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The document details a training program held in September 2014 in Santo Domingo, aimed at improving the Dominican Republic's implementation of the IGF Mining Policy Framework. It focuses on two areas where the country was assessed as having low implementation: socioeconomic benefit optimization and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The report outlines expert presentations on tax and non-tax benefits, community engagement, and the formalization of ASM, while recording recommendations from government officials, mining cooperatives, and civil society to improve transparency, legal frameworks, and social license.

The author criticizes the European Union's criminalization of migration and the failure of neoliberal development models in the Maghreb. It highlights the link between environmental degradation—such as desertification and water scarcity—and forced migration, noting that 'environmental refugees' may reach 250 million by 2050. The text calls for a transition to 'post-development' cooperation that reduces Europe's ecological footprint while improving the Human Development Index (HDI) in the Maghreb, moving beyond the interests of extractive elites and the 'Washington Consensus'.

The author contends that the EU must move away from criminalizing migrants and implementing neoliberal economic models in the Maghreb. Instead, the document proposes a cooperation framework based on reciprocity and ecological awareness, highlighting how environmental issues—such as desertification in coastal areas and water scarcity linked to fracking in Algeria—drive social instability and migration. It criticizes the 'Washington consensus' and the lack of international legal recognition for environmental refugees, who are estimated to reach 250 million by 2050. The text also notes that political instability, corruption, and bilateral conflicts between nations like Morocco and Algeria hinder regional cooperation and the development of interregional projects.

The author critiques current foreign policy as anachronistic and dominated by neoliberal interests, calling for a 'Green Foreign Policy' (GFP) that transcends ecology to include human development, social integration, and the rights of all living beings. The text advocates for the creation of a Global Government with direct citizen participation to replace the perceived democratic deficit in international organisations like the UN, World Bank, and IMF. It positions the EU as a potential driver for this paradigm shift, moving from top-down advocacy to a model of human empowerment and collective consciousness.

Natural Justice submits that the World Bank's Draft Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) fails to align with modern human rights standards, specifically criticizing the 'opt-out clause' in ESS7. This clause allows borrowers to waive ESS7 protections for indigenous peoples if they claim identifying such groups would risk 'ethnic tension' or 'civil strife,' or if it conflicts with national constitutions. Natural Justice contends this nullifies essential protections like Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), promotes a regressive view of indigenous identity, and sets a dangerous precedent for other international financial institutions.

The IISD Arctic Initiative focuses on bottom-up transformations to sustainability in the Arctic, addressing climate change adaptation, extractive industries, infrastructure, and transformative knowledge. It emphasizes the region's rapid warming—twice the global average—and the resulting pressures on ecosystems and food security, alongside increasing interest from global actors in shipping and resource extraction.

The assessment finds that while Madagascar has a strong legal foundation and transparent permitting processes, its overall readiness to implement the IGF framework is low to medium. Key strengths include accessible geological data and a commitment to biodiversity net gain for large mines. However, significant weaknesses persist, including a freeze on mining permits since 2009, severe shortages of government human and financial resources for monitoring, and a largely informal artisanal mining sector. The report recommends developing an integrated national policy for socio-economic benefits, enforcing financial guarantees for mine closure, and improving the formalization of artisanal mining.

The assessment finds that while Uganda has established a comprehensive legal and policy framework for mining, its actual implementation readiness is medium to low due to severe capacity constraints in monitoring, inspection, and enforcement. Strengths include the public availability of geological data and a progressive variable tax rate for mining companies. However, critical gaps exist in mine closure planning, financial assurance for restoration, and the formalization of the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, which accounts for 90% of national production but remains overwhelmingly informal. The report recommends prioritizing socioeconomic benefit optimization, improving post-mining transition frameworks, and increasing transparency in the distribution of mining revenues.

The B Team calls for a global net zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050 to be codified in the Paris climate agreement, arguing that such a clear market signal would drive investment in low-carbon infrastructure and renewable energy while mitigating catastrophic economic and environmental risks.

The author contends that the crisis of globalized liberalism has erased the differences between traditional productivist parties, leaving ecology as the only force proposing necessary systemic transformations. The text criticizes the French Green party (EELV) for subordinating itself to the Socialist Party (PS), which it claims led to electoral decline and a failure to influence government policy. To recover, the author advocates for a 'Green New Deal' implemented through 'contractual autonomy'—where alliances are based on specific programmatic agreements rather than 'left-right' labels—and a return to a 'cooperative' structure that integrates party militants and civil society. This strategy is proposed as a means to resist the rise of national-populism and prepare for the 2017 national elections.

Carbon Market Watch asserts that climate change and sustainable development are deeply interlinked and that the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) must incorporate stronger wording and a standalone climate goal. The author warns that the current separation between the SDG process and the UNFCCC process creates confusion and risks undermining development efforts, as the UNFCCC climate treaty will not enter into force until after 2020.

The document defines the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus as the combined demand for water, energy, and food, noting that traditional methods of meeting these needs are often unsustainable, leading to issues like climate change and groundwater depletion. It outlines IISD's strategy of using watershed-based management, ecological design, and stakeholder consultation to create practical solutions, specifically citing projects in Canada's Lake Winnipeg watershed and mining contexts in Suriname.

The document argues that mining-led growth in Africa often fails to create local benefits due to a lack of effective partnerships, poor long-term planning, and a 'ring-fencing mentality' among companies. It recommends that mining investments be aligned with national development imperatives and that companies forge strategic partnerships with the state, NGOs, and other mining firms to share infrastructure and enhance community development. The author emphasizes the role of 'good practice' Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) in identifying partners and planning for the entire mine life cycle, including closure. A case study from Central Africa demonstrates how collaborating with a conservation NGO and local government led to sustainable infrastructure choices and long-term community training projects.

The document outlines the need for more inclusive, evidence-driven partnerships between African governments, extractive companies, and communities to move beyond raw material exports toward value-addition and beneficiation. It proposes the creation of Regional Mining Visions (RMVs) to set standards on social and environmental impacts and calls for strategic global partnerships with systemic players like China to enhance Africa's position in global minerals value chains.

The 2015 SAIIA Sasol Environmental Sustainability Project (ESP) is an educational competition for South African Grade 10-12 learners. Participants work in teams of three to produce a research paper of up to 12 pages focusing on a selected theme—Biodiversity, Climate Change, or Sustainable Development—and a specific topic such as energy, oceans, or air pollution. The project requires both a local and an international case example. The programme consists of three phases: the research paper, provincial or regional presentations for top papers, and the SAIIA Young Leaders Conference from 6-11 December 2015 in Gauteng, where top learners draft the 2015 SAIIA Young Leaders Declaration for government and UN officials. Key deadlines include school registration by 11 May 2015 and final paper submission by 21 July 2015.

The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) is presented as a milestone in global financial governance designed to bridge the massive infrastructure financing gap in developing countries. Unlike traditional multilateral development banks controlled by developed nations, the NDB is based on 'new South–South co-operation,' emphasizing equal partnership and market-oriented operations. The author proposes five institutional design principles for the NDB: fair governance, market-based operation, non-intervention with high standards, localisation, and acting as a constructive supplement to existing institutions like the World Bank.

The BNDES serves as a national development bank that provides significant post-shipment credit to Latin America, primarily for infrastructure and capital goods. While the Brazilian government has promoted South-South integration, BNDES disbursements largely follow the dynamics of Brazilian trade and market demand. The bank faces criticism regarding the environmental and social sustainability of its projects and the high concentration of funding among a few large firms.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) provides several specialized tools for climate action: LEAP for integrated energy planning and GHG mitigation; WEAP for integrated water resources planning and 'climate-proofing'; REAP and REAP Petite for consumption-based environmental impact accounting; and weADAPT, a collaborative web-based platform for sharing adaptation knowledge. SEI also leads the PROVIA Guidance project to provide technical guidance for National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). The institute's current strategy focuses on expanding capacity-building, creating 'toolkits' to address resource trade-offs, and making these technical tools more accessible to non-experts through visualization and cloud-based platforms.

The SEI Initiative on the Water, Energy and Food Nexus aims to improve sustainable development by formalizing the interdependencies between water, energy, and agriculture. The initiative is structured around three themes: governing the nexus, understanding the nexus, and implementing the nexus. To achieve this, SEI utilizes a 'nexus toolkit' combining the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system and the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) system to quantify development paths and policy impacts. The initiative applies this framework to specific case studies: in Myanmar, it focuses on sustainable river basin development amidst a transition toward universal electricity access by 2030; in Zambia, it seeks to align conflicting sectoral targets in national policy frameworks; and in Colombia, it focuses on balancing sustainable development in the Rio Cravo Sur watershed within the Orinoco region.

The TDDR Initiative by the Stockholm Environment Institute seeks to transform the relationship between development and disaster risk reduction (DRR). It identifies three critical gaps in current approaches: a lack of understanding regarding vulnerability creation, a failure to apply knowledge at appropriate scales, and an over-fixation on risk reduction rather than the trade-offs in decision-making. The initiative intends to use a social-ecological systems framework to conduct context-specific research and support the implementation of the Sendai Framework.