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This policy brief from the Southern African Resilience Academy (SARA) examines the interconnected policies shaping urban food systems in Southern Africa. It argues that resilient and equitable food systems—those capable of withstanding shocks while ensuring fair access to nutritious food—require an integrated approach to urban planning that incorporates food considerations, supports informal food actors, and ensures inclusive stakeholder representation.

This report details the outcomes of the Southern African Resilience Academy (SARA) in 2021, focusing on transforming food systems in southern Africa. Through a series of workshops and dialogues, SARA identified key leverage points for change, including the need for water-energy-food (WEF) nexus approaches, the integration of indigenous knowledge, and the empowerment of women and youth. The document provides 14 comprehensive recommendations for regional transformation, emphasizing a shift from siloed sectoral thinking to systemic, people-centered governance and the adoption of 'futuring' methodologies to plan for resilient food landscapes.

This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights, authored by Robert Scholes and Francois Engelbrecht of the Global Change Institute, details the human-caused climate impacts affecting southern Africa. It highlights the region's status as a climate 'hotspot' where warming is occurring at twice the global average rate, leading to severe risks for agriculture, water security, human health, and biodiversity. The document emphasizes that the severity of these impacts depends on global mitigation efforts, with warming above 2°C posing catastrophic risks to staple crops and livestock.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the role of agriculture in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of Southern African countries. It argues that while agriculture is often mentioned, NDCs frequently lack quantifiable commitments, detailed financing plans, and the active inclusion of farmers. The document provides recommendations for strengthening these climate policies to better support farmers' interests and enhance the agency of national farmers' organisations (NFOs).

This synthesis report by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) examines the role of Marine and Coastal Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in enhancing climate resilience in Southern Africa, specifically focusing on Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, and Tanzania. It advocates for the integration of biodiversity and ecosystem services into national climate policies and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to protect vulnerable coastal populations and ecosystems.

This research paper examines the 'right to food' (RtF) for indigenous peoples in Southern Africa within the context of climate change, analyzing international, regional, and national legal frameworks in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana.

This research paper examines the political economy of land reform in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Mozambique, focusing on the legacies of settler colonialism and the challenges of redistributing land to rural populations. It analyzes the different strategies employed by each nation—ranging from Zimbabwe's 'fast track' land invasions and Namibia's 'willing-seller' model to Mozambique's hybrid legal system—and discusses the regional economic implications of these policies, including their impact on foreign investment and trade within the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

This report by Jenny Clover for the Institute for Security Studies examines the debate over Genetically Modified (GM) foods in Africa, specifically within the context of a food crisis in Southern Africa in 2002. The author argues that while GM technology offers potential productive gains, it cannot solve hunger on its own because food security is a complex issue involving economic, social, and political factors. The document highlights the tension between immediate humanitarian needs for food aid and long-term concerns regarding biodiversity, multinational corporate control of seeds, and trade restrictions, particularly with the European Union.

This executive summary, authored by Professor Bob Scholes and Professor Francois Engelbrecht, details the climate vulnerabilities and projected impacts for Southern Africa during the 21st century. It emphasizes that the region is warming at twice the global average rate and warns that agricultural production, freshwater availability, and human health are at significant risk, particularly under low-mitigation scenarios.

This introductory text for Monograph 6, edited by Hussein Solomon, examines the intersection of water scarcity and security, with a specific focus on Southern Africa. It argues that dwindling fresh water resources, coupled with rapid population growth, increase the risk of resource-based conflict, while suggesting that regional cooperation and frameworks like the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems offer a path toward stability.