, reporting a 2% increase in total CO2e emissions between 1994 and 2000, totaling 579 Gg. The report identifies high vulnerability in tourism, agriculture, and water resources due to projected temperature increases (up to 3.6C by the 2090s) and rainfall decreases (up to 57% by the end of the century). It proposes two mitigation scenarios to reduce emissions by 19.6% and 25.7% by 2020, respectively, and outlines a series of adaptation measures including revised building codes, coastal setbacks, and integrated watershed management. The document emphasizes significant gaps in financial, human, and technical resources, calling for the mainstreaming of climate resilience into national development planning.
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Document type: Report
Croissance verte : implications pour la planification du développement
The document provides a framework for integrating green growth into national development planning, emphasizing that environmental and economic goals are not mutually exclusive. It outlines a planning process involving vision setting, baseline assessment, option development, and impact analysis. The guide details various economic models—ranging from macro-level computable general equilibrium models to spatial mapping—while highlighting challenges such as data scarcity in least developed countries and the 'black box' nature of complex models. Case studies from Rwanda and the 'Heart of Borneo' illustrate the practical application of these strategies to balance economic growth with climate resilience and natural capital preservation.
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Document type: Guide
Crescimento ecológico: implicações para o planeamento do desenvolvimento
The document outlines a framework for 'green growth' that integrates economic development with climate resilience and environmental preservation. It argues that while green growth planning follows conventional economic steps, it requires additional considerations regarding social and environmental dimensions, a diverse range of economic modeling tools, and a pragmatic, iterative approach to accommodate local contexts and data limitations in developing nations.
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Document type: Guide
River Floods
The document analyzes river flood risks in the EU27, finding that combined climate and socio-economic changes could increase expected annual damages (EAD) from €5.5 billion in the baseline period to €97.9 billion by the 2080s under a medium-high emission scenario (A1B). It emphasizes that socio-economic growth is as significant a driver of damage as climate change. Adaptation to maintain 1-in-100-year protection levels is projected to provide substantial benefits, reducing EAD by up to €50 billion per year by the 2080s, with estimated annual adaptation costs rising to €7.9 billion in the same period. The report highlights significant uncertainty across different climate models, which can project opposite directions of risk change at local levels, necessitating flexible and robust adaptation strategies.
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Document type: Policy brief
Green growth: implications for development planning
The document outlines a framework for integrating green growth into national development planning, emphasizing the need for iterative processes and the application of specific economic models to balance economic growth with environmental and social objectives.
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Document type: Guide
Annual Report 2011-2012
The IAI activities plan for 2011-2012 focuses on renewing its training and scientific programs, including the launch of a new series of Training Institutes and the potential establishment of a Centre of Excellence on water security. Key initiatives include a MacArthur Foundation-funded project on biodiversity in the Tropical Andes and a renewed internship agreement with INPE/CPTEC. The document also notes a need for greater operational stability within the IAI Directorate to manage increasing workloads.
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Document type: Report
REQUEST TO THE MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES TO EXERCISE HER DISCRETION UNDER S.49 OF THE MINERALS AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT TO PROHIBIT AND RESTRICT PROSPECTING AND MINING IN AREAS OF CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AND HYDROLOGICAL VALUE AND SENSITIVITY
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and 12 other organisations are urging the South African Minister of Mineral Resources to exercise discretion under section 49 of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) to create 'no-go areas' for mining based on environmental sensitivity. The CER rejects claims by the Chamber of Mines that existing laws—such as the Protected Areas Act, the Biodiversity Act, and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)—provide sufficient protection, noting that rights have been granted illegally in protected areas and that the Biodiversity Act often only triggers an EIA without providing further legal protection. The CER asserts that a section 49 declaration is the only way to prevent wasted costs for the state and industry by refusing applications in sensitive areas from the outset, citing the Minister's intention to declare the Chrissiesmeer Biodiversity Site as a precedent.
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Document type: Statement
mobiliser, resister, transformer
This report highlights the achievements of Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) over four decades, detailing specific campaigns against extractive industries, pollution, and unsustainable development. It documents legal victories, such as the ban on open-pit mining in Costa Rica and the recognition of water as a human right in Uruguay, as well as grassroots successes in reforestation in Belgium and the protection of eucalyptus forests in Australia. The text emphasizes the role of international solidarity and legal action in challenging neoliberal globalization and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
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Document type: Report
Evaluation of Integrated Management Initiatives
The report evaluates Integrated Place-based Management (IPM) as a holistic approach to managing human-natural system trade-offs. It identifies a gap in long-term impact reporting, noting that most IPM studies focus on short-term results. The authors argue for a dual monitoring approach that combines process-based indicators (governance, participation) with outcome-oriented indicators (environmental status). Case studies in the Lake Champlain Basin, Rhine River Basin, and South Tobacco Creek demonstrate that collaborative governance and strategic planning can lead to documented improvements in water quality, such as reduced phosphorous and coliform contamination, though attributing these changes solely to IPM remains challenging due to time lags and multi-scale interactions.
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Document type: Report
Sustainable Transport Perspectives for Estonia
The document finds that Estonian transport trends are unsustainable, characterized by rapid increases in private car use and road freight, leading to transport fuel use per unit of GDP that is twice the EU average. It argues that current policies are insufficient to meet EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits for 2020 and proposes a combined approach of technical vehicle efficiency improvements and modal shifts to achieve sustainability.
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Document type: Policy brief
STATEMENT ON THE KGASWANE COUNTRY LODGE MAGALIESBERG PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT
The Magaliesberg Protection Association (MPA) is pursuing a judicial review in the Mafikeng High Court to set aside the environmental authorisation of the Kgaswane Country Lodge, a ± 50 bedroom hotel built illegally in a 'highly sensitive' area of the Magaliesberg Protected Environment (MPE). Despite the development being designated as an 'incompatible activity' by the Department's own Environmental Management Framework (EMF), the MEC dismissed the MPA's appeal on 5 February 2010. The MPA's legal action, filed on 4 August 2010, seeks an interdict to stop ongoing construction and an order for the lodge's demolition and environmental rehabilitation. The MPA estimates the total legal costs at approximately R300,000, funded through donations and guarantees from organisations including the MCSA and the Johannesburg Hiking Club.
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Document type: Statement
Sumatra’s Forests, their Wildlife and the Climate Windows in Time: 1985, 1990, 2000 and 2009
The report documents a severe decline in Sumatra's natural forests, which shrank from 25.3 million hectares in 1985 to 12.8 million hectares by 2008/9. This deforestation, driven largely by oil palm and pulpwood plantations, has resulted in massive CO2 emissions from biomass loss and peatland degradation, particularly in Riau Province. The loss of habitat has led to significant population declines in the Sumatran elephant, orangutan, rhinoceros, and tiger, while 17 of 38 eco-floristic sectors are now categorized as threatened. The authors argue that protecting remaining peatland forests and restoring degraded areas are critical for meeting Indonesia's emission reduction targets.
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Document type: Report
CITY OF CAPE TOWN v MACCSAND (PTY) LTD AND OTHERS 2010 (6) SA 63 (WCC)
The court ruled that mining is a land use subject to municipal planning and that the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act does not override the Land Use Planning Ordinance or the National Environmental Management Act.
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Document type: Legal commentary