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Achieving a high-productivity, sustainable palm oil sector in Indonesia: a landscape management approach
The paper argues that while supply chain traceability is a necessary first step, it is insufficient for achieving large-scale sustainability. Instead, it advocates for a 'landscape management approach'—managing agricultural production and ecosystem protection across connected areas of land rather than on a plantation-by-plantation basis. This strategy involves five key steps: defining landscape boundaries, partnering with government and business, allocating land to its highest value use, increasing productivity, and monitoring results. The document highlights a pilot project in Sei Mangkei, North Sumatra, and identifies significant opportunities to utilize degraded lands in North Sumatra and Central Kalimantan to reduce deforestation pressure.
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Document type: Research paper
Les grandes sociétés et les droits humains ont une mauvaise relation
The statement highlights the disconnect between large corporations and human rights, noting that many companies lack explicit human rights policies while their operations often lead to violence and environmental degradation. It specifically cites abuses linked to palm oil in Indonesia, coal mining in South Africa, and dam construction in Honduras, while expressing solidarity with peasant movements and environmental defenders like Berta Caceres. The author advocates for a binding UN treaty to ensure corporate accountability for human rights abuses.
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Document type: Statement
Taking Deforestation out of Commodity Supply Chains
The program targets the global supply chains of palm oil, soy, and beef, which are identified as primary drivers of approximately 80% of worldwide deforestation. It employs a 'whole of supply chain' theory of change, arguing that deforestation can be eliminated if production is localized in the right areas (avoiding natural forests) and follows sustainable practices. The program is structured into four child projects: Support to Production, Generating Responsible Demand, Enable Transactions, and Adaptive Management and Learning. Key geographic focuses include the Amazon and Cerrado in Brazil, the Chaco in Paraguay, and palm oil production in Indonesia and Liberia. The program seeks to leverage a total cost of $443.2 million, including $40.3 million from the GEF Trust Fund, to shift the market from voluntary niche sustainability to a mainstream norm.
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Document type: Report
Clearing the Air
The report links the expansion of the palm oil industry in Southeast Asia to the use of fire for land preparation, which frequently results in uncontrollable landscape fires. These fires, particularly those on drained peatlands, release hazardous particulate matter that causes an estimated 110,000 deaths annually in the region. The document highlights the exacerbating role of climate-driven droughts and the significant economic losses in tourism and industry, while calling for a global shift toward deforestation-free and peat-free palm oil production.
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Document type: Report
How Investment in Classical Breeding Can Support Sustainable Agriculture
The document advocates for the revitalization of publicly funded classical breeding programs in the U.S., asserting that this low-cost technology is more effective than genetic engineering for developing seeds adapted to sustainable, organic, and regional farming systems. It highlights a severe decline in public breeding resources, noting that the shift toward corporate-led seed development threatens food security by reducing genetic diversity. The author recommends that the USDA's National Institute for Food and Agriculture prioritize long-term funding for cultivars suited to agroecological systems to improve crop resilience, nutrient efficiency, and productivity.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Technical report: water stewardship for stone fruit farmers
The report evaluates water consumption in peach and plum orchards in the Western Cape, finding that while South African farmers are significantly more water-efficient than global averages, local improvements are possible through better irrigation scheduling and the adoption of drip irrigation over micro-sprinklers. It also details a pilot project testing the AWS standard across nine farms, identifying drought, social risks (theft), and regulation as primary concerns for farmers, and recommending the alignment of the AWS standard with other agricultural certifications like GlobalGAP.
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Document type: Report
THE STATE OF SUSTAINABLE MARKETS STATISTICS AND EMERGING TRENDS 2015
The report documents the rapid growth of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) in agriculture and forestry between 2008 and 2014. It highlights that all surveyed standards experienced growth in compliant areas, with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil showing the most significant expansion. The document provides detailed statistics for commodities including bananas, cocoa, coffee, cotton, palm oil, soybeans, sugarcane, tea, and forestry, while identifying critical data gaps in multiple certification, pricing, and consumption patterns that hinder policy planning.
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Document type: Report
From global vision to country action: post-2015 development strategies and food security in Zambia
The report identifies significant gaps between Zambia's national agricultural policies and the proposed global SDGs, noting that while national goals focus on production and exports, the SDGs emphasize human well-being and systemic sustainability. It highlights that current Zambian interventions, such as the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), reinforce a reliance on maize and fail to address structural barriers like poor market access and climate vulnerability.
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Document type: Report
Managing a living cultural landscape: Bali’s subaks and the UNESCO World Heritage Site
The report examines the implementation of the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation in Bali, focusing on the Catur Angga Batukaru (CAB) region. It identifies significant governance gaps, where initial top-down structures failed to include key stakeholders like the subak farmers, leading to the creation of a more inclusive Coordination Forum in 2014. The document details existential threats to the subak system, including rising ritual costs, high land taxes driving land conversion, water scarcity due to tourism priority, and a declining interest in farming among the youth. It argues that the long-term viability of the landscape depends on empowering farmers through a regency-level management body and community-based monitoring aligned with the Tri Hita Karana philosophy.
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Document type: Report
Application Guideline
The WWF Nedbank Green Trust funds catalytic environmental projects in South Africa, offering up to R 3 million over three years for solutions that can scale to national impact. The Trust focuses on seven key areas: freshwater, marine, species of special concern, environmental leadership, outstanding places (Fynbos, Succulent Karoo, Grasslands, Maputaland Pondoland), community empowerment, and climate change. Applications are screened for innovation, transferability, and alignment with WWF-SA's strategic goals, with a strong preference for projects developed in partnership with WWF SA programme managers.
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Document type: Guide
Farming Facts and Futures
The report examines the critical pressures facing South African agriculture, including resource scarcity, climate change, and socio-economic inequality. It highlights the interdependence of food, water, and energy systems, warning that current trends in soil degradation, water over-abstraction, and biodiversity loss threaten long-term productivity. The document calls for a shift toward sustainable farming practices, improved land-use planning, and coordinated governance to protect the natural resource base while feeding a growing population.
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Document type: Report
Le guide de l’IISD pour la négociation de contrats d’investissement pour les terres arables et l'eau
The IISD guide outlines a framework for negotiating agricultural investment contracts, emphasizing the primacy of national legislation over contracts and international treaties. It provides a comprehensive model contract covering land rights, financial obligations, social and environmental commitments, and dispute resolution, while advocating for transparency and community engagement to ensure sustainable rural development.
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Document type: Guide
RESULTS MARKET TRANSFORMATION
The report details WWF's efforts to transform commodity markets through the promotion of credible certification schemes, corporate engagement, and policy influence. It highlights the growth of standards like RSPO and MSC, the integration of small-scale producers into sustainable supply chains, and the increasing commitment of major retailers and financial institutions to sustainable sourcing. The document argues that while significant progress has been made in moving sustainability from a niche to a mainstream requirement, further work is needed to scale these impacts and integrate them into national policies and landscape-level management.
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Document type: Report
A CIVIL SOCIETY EVENT ON ACTION IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH
The event highlighted how climate change negatively impacts health through food insecurity, physical inactivity, and air pollution, while arguing that focusing on health co-benefits can overcome political inertia. Key recommendations include transitioning to sustainable diets, redesigning cities for active transportation, and divesting the healthcare sector from fossil fuels.
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Document type: Executive summary
Food security in the Sustainable Development Goals: Where is the process heading?
The document analyzes the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on the shift toward a universal, integrated approach to food security and sustainable agriculture. It reviews proposals from the Open Working Group (OWG) and other entities, highlighting a consensus on increasing productivity and resource efficiency while prioritizing vulnerable populations. However, it notes that specific implementation strategies and the integration of cross-sectoral synergies remain underdeveloped.
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Document type: Briefing
Food security in the Sustainable Development Goals: Where is the process heading?
The document analyzes the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), noting a shift toward a universal, integrated approach to food security. It highlights a consensus on increasing agricultural productivity and resource efficiency, with an expanded focus on nutritional value and the empowerment of smallholders. While the Open Working Group's 'Zero draft' includes a dedicated goal for hunger and sustainable agriculture, the author argues that the framework still lacks sufficient integration between goals and specific strategies for implementation, such as research and technology transfer.
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Document type: Briefing
Tanzania Country Report
The report identifies Tanzania's high vulnerability to climate change, particularly in agriculture and coastal zones, and assesses the capacity of its universities to support climate compatible development (CCD). It highlights significant gaps in baseline data, specialized technical skills, and institutional coordination, while noting the potential for interdisciplinary research and the need for curriculum innovation to integrate CCD into higher education.
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Document type: Report
Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Through Transformative Governance Practices and Vertical Alignment at the National and Subnational Levels in Africa
The document outlines a framework for transitioning African governance toward the 2030 SDGs, emphasizing the need for National Councils for Sustainable Development (NCSDs) and integrated planning. It identifies current gaps, such as poor policy implementation and a dearth of data, and proposes capacity-building strategies and the establishment of Communities of Practice (CoP) to foster knowledge sharing across the continent.
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Document type: Research paper
Climate Change and the Kenyan Private Sector
The document highlights that Kenya's economy is highly exposed to climate change, with droughts and flooding estimated to cost approximately 2.4% of GDP annually. It argues that the private sector can mitigate risks and gain competitive advantages through resource efficiency, renewable energy, and product innovation. The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) is identified as a key entity supporting firms in managing these risks and accessing opportunities, such as those outlined in the National Climate Change Action Plan 2013-2017 (NCCAP).
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Document type: Briefing
What Role Can National Sustainable Development Councils and Similar Bodies Play in the Design and Delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals?
The document examines how National Sustainable Development Councils (NCSDs) can support the transition from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals. Based on survey data from 12 countries, it identifies that while most nations have national sustainable development strategies, they face significant financial and structural barriers, including institutional resistance and poor data quality. The briefing highlights the advisory role of NCSDs and recommends a participatory approach, vertical alignment between government levels, and the strengthening of existing institutional frameworks to achieve national SDG targets.
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Document type: Briefing