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The report examines the surge of foreign direct investment in African farmland and water, often termed "land grabs," and its negative impacts on local communities, human rights, and food security. It identifies three main types of investors: food-insecure states, western agribusinesses, and financial sector actors. The document highlights systemic failures, including lack of transparency, weak land tenure laws, and the marginalization of women. It proposes a role for parliamentarians as watchdogs and legislators to ensure free, prior and informed consent and transparency. Key recommendations include land tenure reform, the potential for a moratorium on large-scale land acquisitions, and the adoption of inclusive business models to align investment with national development strategies and the Maputo Declaration.

The document analyzes the surge of foreign direct investment in African farmland and water, often termed 'land grabbing', highlighting the systemic lack of transparency and the violation of local land rights. It identifies three types of investors—food-insecure states, agribusinesses, and financial speculators—and examines the legal frameworks that often prioritize investor protections over community rights. The report advocates for a parliamentary role in ensuring social inclusion, promoting inclusive business models, and implementing the Maputo Declaration's agricultural goals. It concludes with a draft resolution calling for a moratorium on large-scale land acquisitions until a proper governance framework is established.

The document argues that achieving an annual improvement of nearly 2 percentage points in water and sanitation access across Africa would significantly reduce child malnutrition and infant mortality, increase GDP, and lower the probability of state failure. It identifies that such progress requires an additional public investment of nearly US $35 billion over 40 years, primarily targeting sanitation. The analysis highlights that success in this sector is driven by public policy, institutional management, and finance rather than technology, citing examples from Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.

The document serves as a comprehensive manual for professionals and decision-makers on the safe and effective application of human urine in agriculture. It details the nutrient composition of urine, provides evidence from global field trials showing yields comparable to mineral fertilizers, and outlines a 'multiple barrier' risk management strategy based on WHO guidelines to prevent pathogen transmission. The guide also addresses the economic value of urine, institutional frameworks for implementation, and provides a specific local guideline example for Niger.

The author argues that President Ouattara lacks effective command and control over the rebel forces that helped him seize power, as these forces are fragmented and not inherently loyal to him. The military landscape is split between different rebel blocs and zone commanders, some of whom are under UN sanctions. Consequently, the author suggests that securing a monopoly on the use of force and negotiating the disarmament of these rebels is a more urgent priority for Ouattara than forming a government of national unity.

The document examines India's strategic shift toward Africa to diversify its energy imports and reduce dependence on the Middle East. It contrasts India's 'hybrid model' of engagement—which combines resource extraction with capacity building and infrastructure development—against the more mercantilist approaches of other powers. The author argues that for the partnership to be sustainable, India should leverage its expertise in renewable energy and rural electrification to support Africa's own development goals.

India's engagement with Africa has evolved from a post-colonial focus on decolonisation and non-alignment to a pragmatic 'enlightened national interest' approach. This modern strategy is driven by India's need for energy security, specifically crude petroleum, and its ambition for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Trade has grown significantly, with bilateral trade reaching $39 billion in 2008–09, and Indian investment has expanded across hydrocarbons, mining, agriculture, and ICT. India continues to support African capacity building through the ITEC programme and the Pan-African e-network project, aiming to marry its traditional idealistic goals with contemporary economic and strategic needs.

The report examines the state of ICT and Internet policy in West Africa, highlighting the transition from state-led telecommunications to private-sector-driven growth. It details a survey conducted across seven West African countries and Kenya, which reveals overwhelming support for national multi-stakeholder Internet governance forums (IGFs). The findings emphasize that while mobile penetration has grown rapidly, significant gaps remain in broadband access, digital literacy, and regional interconnectivity. The document argues for a holistic policy approach that integrates Internet governance with sustainable development goals, including environmental stewardship and e-governance, while advocating for a shift from top-down government control to inclusive, multi-stakeholder dialogue.

The report examines the role of 'best practices' in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an African Union instrument designed to improve governance through voluntary peer review. Analyzing 12 Country Review Reports (CRRs), the authors identify 146 practices across four themes: democracy and political governance, economic governance and management, corporate governance, and socio-economic development. The document argues that while the APRM lacks a clear conceptual definition of 'best practices,' these identified successes are essential for fostering 'African solutions to African problems' and providing non-coercive incentives for governance reform.

The document argues that a lack of shared definitions and transparent governance mechanisms has eroded trust between developed and developing countries regarding adaptation finance. It analyzes the fragmented landscape of current funds—including the LDCF, SCCF, and Adaptation Fund—and highlights critical disputes over the definition of 'new and additional' resources and the criteria for identifying 'particularly vulnerable' countries. The brief emphasizes that as finance scales from millions to billions of dollars, establishing common metrics for monitoring and evaluation and ensuring equitable representation in governing bodies, such as the Green Climate Fund, is essential for effective climate action.

The document evaluates AWM strategies in the Nariarlé watershed, finding that improving rainfed agriculture and expanding gardening wells offer the broadest benefits. While small reservoirs have improved production, they face siltation and lack coordinated watershed-level governance, which is further complicated by the urban expansion of Ouagadougou.

The report analyzes urban sanitation trends across Sub-Saharan Africa, China, India, South East Asia, and Latin America, while examining the technical and social interactions between these systems and menstrual waste disposal. It finds that menstrual products, particularly those with super-absorbent materials, frequently cause blockages in water-borne sewerage systems and reduce the design life of on-site pit latrines. The document argues that menstrual management is largely ignored in sanitation design, leading to privacy issues for women and operational failures in infrastructure. It recommends the use of solid waste streams for menstrual product disposal and the design of 'women-friendly' facilities that include private waste bins and hand-washing stations.

The report details rainwater harvesting techniques in Niger, categorizing them into individual (Zaï, demi-lunes, manual trenches) and collective (mechanical trenches, banquettes, spreading sills, mini-dams) methods. It assesses the effectiveness of these technologies in increasing crop yields, such as millet and sorghum, and identifies significant barriers to adoption, including extreme poverty and lack of equipment. The document also examines the role of various stakeholders, from state services to NGOs, and briefly discusses ex situ rooftop harvesting, which is less common in Niger than in neighboring Burkina Faso.

The communiqué from the July 2010 Kampala conference identifies critical areas for improving the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Key recommendations include the urgent need to fill the vacant CEO position of the APRM Secretariat, the integration of National Programmes of Action (NPOA) into national budgeting and planning, and the requirement for National Governing Councils to maintain institutional independence with a non-executive majority. The document emphasizes that while twelve countries had completed reviews by 2010, the pace of accession and execution remains slow, urging all 53 African states to join the mechanism.

The policy brief examines the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), a pan-African framework designed to improve food security and environmental resilience. While international support has surged—including a $1 billion implementation fund and G8 commitments—the document highlights a critical gap in African leadership and policy capacity. It argues that without strengthening the expertise of those managing the policy process, Africa cannot fully optimise this support to achieve its target of 6% annual agricultural growth. The brief also notes that CAADP's inclusive structure provides a more legitimate and durable governance model for agricultural research and development (ARD) than previous programmes.

The policy brief evaluates the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), a governance monitoring tool designed to foster political stability and sustainable development in Africa. The author identifies ten reasons for optimism, noting that 29 African countries have voluntarily joined the process and that the mechanism has accelerated its pace of reviews over time. While the author acknowledges that the system struggles to hold heads of state accountable for specific crises, the APRM has produced comprehensive reports that identify systemic weaknesses and has led to tangible governance gains in countries like Ghana, Rwanda, and Kenya. The brief concludes that the APRM empowers citizens through participatory assessment and promotes peer learning among states, though it requires more transparent leadership and better documentation of successes to maintain momentum.

The document reports on a February 2010 roundtable discussing the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). It highlights the mechanism's success in attracting 30 member states and producing 12 comprehensive Country Review Reports (CRRs) that diagnose governance failures. However, it identifies critical weaknesses, including a 'crisis of leadership', insufficient funding, and a lack of systematic implementation of National Programmes of Action (NPoAs). The discussion emphasizes the need for greater transparency in the Panel of Eminent Persons and more robust civil society engagement to ensure the APRM's long-term credibility and impact.

The study finds that carbon emissions from smallholder irrigation pumps in five Sub-Saharan African countries are currently a negligible fraction of national agricultural emissions and are unlikely to become significant even under high-adoption scenarios. However, the study warns that increased pump uptake may pose a more immediate threat to local water resources, particularly in semi-arid regions like Burkina Faso.

The author proposes a new green revolution focused on sustainable land management and water harvesting to meet development goals and climate risks. He argues that investing in small-scale rainfed agriculture and conservation agriculture can double or triple crop yields while sequestering carbon. The document identifies systemic barriers, such as the policy fixation on large-scale irrigation and the administrative split between 'wet' water ministries and 'dry' agriculture ministries, and calls for integrated national strategies in Africa to scale these solutions.

The document examines the 'double incarnation' of Libyan foreign policy under Muammar Qaddafi. From 1970 to the mid-1990s, Libya focused on pan-Arabism and frequently destabilized African nations by supporting rebel groups in Chad, Sudan, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Since the late 1990s, Tripoli shifted toward pan-Africanism, playing a central role in the establishment of the African Union (AU) and the Community of Sahel and Saharan States (CEN-SAD). The paper details Libya's efforts to act as a peace broker, specifically in the Chad-Sudan conflict, and its use of 'chequebook diplomacy' through development aid and capital investments via companies like LAAICO and LAFICO.