Search Climate Insights Directory

This research paper describes a participatory methodology used to identify and address climate adaptation barriers in Jamaica, focusing on the agriculture, fisheries, and tourism sectors. Through stakeholder mapping and workshops, the study highlights a disconnect between national-level planning and local-level implementation, identifying specific policy and funding barriers and proposing practical, consensus-based solutions to build climate resilience.

This research paper presents a participatory methodology used in Mauritius to identify and overcome climate adaptation barriers in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. The study highlights a strong predominance of national government in planning and implementation, with limited inclusion of local actors, and identifies specific knowledge and institutional barriers that hinder local adaptation actions.

This research paper describes the application of a participatory methodology to identify and address climate adaptation barriers in Seychelles. Through workshops involving the agriculture, fisheries, and tourism sectors, the study highlights a disconnect between national planning and local implementation, primarily driven by a lack of climate vulnerability data and the marginalization of local actors.

This research paper describes a participatory methodology used to identify and address climate adaptation barriers in St Lucia, focusing on the agriculture, fisheries, and tourism sectors. The study highlights a disconnect between national-level planning and local-level implementation, identifying land use planning and conflicting stakeholder values as primary obstacles to resilience.

This research paper compares the socio-economic profiles and disaster coping mechanisms of low-income persons in the agriculture and tourism sectors across the Caribbean (Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, and St. Lucia) and the South West Indian Ocean (Mauritius and the Seychelles). The study evaluates the demand for microinsurance as a tool to reduce vulnerability to extreme weather events.

This case study provides a political-economy analysis of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional support programme for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). It examines the valuation of forests as global, regional, and local public goods, the challenges of forest governance in Southern Africa, and the implementation of a regional MRV (measurement, reporting, and verification) project to support carbon sequestration goals while balancing regional equity.

This case study examines the SADC Payment Integration System, specifically the launch of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Integrated Regional Electronic Settlement System (SIRESS) in July 2013. The system aims to facilitate cross-border payments and financial integration across SADC member states, starting with a pilot in the Common Monetary Area (CMA).

This case study examines the political economy of the sugar sector within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), highlighting the role of private-public partnerships, regional trade agreements, and the challenges posed by a distorted global market. It details the production capacities of member states and the mechanisms used to manage regional trade and protect producers from international dumping.

This report, produced by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) in collaboration with the SADC Secretariat and GIZ, identifies the primary business and investment constraints within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. By analyzing multiple business climate surveys, indices, and the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), the study establishes a list of the top ten barriers to investment and development to facilitate public-private dialogue and the creation of practical policy solutions.

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies examines the potential socio-economic impacts of increasing investment in basic education across Africa. Using the International Futures (IFs) modelling system, the authors simulate a scenario where African nations adopt the enrolment and completion growth rates of the continent's best-performing countries. The analysis suggests that a modest increase in GDP allocation to education could lead to significant long-term gains in GDP, poverty reduction, and public health, although these benefits would be realized over several decades.

This briefing paper examines the proliferation and nature of South-South Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), analyzing whether agreements between developing countries differ from the traditional North-South templates. It concludes that while some developing nations are beginning to introduce bespoke provisions and policy exceptions, the majority of South-South BITs continue to mirror the European models established in the 1950s and 1960s.

This 2010 training manual by the Institute for Security Studies provides a comprehensive framework for law enforcement agencies in Eastern and Southern Africa to identify, investigate, and prosecute environmental crimes. It covers the foundations of environmental law, the technical processes of inspection and evidence gathering, and the legal requirements for criminal prosecution, emphasizing a participant-centered learning approach for police, customs officials, and prosecutors.

This research paper examines the adoption and implementation of the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa. It analyzes the role of the Regional Centre for Small Arms (RECSA) in coordinating efforts across 12 signatory states and identifies significant gaps between regional political commitment and national-level execution.

This concept note outlines a proposed workshop organized by the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO), Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) to develop a regional response strategy for law enforcement agents to combat piracy in Eastern Africa.

This research paper examines international migration patterns in southern Africa, focusing on the challenges of data collection and the implementation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Draft Protocol on Facilitation of Movement of Persons. It analyzes the typology of voluntary and forced migration, the prevalence of xenophobia in destination countries, and the need for harmonized legislation to achieve regional integration.

This research paper examines international migration patterns in southern Africa, focusing on the challenges of data collection and the implementation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Draft Protocol on Facilitation of Movement of Persons. It analyzes the dynamics of voluntary and forced migration, the prevalence of xenophobia in destination countries, and the need for harmonized legislation to achieve regional integration.

This briefing by Theresa Whelan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Africa, explains the rationale and intended structure of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). It argues that the command is a necessary shift from Cold War-era organizational structures to a 21st-century approach that prioritizes security capacity building, prevention, and inter-agency cooperation to support African stability and U.S. national security.

This fact sheet provides a list of countries that have signed, ratified, or acceded to the African Union (AU) Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism as of 23 June 2006.

This report by Friends of the Earth International argues that World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations and regional free trade agreements prioritize corporate profit over environmental sustainability and human rights, leading to the loss of livelihoods for millions of small-scale farmers, fishers, and indigenous peoples. The document details how trade liberalization facilitates the privatization of natural resources, undermines food sovereignty, and exacerbates climate change and desertification across various global regions.

This conference report, prepared by Masiiwa Rusare of the Trade & Development Studies Centre (TRADES Centre), documents a regional meeting held in September 2005 in Harare, Zimbabwe. The event focused on the experiences of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) in negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union (EU). The report details the institutional structures of the negotiations, areas of convergence and divergence between the two regional blocs and the EU, the specific interests of South Africa, and the challenges of integrating non-state actors and the poor into the trade process.