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The document argues that strengthening local food systems increases resilience to climate-driven supply shocks. It recommends that cities protect agricultural land through zoning and greenbelts, embrace soil-free technologies like vertical farming, and promote redundancy through municipal composting and diversified water sources. It also suggests supporting the 'cottage food industry' and community food centres to enhance local resourcefulness and food security.

The Adaptation Futures 2016 conference, held in Rotterdam, convened over 1,700 experts to address the urgency of climate adaptation. The synthesis highlights a critical gap where risks are being created faster than they are reduced, calling for more radical and experimental adaptation strategies. Key findings emphasize the necessity of diverse partnerships, the integration of the private sector, and a shift in monitoring from measuring process to measuring progress. The report details thematic outcomes across ten areas, including urban infrastructure, food security, public health, and the Arctic, while advocating for a reinforcing relationship between research 'on' and 'for' adaptation.

The document presents the NDC-SDG Connections tool, developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the German Development Institute, which disaggregates 161 NDCs into over 7,000 activities to map their links to the 17 SDGs and 169 targets. The analysis reveals that while NDCs span all SDGs, the strongest connections are in water, food, and energy, whereas social goals like health, education, and gender equality are under-represented. The tool highlights synergies across sectors—such as agriculture linking SDG 2, 6, and 15—but notes that it does not identify trade-offs, which remain an unexplored area for policy-makers.

The document argues that gender inequality and unequal power relations frequently exclude women from environmental decision-making and the benefits of development programmes. It emphasizes that gender intersects with other vulnerabilities, such as disability and class, and calls for the integration of disaggregated gender data into technical models and climate finance to ensure equitable outcomes in the energy transition and natural resource management.

The document analyzes how ecological challenges, such as severe droughts and storms, exacerbate social instability and violent conflict in Mindanao, Philippines. It highlights the displacement of millions due to both climate events and conflict, which creates opportunities for terrorist groups like ISIS to establish footholds. The text emphasizes the geostrategic importance of the region to the United States and recommends that U.S. policy support water-related programs and collaborative governance to build climate resilience and promote peace.

As of 31 October 2016, the GCF pipeline consists of 46 funding proposals requesting USD 3.2 billion and 169 concept notes requesting USD 7.9 billion. The portfolio includes 27 approved projects, with varying levels of progress in fulfilling conditions for the execution of Funded Activity Agreements (FAAs). The document also tracks the progress of direct access entities and a pilot programme for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which has shortlisted 7 concept notes for funding up to USD 100 million.

The proposal seeks US$12.222 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as part of a total investment of US$34.148 million to establish a fund for green MSMEs in South Africa. The project utilizes supply chain finance (SCF), where credit decisions are based on the creditworthiness of the buyer rather than the MSME, to overcome chronic lack of access to finance due to insufficient collateral and track records. The fund targets sectors including renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and energy efficiency, aiming to reduce lifetime CO2 emissions by 33,001,833 tons and support over 30,000 jobs. The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) serves as the accredited entity, with SCF Capital Solutions as the fund manager.

The document assesses the dual nature of large-scale agricultural investments, noting that while they can create employment and market opportunities, they often lead to water depletion, land tenure insecurity, and disproportionate burdens on women. It highlights that water demand for irrigation in investment areas can rise by 50% and that weak institutional enforcement often fails to protect local communities. The author advocates for a 'social tenure model' and the use of specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to frame investment design to ensure sustainability and inclusivity.

The paper introduces EconWEAP, a model that integrates the State Wide Economic Agricultural Production Model (SWAP) and the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system to better reflect physical and behavioral responses to climate change. By using a step function approximation of water demand curves from SWAP within an iterative search process, the model estimates crop land allocation based on economic value and water availability. Application of EconWEAP to California's Central Valley demonstrated a significant increase in agricultural revenues compared to using WEAP alone, achieved through the economically optimal allocation of water while maintaining the same hydrology.

The report assesses climate variability and future projections across central, eastern, western, and southern Africa, highlighting a critical gap in observational data and a lack of consensus among climate models. It details regional risks—such as the 'east African climate change paradox' and the vulnerability of the Congo rainforest—while providing country-specific analysis for Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. The document emphasizes the need for improved high-resolution modelling and better communication of scientific uncertainty to support adaptation in agriculture, water, energy, and urban infrastructure.

The document analyzes adaptation efforts in 15 countries across Africa and Asia, highlighting a universal prioritization of the agricultural sector and significant gaps in subnational planning and monitoring systems. While national-level policy frameworks are advancing, the review identifies a persistent lack of adaptation programming in health, forestry, and fisheries, and notes that progress is driven more by political leadership and donor priorities than by development status or climate risk levels.

The document examines the gap between South Africa's comprehensive climate and disaster risk management policies and their practical implementation. It highlights that while the 2015/2016 El Niño-linked drought caused severe agricultural losses, the adoption of conservation agriculture by grain farmers in the Western Cape demonstrated improved resilience. The brief argues for a shift from disaster relief to proactive risk reduction, calling for better intergovernmental cooperation, streamlined water resource planning, and targeted financial mechanisms for vulnerable farmers.

The document examines South Africa's response to the 2015/2016 drought, the worst in 35 years, noting a systemic tendency toward remedial rather than preventative action. It highlights critical gaps in meteorological data gathering due to theft and vandalism of monitoring stations, and the failure of many municipalities to adopt water conservation strategies. The authors propose the adoption of a national drought policy, the updating of computer-generated operating rules for water supply, and the use of citizen-science data repositories to enhance forecasting capabilities.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) reported total assets of $108,201,902 and total net assets of $90,746,134 as of September 30, 2016. The organization's total revenue for the 2016 fiscal year was $99,365,271, with total expenses amounting to $89,632,638. An independent audit by Grant Thornton LLP issued an unmodified opinion, stating that the financial statements present fairly the financial position of the Institute and its subsidiaries. The report details WRI's operational focus on six critical issues: Climate, Energy, Food, Forests, Water, and Cities and Transport, supported by a global network and staff across multiple legal entities including WRI India, WRI China, and WRI Europe.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) reported total assets of $108,201,902 as of September 30, 2016, with total revenues for that year reaching $99,365,271. The organization operates through several legal entities, including subsidiaries in India, China, and Europe, focusing on critical issues such as climate, energy, food, forests, water, and cities and transport. An independent audit by Grant Thornton LLP concluded that the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Institute and its subsidiaries.

The report identifies climate change as a significant threat to Tanzania's development due to rising temperatures, sea-level rise, and altered precipitation patterns. While the government has established institutional structures and strategies, the report emphasizes the need for better implementation and integration of climate change into sectoral policies, particularly in water, health, agriculture, and disaster risk reduction.

The report identifies Pakistan's vulnerability to climate change due to its geography, dependence on the Indus Basin, and socioeconomic challenges. While the government established a National Climate Change Policy in 2012 and an implementation framework in 2013, the report notes limited progress in executing these actions. Current adaptation efforts are primarily discrete, internationally funded programs focusing on agriculture, water resource management, and disaster risk management, particularly in Sindh, Punjab, and high mountain regions.

The report identifies agriculture, water, fisheries, energy, and health as sectors negatively affected by climate change in Ghana, with a particular emphasis on the vulnerability of the northern region. While the Government of Ghana has integrated climate risk into sectoral policies, the National Climate Change Policy and National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy are designed to provide the concrete actions missing from those documents. Current initiatives are concentrated in the agricultural sector and northern regions to support poverty reduction and economic growth. Future priorities include improving the evidence base for adaptation via monitoring and evaluation and increasing the capacity of sub-national actors and civil society networks.

The author contends that traditional attempts to control water through artificial solutions have created vulnerabilities that are now being exposed by a changing climate. The document advocates for a 'resilience mindset' in water management, particularly within humanitarian and development funding, moving away from short-term recovery toward long-term capacity for communities to thrive despite recurrent water challenges. This approach emphasizes the use of predictive models, early warning systems, and the integration of indigenous knowledge. To implement this, the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) has focused on the Sahel, Horn of Africa, and South and Southeast Asia, and has launched a Water Window Challenge with a $10 million commitment from the Z Zurich Foundation to fund innovative flood-resilience solutions.

The review concludes that the Yzermyn underground coal project's EIAR and EMPr are of poor quality, failing to address critical concerns from the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), Department of Water Affairs (DWA), and Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). The author argues that the project poses high risks to 'irreplaceable' biodiversity and water resources, specifically regarding acid mine drainage and the drawdown of wetlands. The review asserts that the competent authority ignored these risks and the NEMA principles when granting environmental authorisation, focusing only on surface footprint rather than landscape-scale impacts.