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The document examines the critical water scarcity and management challenges facing the Eastern Mediterranean, highlighting the stark disparity in water distribution between the northern and southern/eastern regions. It analyzes the compounding effects of climate change, population growth, and political tensions on water security. The author argues for a shift from supply-based infrastructure to integrated water resource management and hydrodiplomacy to mitigate conflicts and foster regional stability.

The document combines findings from community surveys in New Jersey, Louisiana, and the Navajo Nation with stakeholder interviews to evaluate the Community Benefits Plan (CBP) required for most U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding. While the CBP is seen as a tool to improve worker and community outcomes, survey data reveals deep skepticism due to unfulfilled past promises and a preference for environmental quality improvements over clean energy expansion. Implementation challenges include limited DOE capacity, stakeholder fatigue, and a need for greater accountability and resources for under-resourced community groups.

The report details survey results from the Ironbound Community (New Jersey), Navajo Nation Chapters (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah), and St. James and St. John the Baptist Parishes (Louisiana). It finds widespread skepticism toward developers due to unfulfilled past promises and low initial awareness of CBPs. While support for CBPs increased after residents were informed of potential benefits, priorities varied: environmental quality (water and air) and affordable housing were highly valued, while specific clean energy funding like EV charging stations ranked lower. Residents strongly emphasized the need for transparent, accessible engagement and the inclusion of small business owners and environmental groups in negotiations.

The report argues that while water retention is a key climate adaptation tool in Manitoba, its effectiveness depends on strategic site selection, naturalized design, and long-term monitoring. It details the multi-dimensional benefits of water retention—including flood and drought risk reduction, water quality improvement, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity enhancement—and provides a three-step integrated framework for the province to assess storage needs, develop optimized solutions, and implement informed decision-making processes.

WASH-Flows is a Microsoft Excel-based tool developed under the Bolivia WATCH Program to bridge the gap between household-level WASH data and watershed-scale planning. It transforms qualitative household information into quantitative data to assess service vulnerability, estimate environmental contamination loads, and provide water demand and wastewater flow data for water resources management software. While developed for Bolivia and currently applied in the Tupiza, Pampa Huari, and Choqueyapu-La Paz watersheds, the tool is intended for use in low- and middle-income countries across rural and peri-urban settings.

The document details the management cycles and legal deadlines of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), emphasizing the obligation to achieve 'good status' for water bodies and the strict conditions under which deadlines may be extended. It highlights that while the primary deadline for good status was 22 December 2015, extensions for technical feasibility or disproportionate costs are limited until 2027, after which only 'natural conditions' can justify further delays. The paper also addresses the immediate requirement to prevent water deterioration and the inferred deadline of 18 December 2028 for phasing out priority hazardous substances. A case study on mercury pollution in North Rhine-Westphalia illustrates the legal consequences of failing to implement necessary measures to meet these standards.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a USDA initiative that pays agricultural producers to remove environmentally sensitive land from production to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and reduce wildlife habitat loss. The program includes various initiatives such as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and the Farmable Wetland Program, with specific acreage caps ranging from 24 million to 27 million acres between 2019 and 2023. In 2021, the USDA highlighted the program's climate impact, estimating a reduction of 12 million metric tons of CO2e per year, and introduced incentives to further increase enrollment and mitigation potential.

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers and nonindustrial forest managers to address natural resource concerns. It supports practices that improve water and air quality, increase soil health, and mitigate climate change. Funding is provided through the 2018 Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, with specific allocations for livestock production and wildlife habitat. The program includes sub-initiatives like Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) and the EQIP Cover Crop Initiative to foster innovative conservation approaches and carbon sequestration.

The survey reveals high levels of concern regarding air and water quality, particularly among Hispanic and Black communities. While there is strong support for the clean energy transition and interest in related careers, significant barriers exist, including lack of education, financial insecurity, and low awareness of job opportunities. Trust in government is low, while trust in scientists and family is high.

The South Tacoma Warehouse Project involves a proposed warehouse complex on a 147-acre site containing wetlands and a Superfund site. Earthjustice highlights that the project would increase diesel truck traffic and greenhouse gas emissions in an area already overburdened by pollution and home to a disproportionate number of residents of color. Despite community opposition, the City of Tacoma approved a land use permit in April 2023 without requiring an Environmental Impact Statement under the State Environmental Policy Act.

The document argues that voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can act as partners in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by providing granular data and 'best practice' case studies for government reporting. While governments require high-level aggregated data for Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), VSSs offer detailed monitoring that can fill data gaps, particularly in the Global South. An analysis of 13 VSSs showed high coverage of criteria related to SDG 8 (77.81%) and SDG 6 (72.82%), and moderate coverage for SDGs 15, 2, and 12. The brief provides guidelines for governments to engage VSS stakeholders and incorporate their findings into VNR sections such as 'Institutional mechanisms' and 'Progress on goals and targets'. Case studies from Uganda, India, and Tanzania illustrate how VSSs contribute to specific targets, such as improving land tenure for women in Uganda and reducing child labour through school infrastructure in Tanzania.

The report examines the intersection of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically focusing on how VSS data can alleviate government reporting burdens in Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). Through benchmarking 13 VSSs against five SDGs (2, 6, 8, 12, and 15) and providing practical reporting examples for Uganda, India, and Tanzania, the document demonstrates that VSSs can provide granular, on-the-ground data and 'best practice' case studies that complement state-centric reporting. It concludes with generic guidelines for governments to improve coordination with VSS bodies to advance the 2030 Agenda.

The policy brief examines how voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and can be leveraged by governments to enhance their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). Through a mapping of 13 international and regional standards, the research demonstrates high coverage of goals related to decent work (SDG 8) and clean water (SDG 6). The document provides guidelines for governments to integrate VSS data and case studies from countries like Uganda, India, and Tanzania to address data gaps and promote policy coherence in their national reporting.

The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) is a USDA initiative that coordinates conservation activities with partners to address natural resource concerns on a regional or watershed scale. As of August 2022, the program had made 589 awards to over 3,000 partners and maintained over 400 active projects across every US state. Funding is provided through the 2018 Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, with the latter allocating $4.95 billion for the program through fiscal year 2026. The program focuses on soil, water, and wildlife protection, utilizing partnership agreements and program contracts with producers to implement eligible conservation activities.

A coalition of environmental justice organizations argues that the EPA's proposed regulations for the oil and gas sector must be strengthened to protect Black, Latine, tribal, and low-income communities. The commenters detail how these groups suffer disproportionate health risks from air and water pollution, economic burdens from orphaned wells and property devaluation, and heightened climate vulnerability. They recommend specific policy enhancements, including stricter leak detection and repair (LDAR) requirements, the elimination of routine flaring, and more robust community monitoring and well-closure mandates.

The Stockholm Environment Institute has developed WASH Flows, a Microsoft Excel-based tool that links household-level WASH data with watershed-scale modelling, such as WEAP. By bridging the gap between WASH services and Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), the tool allows users to estimate service levels, identify vulnerable communities, and model the impact of interventions on water balance and quality. A case study in the Tupiza watershed in Bolivia demonstrated the tool's ability to establish a service baseline—revealing significant gaps in safely managed water (25%) and sanitation (4%)—and to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed drinking water and decentralized sanitation systems in increasing drought resilience.

The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI), proposed by the 'Six Sovereigns' (four Tribal Nations and the states of Oregon and Washington), outlines a long-term strategy to restore native fish populations to 'healthy and abundant levels'. The centerpiece of the proposal is the breaching of four Lower Snake River (LSR) dams, which the document asserts is the only reasonable way to ensure the recovery of Snake River stocks. To make this viable, the CBRI calls for federal investment to secure 'continuity of services'—replacing the dams' energy, transportation, irrigation, and recreation benefits—prior to breaching. The plan also includes reintroducing fish into blocked areas of the Upper Columbia, improving water quality and quantity, and implementing predator control. It emphasizes a 'whole of government' approach to funding, including the use of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Northwest Power Act, while upholding federal Treaty and trust responsibilities to Tribal Nations.

The report finds that water retention projects in Manitoba's Seine, Rat, and Roseau watersheds provide significant economic returns, with an average benefit-to-cost ratio of 2.45 over 20 years. For livestock-specific operations, this ratio increases to 3.16, delivering benefits such as flood protection, extended grazing, and improved water quality.

ClientEarth warns that the UK government is in breach of the Environment Act 2021 due to missed deadlines for environmental targets and the Environmental Principles Policy Statement. The organization argues that these delays, combined with the 'sunset' provisions of the Retained EU Law Bill, risk a governance gap where EU-derived environmental protections are revoked before domestic replacements are fully operational.

ClientEarth argues that the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill creates a 'cliff-edge' by providing for the automatic revocation of all retained EU law (REUL) by the end of 2023. The briefing identifies five fundamental flaws: the potential loss of critical protections for species, air, and water quality due to administrative neglect; legislative chaos and business uncertainty; the undermining of the rule of law through the use of secondary legislation without parliamentary oversight; the politicization of the judiciary; and a built-in deregulatory bias that may breach international obligations like the Aarhus Convention and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.