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The report identifies Seychelles as highly vulnerable to sea-level rise and ocean warming, which threaten its fisheries, tourism, and water security. It finds that while the University of Seychelles is in its infancy and has limited research output, there is significant potential for it to lead a national CCD framework. Current climate research is primarily driven by NGOs and international agencies. The document recommends the establishment of a strategic national research framework and the integration of CCD into higher education curricula to address critical gaps in technical expertise and evidence-based policy making.

The report assesses South Africa's readiness for climate compatible development (CCD), defining it as low-carbon, climate-resilient development. It identifies significant research needs across eleven themes, including water security, food security, and health. While South Africa possesses a strong, networked research infrastructure led by the DST and NRF, the report highlights critical gaps in individual skills (such as systems thinking), institutional funding cycles that are too short for complex social-ecological research, and an uneven distribution of capacity across the 23 public universities. It emphasizes the need for transdisciplinary approaches and a shift from 'siloed' sectoral planning to integrated CCD strategies.

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.

The report examines the vulnerability of Asia's High Mountains (AHM) to climate change, highlighting risks from glacial melt, extreme weather, and water scarcity. It details the varying responses of mountain ranges—such as the retreat of most glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya versus stability in the Karakorum—and analyzes the resulting threats to human health, agriculture, and infrastructure. The document evaluates current adaptation strategies, including livelihood diversification and community-based water management, while identifying critical data gaps in permafrost and groundwater storage. It concludes with recommendations for regional cooperation in disaster risk management and the synchronization of national and local climate policies.

The document argues that climate change and development are inextricably linked, as climate impacts threaten to undermine poverty eradication and sustainable development goals. It suggests that the post-2015 framework should be 'climate-smart,' incorporating targets that simultaneously address poverty, low-carbon development, and resilience. The briefing explores two primary integration options: mainstreaming climate-related targets across various goal areas or establishing a stand-alone climate change goal. It highlights that people living in poverty are disproportionately affected by climate change, particularly through impacts on agriculture, water security, health, and infrastructure. The document concludes that the success of the post-2015 agenda depends on its ability to foster policy coherence and encourage private sector and sub-national engagement.

The International Conservation Budget 2014 details U.S. government initiatives to protect global biodiversity and natural resources. It highlights the strategic link between conservation and national security, noting how resource scarcity and illegal wildlife trafficking fuel instability and terrorism. The report outlines funding and activities across agencies including USAID, the Department of the Treasury (via the Global Environment Facility and Tropical Forest Conservation Act), the Department of State, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Key efforts include combating wildlife trafficking, managing transboundary landscapes through the SCAPES program, and implementing REDD+ initiatives in Mexico and the Amazon. The document emphasizes the role of public-private partnerships and community-based natural resource management in achieving sustainable development and protecting critical ecosystems across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The report examines the five-year campaign by the Save Mapungubwe Coalition to protect the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site from the Vele Colliery project operated by Coal of Africa (CoAL). It analyzes three primary engagement strategies: strategic litigation to challenge mining licenses, bilateral negotiations to establish best-practice environmental standards, and multilateral participation in the Vele Colliery Environmental Management Committee (EMC). The document concludes that while litigation and negotiations have limitations, they provide essential leverage, and that inclusive multi-stakeholder governance via EMCs can effectively monitor corporate compliance. It also highlights the correlation between CoAL's non-compliance with environmental laws and the decline of its JSE share price.

The document outlines the environmental and health risks associated with hydraulic fracturing (fracking), specifically highlighting the contamination of drinking water, high greenhouse gas emissions from methane leaks and transport, and the potential for carcinogenic effects on nearby populations. It concludes that natural gas is not a viable transition fuel and calls for a shift toward renewable energy in Canada.

The document advocates for 'no and low regrets' investments in the Caribbean water sector, which provide benefits regardless of climate change uncertainty. It highlights Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and the CCORAL platform as key tools for identifying and implementing these resilient strategies across policy, legislative, planning, budget, and project levels.

The IISD Mining and Sustainable Development Initiative seeks to shift the focus of mining investments from narrow fiscal benefits for governments to a broader 'win-win-win' model involving companies, governments, and communities. The initiative focuses on maximizing both fiscal and non-fiscal economic benefits—such as employment and local procurement—while treating the environment as a non-compromisable asset. To achieve this, IISD is developing an integrated toolkit and methodology for assessing project value, providing legal training on contract negotiations, and offering capacity-building services to developing countries.

The PEDRA research group focuses on the human dimensions of environmental and socio-economic risks in Asia, employing systems-oriented approaches to promote inclusive governance and resilient development. Its current work includes nine diverse projects addressing climate change adaptation in peri-urban Southeast Asia, gender inequalities in environmental conditions, disaster risk reduction in WASH systems, and the governance of the Bali Cultural Landscape.

The African elephant exhibits resilience due to its generalist diet and large population, but is vulnerable to high temperatures, disease, and a critical dependence on fresh water. Climate change is projected to increase heat extremes and create erratic rainfall patterns across sub-Saharan Africa, potentially exacerbating existing threats like poaching and human-elephant conflict. Recommended conservation priorities include securing water sources, maintaining connected habitats, and supporting human adaptation to reduce encroachment.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) provides a detailed critique of the proposed Technical Regulations for Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation published by the South African Minister of Mineral Resources on 15 October 2013. The CER argues that the regulations are non-binding guidelines rather than enforceable laws, lack sufficient environmental impact assessment requirements, and fail to provide for meaningful public participation or access to information. The document suggests that fracking-specific regulations should be promulgated under a broader suite of environmental laws, including NEMA, NEMWA, and the National Water Act, rather than solely under the MPRDA.

The report details how the Israeli occupation in the West Bank utilizes environmental degradation, resource expropriation, and restrictive land-use designations as tools for colonization. It highlights the systemic theft of water resources, the dumping of industrial and nuclear waste on Palestinian lands, and the use of 'nature reserves' to justify the displacement of Palestinians and the destruction of their agricultural assets. The document concludes that these environmental crimes are inseparable from the political struggle for Palestinian self-determination.

The initiative focuses on the arid Americas, specifically addressing water scarcity driven by climate change and human demands. It emphasizes the strategic importance of groundwater and the need for shared methodologies to assess aquifer depletion and agricultural water use, which accounts for 70% to 90% of water consumption in the region.

The report outlines a framework for an Agricultural Water Security Market (AWSM) in southwestern Manitoba, designed to mitigate the impact of the expanding oil and gas sector on regional water security. The proposed market would enable companies to achieve 'water neutrality' by purchasing offsets that fund the creation of water retention sites, which in turn support groundwater recharge and provide co-benefits like flood mitigation and nutrient retention. The document analyzes 11 national and international water trading models to inform the AWSM's design, which is intended to start as a voluntary system based on corporate social responsibility before potentially transitioning to a regulated market. It estimates a potential water storage supply of 6,287 cubic decametres against an annual oil and gas demand of 400 to 600 cubic decametres. The report identifies key potential actors, including the Oil Producing Municipalities of Manitoba and Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship, and examines the provincial and federal legislative frameworks that could support the market's operation.

The document argues that while climate change is unlikely to be the sole direct cause of conflict, it acts as a 'threat multiplier' that intersects with poor political governance and socio-economic vulnerabilities to increase the risk of violence. In the Zambezi basin, this manifests as competition over dwindling water and food supplies, migration-induced tensions, and the manipulation of resource scarcity by political elites. Case studies of Bulawayo and Chinde highlight how chronic water shortages, flooding, and political marginalisation create flashpoints for unrest. The author emphasizes that strengthening Local Adaptive Capacity (LAC) and community resilience through grassroots organisations and traditional governance can mitigate these risks.

The report identifies strategic water source areas (SWSAs) across South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland, finding that just 8% of the land surface area generates 50% of the region's mean annual runoff. It assesses the land cover and protection status of these areas, noting that while 63% of SWSAs in South Africa remain in a natural condition, only 16% have formal legal protection. The document highlights threats from plantation forestry, cultivation, and mining, specifically noting that over 70% of SWSAs in Mpumalanga are under mining or prospecting licenses.

The report argues that public-private collaborations (PPCs) are a strong model for leveraging the resources of both government and business to meet the growing need for climate and disaster resilience investments. It identifies six key success factors for policy-makers: building on local trust, starting small for scalability, integrating skill building, strengthening livelihoods, creating value-chain partnerships, and finding innovative infrastructure alternatives. Through nine case studies across sectors like agriculture, water, and energy, the document demonstrates that PPCs can engage a diverse range of actors—from multinationals to micro-enterprises—to deliver place-specific adaptation and disaster risk management solutions.

The report identifies Pakistan as highly vulnerable to climate change due to its geography, economic dependence on agriculture, and high poverty levels. It evaluates the 2013 National Climate Change Plan (NCCP) and the impact of the 18th Amendment, which devolved environmental responsibility to provinces. The document proposes ten priority action areas across policy, governance, technical capacity, and capacity building, while drawing lessons from adaptation planning in Kenya and the Dominican Republic.