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The report 'Beyond the Stripes' by WWF International demonstrates that tiger conservation serves as a catalyst for broader environmental and human benefits. It highlights how protecting tiger landscapes safeguards biodiversity hotspots, secures water for millions, mitigates climate change through carbon storage, and supports local economies and traditional cultures across Asia.

The report argues that Olam, a Singapore-based agribusiness, operates a 'black box' in its palm oil supply chain by concealing the identity of its suppliers, which allows the company to source oil from producers engaged in deforestation. In Gabon, the report alleges that Olam has cleared approximately 20,000 hectares of forest since 2012, violating FSC standards. In Southeast Asia, Olam's lack of transparency is linked to the 'haze' crisis caused by peatland and forest fires. The document calls for Olam to adopt a 'zero deforestation' policy, publish its supplier list, and restore destroyed habitats.

The report argues that Bangladesh's state-dominated oil market and ad-hoc pricing policy create severe fiscal burdens, hinder investment, and encourage carbon emissions. It finds that oil subsidies primarily benefit the rich and upper-middle classes rather than the poor. To address these issues, the authors recommend a phased transition toward market-based pricing, the deregulation of all oil market segments to encourage private investment, and the implementation of targeted cash transfers to protect vulnerable populations from price increases.

The 2016 assessment of NYDF Goal 2 reveals a growing number of corporate commitments to deforestation-free supply chains, with 415 companies making 701 pledges. However, progress is uneven across commodities; palm oil and wood products have the highest commitment rates, while cattle—the largest driver of deforestation—has the lowest. Implementation remains a challenge, as few companies have time-bound actionable plans or full traceability to the production level. While companies in deforestation hotspots (Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Paraguay) are more advanced in operationalizing pledges, overall global impact on forest loss cannot yet be measured due to data gaps. The report emphasizes that private sector efforts require stronger support from financial institutions and improved forest governance from national governments to be effective.

The document argues that while e-commerce offers significant opportunities for economic growth, SME empowerment, and gender equality in Africa, the continent faces substantial infrastructure and regulatory gaps. It highlights a critical risk: as developed nations establish high-standard regulatory benchmarks through agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), African countries may face marginalization from global value chains if they do not proactively develop compatible enabling environments.

The document introduces agent-based modelling (ABM) as a bottom-up approach to study complex social and environmental systems by simulating the interactions of autonomous agents. It argues that ABM is particularly useful for problems involving decentralized interactions and non-linear dynamics where traditional top-down models fail. The authors highlight ABM's potential as a stakeholder engagement tool and its ability to be integrated with qualitative and quantitative methods like GIS and social network analysis. Four case studies are presented: disaster resilience in Turkey, agroforestry adaptation in Cameroon, biodiesel transitions in Malaysia, and artisanal fisheries management in Kenya.

The report highlights that while global wild tiger populations increased to approximately 3,890 by 2016, this progress is threatened by an estimated 11,000 kilometres of planned roads and railways across tiger landscapes. Linear infrastructure causes habitat fragmentation, increases human-tiger conflict, and facilitates poaching. Through case studies in the Dawna Tenasserim Landscape, the Terai Arc Landscape, and Sumatra, the document demonstrates how infrastructure projects can isolate populations and degrade ecosystems. WWF calls on governments and investors to adopt long-term spatial plans, protect critical habitats as inviolate areas, and implement wildlife crossings to maintain connectivity.

The document analyzes the state of democracy in Africa, arguing that while electoral democracy has increased since 1989, it is often constrained by neopatrimonialism and a lack of governance capacity. It explores the 'sequencing debate' regarding whether democracy precedes or follows economic development, noting that while authoritarian models have sometimes delivered rapid growth, long-term human development is robustly linked to high-quality electoral democracy. Using the International Futures (IFs) system, the author forecasts that a 'Fourth Wave' of democracy could significantly increase Africa's GDP and reduce extreme poverty by 2070 compared to an 'Authoritarian Regress' scenario.

The report identifies systemic failures in African land administration, including the fact that only about 10 percent of land is legally documented. It argues that securing tenure through a combination of community land registration in land-abundant areas and individual titling in land-constrained areas is essential for investment. The text highlights the need to integrate customary tenure into statutory law and eliminate market restrictions to improve access for women, youth, and the land-poor, while warning against 'land grabs' resulting from weak governance.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) opposes New York City's proposed biodiesel heating fuel mandate, arguing that increasing demand for vegetable oil-derived biodiesel drives the expansion of palm oil production. This expansion leads to the destruction of tropical peatland forests, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia, resulting in significant carbon dioxide releases and public health crises. CATF contends that even soybean-based biodiesel contributes to these impacts through global market fungibility and that current USEPA lifecycle analyses underestimate these greenhouse gas emissions.

The 2016 Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard evaluates corporate adoption of RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). While many companies have joined the RSPO and increased CSPO use, a significant gap remains between high-level commitments and the use of physically segregated supply chains. The report highlights that while 77 companies committed to 100% CSPO by 2015, only 56 achieved this. It emphasizes the need for companies to move beyond 'book and claim' certificates toward segregated sourcing to effectively eliminate deforestation and habitat loss in producer regions like Indonesia and Malaysia.

The document argues that dual pricing of fuel is generally difficult to implement due to high levels of leakage, illegal diversion, and shortages. It highlights that fuels easy to adulterate or smuggle, such as diesel, gasoline, and kerosene, are the hardest to dual price. The briefing examines various delivery mechanisms, noting that 'one-brand' systems using electronic transfers are generally more robust than 'two-brand' systems. Case studies from India, the Philippines, and El Salvador illustrate these challenges and potential technological solutions, such as smart cards and mobile phone-based subsidy transfers.

The document examines the AICO scheme's role in developing the ASEAN automotive sector and assesses whether a similar model could work in SADC. It identifies South Africa as the regional automotive leader but notes that integration is currently one-sided. Key barriers in SADC include low market demand, infrastructure bottlenecks, and a lack of indigenous industry outside South Africa. The author suggests that SADC can move toward integration by leveraging South Africa's expertise, focusing on specific vehicle segments, and developing aftermarket production as a starting point.

The report analyzes the volatility of the South China Sea, focusing on the legal battle between the Philippines and China at the Permanent Court of Arbitration. It explores the strategic rivalry between the US and China, the difficulties of joint resource development, and the potential for ecosystem-based governance. The EU maintains a position of 'principled neutrality,' advocating for UNCLOS and the rule of law to ensure regional stability and freedom of navigation.

The report by Eyes on the Forest (EoF) reveals systemic illegality in the Indonesian palm oil sector, specifically in Riau and Sumatra. Through chain-of-custody tracking, EoF demonstrated that FFB illegally grown in Tesso Nilo National Park and the ex Dalek area reached CPO mills and refineries operated by global giants including Wilmar, RGE (Asian Agri and Apical), Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), and Musim Mas. The findings suggest that current traceability efforts focusing on the mill level are insufficient to prevent the seepage of illegal products, as illegal FFB can travel up to 128 km to reach mills. The report argues that the high prevalence of illegal plantations—estimated by the Indonesian government at 50% in Riau—makes almost all CPO mills in the region high-risk, necessitating a shift toward full traceability to the plantation level.

The document details how palm oil production, primarily in Indonesia and Malaysia, drives deforestation and releases significant carbon and methane emissions, particularly through the draining and burning of peatlands. It notes that while Indonesia and Malaysia have implemented some protections and the RSPO seeks to improve sustainability, RSPO standards remain insufficient. The text highlights a shift in the supply chain, with over 60 percent of globally traded palm oil covered by deforestation-free commitments as of 2016, while warning that future expansion in countries like Brazil and Colombia must be managed to protect forests.

The 2016 assessment of NYDF Goal 2 finds that while corporate commitments to deforestation-free supply chains are increasing—reaching 415 companies and 701 commitments—implementation remains uneven. Progress is most advanced for palm oil and wood products, while soy and cattle lag behind. Despite improvements in risk assessment and procurement rules, fewer than half of assessed companies have time-bound actionable plans, and only 45% report on compliance. The report highlights that over 90% of assessed companies operate in deforestation hotspots, specifically Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Paraguay. However, the overall impact on global forest loss cannot yet be measured due to a lack of comprehensive global data sets linking supply-chain efforts to actual deforestation reductions.

The document presents the Transnational Climate Impacts (TCI) Index, which measures country-level exposure to climate risks transmitted across borders. It identifies four primary risk pathways—biophysical, finance, people, and trade—and argues that globalization makes even wealthy, low-vulnerability countries susceptible to transnational climate shocks. The authors advocate for integrating these risks into national adaptation plans and UNFCCC processes to enhance global cooperation and adaptation finance.

The document evaluates the 'adaptation readiness' of ASEAN countries, categorizing them based on their policy engagement and institutional frameworks. It identifies the Philippines and Vietnam as pioneers, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Myanmar as emerging champions, and Laos, Malaysia, and Thailand as 'wait-and-see' adaptors. The analysis highlights critical gaps in funding, sub-national engagement, and the failure to address structural inequalities and the specific needs of smallholders. It recommends a regional agenda for smallholder adaptation, increased direct engagement with rural populations, and the establishment of regional knowledge-sharing and monitoring systems.

The Plowprint report by WWF International tracks the gross conversion of intact grasslands to cropland in the US and Canada from 2008/2009 to 2015. Unlike net conversion studies, the Plowprint counts land as converted even if it later reverts to grass, arguing that the initial plow-up causes significant, long-term ecological loss. The analysis uses federal satellite-derived data to identify conversion hotspots and emphasizes the loss of ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and water filtration. While noting that nearly half of the Plowprint area had reverted to perennial cover by 2015, WWF maintains that such restoration may not fully recover biological diversity or soil capacity. The document also outlines WWF's broader efforts to reduce grassland and forest conversion globally, specifically targeting soy, beef, and palm oil supply chains in Latin America and Southeast Asia.