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This report synthesizes civil society organisation (CSO) submissions to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) from seven Southern African countries. It analyzes the interconnected challenges of political, economic, and environmental governance, highlighting a persistent gap between the adoption of democratic and policy frameworks and their actual implementation.

This concept note proposes the creation of a first-of-its-kind national database in Mozambique to document and protect traditional knowledge (TK) related to biodiversity. The initiative aims to prevent the loss or misappropriation of cultural and scientific resources by establishing a secure, community-governed digital repository that bridges the gap between traditional knowledge systems and modern scientific research.

This fact sheet by WWF South Africa describes the 'Ecochamps' initiative in Matatiele, Eastern Cape, as a model for using community champions to bridge the gap between rural residents, NGOs, government, and researchers. It highlights how upskilling local youth to facilitate the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus can improve natural resource management, citizen science, and social cohesion.

This fact sheet from WWF South Africa describes the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus project, focusing on the use of 'knowledge festivals' and 'community champions' to integrate local decision-making into national frameworks for natural resource management in rural South Africa.

This report analyzes the legal and institutional frameworks for protecting traditional knowledge (TK) in Mozambique, focusing on biodiversity, cultural heritage, and traditional medicine. It identifies a significant gap in functional regulatory frameworks specifically for TK associated with biological resources, though it highlights ongoing efforts to review access and benefit-sharing (ABS) regulations and develop a national TK database.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines how voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can help reduce poverty among smallholder farmers. Based on a study of 13 major standard initiatives and 12 meta-studies, the document analyzes VSSs across three dimensions of poverty: access to resources, opportunities and choice, and power and voice. While VSSs can provide benefits such as better crop prices and improved natural resource management, the brief concludes that their overall impact on poverty reduction is inconclusive and context-specific, requiring significant external support from governments and the private sector to be effective.

This report, compiled by civil society organisations in 2020 and 2021, outlines 12 key governance issues in Botswana as a submission to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). While acknowledging Botswana's history of good governance, the document highlights worrying trends in corruption, lack of accountability, and the need for more inclusive, participatory governance.

A notification from the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) announcing that the Senate of Argentina issued a declaration on October 15, 2020, recognizing the importance of an IAI seminar on integrating global change knowledge into decision-making processes in the La Plata Basin.

This case study examines the role of gender-responsive approaches in building climate resilience within the peri-urban areas of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It highlights the vulnerability of agriculture-based livelihoods to climate hazards and argues that effective resilience requires addressing socioeconomic disparities, improving gender-disaggregated data collection, and sensitizing urban local bodies to gender issues.

This report details a virtual meeting held on 7 July 2020 by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO). The meeting aimed to consolidate over 25 governance issues identified by Botswana civil society into 12 thematic areas to facilitate a concise and coherent written submission for the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process in Botswana.

This research paper examines the implementation, transfer, and upscaling of the nexus approach—an integrated method for managing land, water, and energy—through five case studies in Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco.

This report details research conducted by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) as part of a project led by the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS). The study examines how a water-energy-food security nexus approach can support climate-resilient decision-making and actions within three landscapes in the Akagera Basin of Rwanda.

This report assesses Namibia's readiness to implement the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) Mining Policy Framework (MPF). It evaluates the country's mining laws and policies across six thematic areas: Legal and Policy Environment, Financial Benefit Optimization, Socioeconomic Benefit Optimization, Environmental Management, Post-Mining Transition, and Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM). The assessment identifies strengths in geological data and revenue generation, but highlights critical gaps in mine closure legislation, occupational health and safety, and the formalization of the ASM sector.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the historical evolution and current state of rural land rights in Brazil. It identifies systemic insecurities caused by complex legislation, fragmented governance, and a lack of unified land registries, which contribute to land conflicts, deforestation, and inefficient land use. The document provides a framework for improvement focusing on governance, enforcement, regulation, and knowledge, while evaluating specific initiatives like the Terra Legal Program and the SIG-Fundiário system.

This chapter from the 'Research Handbook on International Law and Natural Resources' examines 'problem shifting'—the transfer of environmental problems resulting from sustainable natural resource management practices—and evaluates the capacity of international law to mitigate these risks in the Anthropocene.

This research paper by the Climate Policy Initiative examines barriers to agricultural productivity and natural resource management in Mozambique. It identifies bureaucratic delays in tax and trade administration, limited access to credit for small farmers, and gaps in energy and irrigation infrastructure as primary obstacles. The authors propose low-cost policy modifications, including streamlining government administration, developing public-private partnerships, prioritizing key infrastructure, and increasing revenue-sharing mechanisms for community-led natural resource protection.

The Migration and Conservation Toolkit, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in 2016, provides a four-phase framework for conservation practitioners to assess and address the impacts of human migration on critical ecosystems. The guide emphasizes a participatory approach to understand the links between migration drivers, livelihood choices, and biodiversity loss, offering specific tools for mapping, stakeholder analysis, and the design of migration-sensitive interventions.

This statement, submitted by the Center for International Environmental Law and other organizations to the U.S. Secretary of State, provides recommendations for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to better align its operations with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

This report, published by Natural Justice and Namati, synthesizes strategies and lessons from a 2013 symposium of 20 expert advocates working to protect community lands and natural resources across Africa. It provides a practitioner-focused guide to confronting threats such as state-driven mega-projects, large-scale land concessions, and exclusionary conservation. The document emphasizes the importance of community self-definition, the use of biocultural community protocols, and the necessity of multi-pronged advocacy strategies that combine legal education, community mobilization, and strategic engagement with government and media.

This research paper examines the intersection of climate variability and gender in the Sesheke district of Western Zambia, focusing on the livelihoods of people dependent on natural resources and the gender-responsiveness of local policy implementation and funding for adaptation.