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The report details two workshops held in 2014 to map dairy livestock systems and their environmental context in Tanzania's Morogoro region. It identifies a range of production systems from nomadic to zero-grazing and highlights critical environmental pressures, including water scarcity in the dry season and land conflicts between crop farmers and pastoralists. The document explores scenarios for increasing milk yields, concluding that improvements can be achieved through better education and resource efficiency rather than increased resource consumption, provided that water catchments are protected and fodder markets are developed.

The report details a 2014 assessment of dairy systems in Tanzania's Tanga region. It identifies a contrast between the intensive zero-grazing systems prevalent in the mountainous Lushoto district and the extensive grazing systems dominant in the lowland Handeni district. The study maps feed sources, infrastructure, and environmental risks, concluding that while dairy production is in early development and not yet a primary local environmental concern, future growth requires improved fodder preservation, better breeding, and enhanced extension services.

The document argues that large-scale hydropower in sub-Saharan Africa is highly vulnerable to climate change, yet planning typically relies on historical data and ignores future projections. It identifies barriers to the adoption of climate services—including short planning horizons, institutional gaps, and the influence of Chinese financing—and recommends adopting flexible designs and catchment-wide planning based on downscaled climate models.

The document serves as a technical guide for navigating the transition between various iterations of South African environmental legislation, including the Environment Conservation Act (ECA) and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). It details how pending applications and unlawfully commenced activities (Section 24G) are treated when the listed activities they pertain to have changed, been repealed, or been re-worded in newer regulations such as GNR 982. The guide includes extensive cross-reference tables mapping old listed activities to their current equivalents in GNR 983, 984, and 985, while noting that some activities are now governed by the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (NEMWA).

The report assesses the water-stressed environment of South Africa and the Western Cape, highlighting the risk that water scarcity may constrain economic development. It outlines the governance structure under the National Water Act and Water Services Act, identifies seven key opportunity areas for the private sector—including invasive alien plant clearing and wastewater treatment—and discusses infrastructure projects such as the Clanwilliam Dam and various desalination plants. It also notes significant barriers, particularly chronic skills shortages in municipal engineering and management.

The 2015 IGF Annual General Meeting in Geneva brought together over 230 participants to discuss the integration of environmental, social, and economic planning into the mine life cycle. Key discussions centered on the necessity of early mine closure planning, the alignment of mining activities with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the challenges of financing reclamation. The meeting also presented pilot assessments of the Mining Policy Framework (MPF) in the Dominican Republic, Uganda, and Madagascar, highlighting gaps in socioeconomic benefit optimization and post-mining transition laws.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) utilizes a Robust Decision Support (RDS) approach that integrates water systems modelling, participatory techniques, and interactive data visualization via Tableau. This method addresses the challenge of communicating vast amounts of data from complex models, such as the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system, to non-scientists. By using multi-field graphics and interactive filters, stakeholders can evaluate system vulnerability across numerous scenarios and assess the trade-offs of different management strategies, such as dam construction, to identify robust solutions for an uncertain future.

The document examines the challenges facing the subaks of Bali—traditional farmers' organizations managing irrigation and water temples—following the 2012 UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription. It highlights a disconnect between the initial nomination vision and the actual implementation, which has been hindered by bureaucratic hurdles and the exclusion of key local stakeholders. The brief identifies critical threats to the landscape's viability, including the high cost of rituals, water scarcity, land conversion driven by high taxes, and a shift toward intensive farming. It argues that the existing democratic governance of the subaks, exemplified by the Forum Pekaseh Catur Angga Batukaru, provides a foundation for a successful farmer-led management system. The author recommends implementing the UNESCO-approved management plan, establishing a comprehensive regency-level management body, and meaningfully engaging subak leaders to ensure the long-term preservation of the living cultural landscape.

The document examines the struggle to implement a participatory management system for Bali's UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape. It highlights that while the Subak (traditional farmer organisations) possess the democratic organisational capacity to manage the land, they face existential threats from high ritual costs, water scarcity, land conversion, and a lack of youth interest in farming. The brief argues that successful preservation requires moving away from top-down bureaucracy toward a model that actively integrates Subak leadership and addresses the economic viability of traditional organic farming.

The document examines how increasing the Degree of Regulation (DOR) through hydropower dams in the Magdalena River Basin affects the Mompos Depression. While current regulation is low, the addition of 30 planned projects could increase the DOR from 5% to 30%, significantly altering seasonal and low flows critical for biodiversity. The analysis finds that these dams would not protect against extreme floods, as safety releases during peak flows are necessary, and that reducing lateral connectivity via levees could increase peak flows downstream in cities like Barranquilla.

The document examines the integration of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and community-based adaptation (CbA) through the EU-funded EcoAdapt project. By utilizing the Model Forests approach in Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile, the project sought to develop long-term climate adaptation strategies for water resources. The integration aims to combine the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services with the empowerment of local communities to identify their own needs. Key benefits identified include increased community ownership, a better understanding of socio-ecological interconnections, and a more holistic view of large-scale environmental processes. However, the project faced challenges such as waning community motivation, inclusive participation gaps—specifically with cattle ranchers in Bolivia—and instabilities within the public sector. The briefing concludes that successful up-scaling requires a socio-ecological systems approach, secure finance, supportive public policies, and the development of accessible tools for local actors.

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.

The report examines the legal landscape for indigenous peoples and local communities in South Africa, highlighting a tension between constitutional human rights and state-led developmental interests. While frameworks like the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) provide for benefit-sharing in bioprospecting, other sectors—particularly mining and large-scale infrastructure—often prioritize national interests over community rights. The document notes that the lack of a permanent communal land tenure regime and the 1913 cut-off date for land restitution significantly hinder the self-determination of groups like the Khoi-San. It concludes that while co-management models in protected areas exist, they often fail to decentralize power effectively.

The report examines the legal landscape in Zimbabwe concerning the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples. It highlights a significant gap between progressive constitutional provisions and the actual implementation of laws, particularly in the mining and forestry sectors. While community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) programs like CAMPFIRE show some success in wildlife conservation, the report finds that local communities often face arbitrary evictions, lack of secure land tenure, and marginalization from decision-making processes in extractive industries. It recommends comprehensive legal reforms to align sectoral laws with the 2013 Constitution, establish a Land Commission, and formalize the recognition of Indigenous Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs).

Amigos de la Tierra de América Latina y el Caribe (ATALC) expresses solidarity following the death of 21-year-old activist Remi Fraisse, who was killed by explosive grenades used by French gendarmerie during a peaceful protest against the Sivens dam in Gaillac. The project is criticized for causing deforestation and the flooding of a strategic wetland, reflecting a model of land and water resource grabbing by corporations with state support.

The document argues that traditional food security monitoring focuses too heavily on outputs and outcomes, which are often difficult to attribute to specific actions. It proposes 'process-based indicators' as proxies to measure the quality of decision-making, institutional capacity, and inclusivity. Using the FIPAT tool in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, the authors identify key indicators across six areas: policy vulnerability, system resilience, decision-making transparency, multistakeholder participation, lessons learned, and decentralization. The briefing emphasizes that effective food security policies require inclusive participation of vulnerable groups, empowered local decision-makers, and a shift in institutional culture to view policy review as a dynamic, non-punitive process.

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.

The IISD Guide to Negotiating Investment Contracts for Farmland and Water is a comprehensive tool designed for governments and communities to manage foreign investments in agricultural land. It emphasizes the primacy of domestic law over investment contracts and international treaties, while providing a model contract to fill gaps where domestic laws are weak. The guide outlines a preparatory phase involving investor screening, community engagement, and impact assessments, and proposes specific contractual provisions covering tenure, financial obligations, social development, and environmental protections. It strongly advocates for transparency, the avoidance of stabilization clauses, and the use of domestic courts for dispute resolution to protect the national interest and ensure long-term project viability.

The evaluation finds that the Dominican Republic has a strong environmental management framework but suffers from an outdated primary mining law (Law No. 146 from 1971) and significant gaps in socio-economic benefit optimization and the formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). While the government demonstrates political will and professional capacity, the report highlights a lack of transparency in the distribution of mining revenues to municipalities and insufficient integration of mining into national development strategies.

The document outlines a systems-based approach to measuring food system resilience, moving beyond narrow food availability metrics to include supporting infrastructure and governance. Using the CRiSTAL Food Security tool across 20 communities in Honduras and Nicaragua, the authors identify key resilience drivers such as storage, energy, transport, and water management. It argues that participatory, iterative processes for developing indicators are essential for community buy-in and that these broad indicators should complement existing food security monitoring schemes.