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The Centre for Environmental Rights, acting for Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, submitted comments on the draft Climate Change Impact Assessment (CCIA) and Palaeontological Impact Assessment (PIA) for the proposed Thabametsi coal-fired power station. The submission argues that the draft CCIA significantly underestimates greenhouse gas emissions, ignores the social cost of carbon, and fails to adequately address severe water scarcity risks in the Lephalale area. The authors contend that the project is not in the national interest due to existing excess energy capacity and that the most appropriate recommendation is a 'no go option' to avoid irreversible environmental and social harm.

The paper presents TAGMI, an online open-access tool using Bayesian network models to assess the likelihood of success for agricultural water management (AWM) interventions at a sub-national level. By integrating social, human, physical, financial, and natural factors, the tool evaluates the potential for outscaling three specific technologies—soil water conservation/in situ rainwater harvesting, small-scale private irrigation, and small reservoirs for communal irrigation—within the Limpopo and Volta river basins. The authors use a climate change scenario to test the robustness of these interventions and argue for the further development of Decision Support Systems and the identification of implementation best practices for poverty-constrained smallholder systems.

The Limpopo River Basin supports 14 million people, with a significant portion of the population in South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe relying on rain-fed agriculture. Due to highly variable rainfall, resource-poor small-scale farmers are particularly vulnerable to weather-related shocks as they lack the means to invest in water-saving technology and storage. To address these challenges, the document recommends strengthening the Limpopo River Basin Commission's capacity, establishing secure land tenure and water rights for rural populations, prioritising water pricing for small-holders, and planning for water resources based on future precipitation scenarios.

The study maps rural poverty and food insecurity at the district level across Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe from 2003 to 2013. It finds that while CPWF-LBDC research sites are generally located in poor areas, they are not always in the poorest districts. The report emphasizes that female- and child-headed households are the most vulnerable across all four countries and argues that poverty indices should be a primary factor in selecting sites for AWM interventions to effectively reduce food insecurity and poverty.