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The report examines how the jade industry in northern Myanmar, particularly in Kachin and northern Shan states, is intertwined with armed conflict. It asserts that military elites and their cronies maintain control over high-value mines to secure billions of dollars in profits, which incentivizes continued fighting and undermines the efforts of the civilian-led government to establish peace. The document highlights the displacement of approximately 100,000 people since 2011 and the marginalization of local communities who suffer from environmental degradation and human rights abuses while the wealth is extracted by powerful networks. It concludes that a sustainable peace requires transparent management of natural resources and a fair distribution of jade profits.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) and the Brazilian Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES) have entered into a two-year Letter of Agreement to collaborate on global environmental change policies. The primary initiative is the integration of the BPBES Voluntary Young Researcher Program (VYRP) with the IAI Science, Technology and Policy (STeP) Fellowship program. Under this arrangement, BPBES will support up to four fellows every 12 months for two years, while IAI provides professional development training in leadership, communication, and science diplomacy for early-career researchers in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The document outlines the requirements for a training program focused on tropical forests in the Americas. It specifies that transdisciplinary teams of three to six people—including social scientists, natural scientists, and non-academic stakeholders—must apply. Completion of the course and a subsequent evaluation allows teams to apply for seed funding for projects. The program defines tropical forests as ecosystems between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn and emphasizes the inclusion of diverse actors from the private sector, NGOs, public administration, and indigenous communities.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) provides free advisory and capacity development services to low-income governments and regional bodies to promote responsible private sector investment in agriculture. IISD focuses on creating legal frameworks that balance the benefits of foreign capital and technology with the protection of food security, land tenure rights, and natural resources. Their expertise includes developing model contracts for farmland investments, regional investment guidelines, contract farming templates, and policies for agricultural growth poles and zones.

CRiSTAL (Community-based Risk Screening Tool – Adaptation and Livelihoods) is a decision-support tool developed by IUCN, IISD, SEI, and Intercooperation to help project managers understand the links between climate, livelihoods, and project activities. The tool uses a four-step analytical framework implemented via Microsoft Excel to identify climate hazards, assess their impact on livelihood resources, and adjust project activities to enhance adaptive capacity and minimize maladaptation. Since its 2007 launch, it has been applied in over 20 countries, following initial field tests in Mali, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Nicaragua, and Sri Lanka.

CRiSTAL (Community Risk Identification and Adaptation Tool) is a decision-support framework developed by IUCN, IISD, SEI, and Intercooperation to assist project managers in designing activities that enhance community resilience. The tool uses a logical sequence of four analytical steps, divided into two modules, to assess how climate hazards affect livelihood resources and how project activities can be adjusted to improve adaptation capacity. It relies on a combination of secondary scientific climate data and stakeholder consultations, with data managed via Microsoft Excel. Since its 2007 launch, the tool has been applied in over 20 countries, following initial field trials in Mali, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Nicaragua, and Sri Lanka.

The document details efforts to mitigate conflicts over natural resource extraction in Kahuzi Biega National Park through the establishment of Community Conservation Committees (CCCs) and the implementation of a conflict-sensitive conservation (CSC) approach. While initiatives by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other partners successfully improved relations and temporarily reduced illegal logging in the Bugobe village area, poverty remains a primary driver of resource extraction, leading to the introduction of microcredit programs to support local livelihoods.

The IISD provides multidisciplinary research and participatory risk management to help governments and communities transition from crisis to sustainability. Its work focuses on integrating climate adaptation into decision-making, addressing environmental drivers of conflict in fragile states, and securing agricultural value chains against climate uncertainty.

The project, a partnership between IISD, MYRADA, and DFID, aimed to build capacity in Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to design sustainable development projects in rural India. It exceeded its initial targets, training 804 people from 70 organisations and engaging approximately 500 community-based organisations (CBOs) representing 10,000 people. Key outcomes included the mainstreaming of AI within MYRADA, the creation of a field-guide and training video, and the development of community visions focusing on gender equity, environmental improvement, and livelihood security. The report concludes that AI is a robust, motivating tool that complements existing participatory techniques like Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA).

The document examines the complex interactions between international trade, development aid, and security, specifically focusing on how the exploitation of natural resources can fuel violent conflict. It argues that current trade and aid frameworks often exacerbate instability in the 'South' due to inequitable rules, the 'resource curse', and the misuse of assistance. To counter this, the authors propose six policy objectives: designing conflict-sensitive trade and aid policies, restricting the trade of 'conflict resources', fostering responsible business practices, improving domestic governance, and enhancing the management of natural resource and aid revenues.

The document argues that the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) requires a dedicated hemispheric framework to ensure trade liberalization supports sustainable development. It reviews sub-regional models—including Mercosur, CARICOM, the Andean Community, the Central American Alliance for Sustainable Development, and NAFTA—to identify best practices in environmental management and civil society participation. The authors propose a new Americas Environmental Accord (AEA) based on the 2001 Mercosur Framework Agreement on the Environment, suggesting it include shared objectives for environmental protection, dispute settlement mechanisms, and protocols for natural resource management. Additionally, the paper recommends conducting ex-ante sustainability impact assessments (SIA) for the FTAA and establishing a Public Advisory Committee to foster inclusive dialogue between governments and civil society.

The IISD Impact Centre aims to act as a catalyst for sustainable development by leveraging the International Institute for Sustainable Development's (IISD) networks to scale field-tested innovations. Rather than creating new formal structures, the Centre focuses on increasing the impact of existing projects through strategy, capacity building, and knowledge sharing. It targets areas including climate change, energy, and trade, and seeks to become self-sustaining within three years through a "Circle of Friends" partnership model. Current demonstration projects include the CRiSTAL Tool for climate change adaptation and economic valuation training for the United Nations Environment Programme.

The ENVSEC Initiative, a partnership between the OSCE, UNEP, and UNDP, investigates how environmental factors and natural resource management intersect with security in South Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The project aims to provide regionally-appropriate definitions of environment-security links, map risks and opportunities, and promote sustainable environmental cooperation as a means of peace-building and regional integration.

The report argues that globalization and environmental degradation are deeply intertwined, creating new security threats and economic risks. It posits that the future of the global environment will be defined by consumption patterns and the ability of emerging economies, particularly China and India, to adopt sustainable development paths. The authors call for a fundamental reform of global governance to move beyond state-centric models and integrate trade and environmental policies under the shared goal of sustainable development.

The document examines how natural resources influence power politics and fuel armed conflicts in Africa, while cautioning against a mono-causal link between these conflicts and climate change. It advocates for a comprehensive, multi-level management strategy to address the nexus between resource management and peace building.

The document proposes a comprehensive framework to analyze and overcome the stagnation of growth and development in Africa. It identifies key constraints—including climate, geography, weak governance, and conflict—and organizes a work programme around three linked areas: growth and resources, empowerment and culture, and governance and institutions. The framework emphasizes the need for a "big push" of mutually supporting actions, focusing on private sector-led growth, agricultural improvement, trade diversification, human development, and enhanced transparency in economic governance. It specifically highlights the vulnerability of African economic growth to climate change and the necessity of increasing concessional resources and aid effectiveness to support these goals.

The report examines Angola's transition from a war-torn state to a market economy, focusing on the critical role of land tenure. It traces the evolution of land laws from the Portuguese colonial era through the socialist post-independence period to the 2004 Land Act. The author highlights a systemic pattern of 'land grabbing' by political and military elites, the marginalisation of rural peasants and women, and the precarious legal status of peri-urban dwellers. It argues that without transparent, inclusive land administration and the recognition of customary rights, the current legislative trajectory risks exacerbating inequality and triggering new conflicts.

The notes detail the implementation of UN Resolution 1493, which strengthened MONUC's mandate in the DRC. Key discussions include the role of the International Committee to Accompany the Transition (CIAT), South Africa's Third Party Verification Mechanism (TPVM), and the challenges of transitioning from a war economy to a regulated state. The text also addresses the need for regional stability in the Great Lakes Region, the importance of Radio Okapi for national unification, and the complexities of holding democratic elections while managing a centralized power structure in Kinshasa.

The research identifies a cycle of instability in the Mano River Basin driven by extreme poverty, porous borders, and the failure to effectively reintegrate ex-combatants. It highlights how natural resources like diamonds and timber are leveraged by warlords and terror networks to fund conflict, and how the lack of economic opportunities for youth makes them susceptible to recruitment as mercenaries. The document argues that sustainable peace requires coordinated sub-regional efforts in disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR), alongside the economic empowerment of youth and the regulation of the extractive industries to prevent corporate security forces from becoming new militias.

The report examines how land tenure insecurity, scarcity, and the tension between customary and statutory legal systems contribute to both the structural and proximate causes of conflict in Africa. It argues that poverty and the loss of livelihoods are central to the conflict-underdevelopment cycle, and that land often serves as a tool for political struggle among elites or a source of ethnic mobilisation. Through case studies of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Angola, the text highlights the risks of 'formalising' land rights without considering local customs and the importance of multi-sectoral, pro-poor land policies in post-conflict reconstruction.