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The report examines the rise of foreign land and water acquisitions driven by food, energy, and water security concerns. It highlights a shift from market-driven comparative advantage to 'long-distance farming' to meet home-state needs. The authors analyze how the interaction between domestic law, international investment contracts, and international investment agreements (IIAs) often prioritizes foreign investor rights over local users and sustainable development goals, potentially limiting host governments' ability to regulate for public health, environment, or food security.

The report analyzes the impact of investment incentives on economic growth, employment, and technology transfer in Southeast Asia. It finds that while incentives helped attract FDI in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, they are not sufficient on their own, as factors like political stability and infrastructure are equally critical. The document notes that technology spillovers vary by national capacity and that the 'China effect' on FDI diversion is often overestimated. It concludes that region-wide regulations and transparency are needed to prevent costly bidding wars and ensure sustainable development.

The policy brief advocates for a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) as a technology-neutral mechanism to lower the life cycle emissions of transportation fuels. It emphasizes the necessity of 'well-to-wheels' accounting, including indirect land-use changes, to ensure genuine emission reductions. The LCFS is presented as a way to incentivize supply chain improvements, discourage high-carbon fuels like coal-to-liquids, and spur market-driven innovation in low-carbon technologies.

The report examines how Southeast Asian countries use investment incentives to attract FDI and the resulting impacts on sustainable development. While incentives have contributed to economic growth and job creation in some nations, the report finds significant evidence of redundancy, where investments would have occurred regardless of incentives. It highlights the importance of a supportive overall investment environment over isolated incentives and notes that environmental impacts remain under-researched. The document also discusses regional investment competition, the 'China effect', and the role of bilateral and regional treaties in shaping investment regimes.

The document explores the tension between 'mainstream' and 'progressive' regionalism in Southeast Asia. It argues that while ASEAN has introduced a 'people-oriented' approach to gain support, civil society advocates for a 'people-centred' model where citizens are at the heart of decision-making. The author details the evolution of civil society engagement, from early academic and business influence via ASEAN-ISIS to more aggressive advocacy by networks like the Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacies (SAPA). The paper concludes that alternative regionalism is emerging as a bottom-up process seeking to integrate human rights, social protection, and democratic participation into the regional framework.

The paper argues that ASEAN's pursuit of sustainable development remains largely rhetorical, as its economic integration initiatives—such as AFTA and the AEC—often prioritize neoliberal open regionalism over the needs of marginalized groups. While the region has seen growth, significant disparities persist, with 21% of the population living in absolute poverty. The author suggests that ASEAN can become a development-oriented organization by reforming its policy of non-interference, empowering semi-skilled migrant workers and small-scale farmers, and increasing transparency in policymaking.

The document examines the critical relationship between forests and the global climate, highlighting the risk that temperature increases above 2-3°C could transform forests from carbon sinks into net carbon sources. It emphasizes the superior carbon storage of old-growth forests over plantations and the extreme vulnerability of peatlands, particularly in Southeast Asia. The guide warns that climate change is increasing the frequency of wildfires and pest outbreaks, while also altering species distribution. It concludes that stopping deforestation and protecting old-growth forests and peatlands are urgent priorities for climate mitigation.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) warns that using food crops like corn and soybeans for biofuels increases food prices, degrades ecosystems, and can raise global warming pollution through land conversion. The UCS advocates for a shift toward 'better' biofuels derived from waste or non-food biomass, supported by a low-carbon fuel standard and performance-based public funding. While the 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) provides a foundation by requiring pollution reductions from new facilities, the UCS argues for broader sustainability criteria to prevent deforestation and protect biodiversity.

The report evaluates the human health impacts of reducing sulphur in marine fuels, comparing a 'no action' scenario with two control options: a 0.1% sulphur limit within 200 nautical miles of coastlines and a global 0.5% sulphur limit. It estimates that these controls could reduce global premature mortality from international shipping by 50-60% by 2012, saving between 41,500 and 50,000 lives annually. Using US EPA cost methodology, the Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) values these societal benefits at approximately $225 to $275 billion per year.

The document examines the critical role of ecosystem services in buffering human populations against environmental disturbances and the risks posed by their decline. It highlights how the combination of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land-use change creates 'vulnerability complexes' that disproportionately affect poor and marginalised groups. The brief warns of 'tipping points' that could lead to catastrophic ecological shifts and massive population displacement, estimating that between 24 million and 700 million people could be environmentally displaced in coming decades. It calls for international climate policy to move beyond mitigation to include the monitoring of ecosystem health and the building of resilience to prevent humanitarian crises.

The document describes a scoping phase (January to November 2008) for a programme aimed at building long-term capacity in universities, research institutes, government, industry, and NGOs to manage climate change risks. The initiative focuses on developing research capacity, enhancing science-technology-policy networks, and stimulating science-policy dialogue to integrate climate risk management into national development policies. Proposed activities include forming national advisory groups, providing short courses on adaptation and vulnerability, hosting international experts, developing curricula, and establishing joint research fellowships. The programme is designed to support the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Nairobi Work Programme and National Adaptation Programmes of Action.

The 2003 EU Biofuels Directive, intended to support rural economies and reduce emissions, has instead contributed to higher food prices, tropical deforestation, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, the conversion of peatlands in Southeast Asia for palm oil has significantly increased global CO2 emissions. The author warns that current life-cycle analyses are insufficient because they often ignore land-use changes and the impacts of displaced food production, urging the U.S. to avoid similar policy mistakes.

The report argues that while trade liberalisation has generally fostered growth and poverty reduction in developing countries, the momentum for such reforms has slowed since the 1990s. It identifies macroeconomic crises, interest group shifts, and the influence of ideas as primary drivers of reform, while noting that 'new-globalising' countries—particularly in East Asia—have seen the most success. The author advocates for unilateral liberalisation over reciprocal negotiations and warns against a return to 'hard' industrial policies or over-reliance on foreign aid.

The report defines network sustainability as a network's ability to function until it achieves its goals, its members lose the will or ability to continue, or it becomes irrelevant. It identifies four dimensions of sustainability—time, resources, relationships, and relevance—and argues that long-term viability depends on strategic, internal, external, and financial management, as well as the adaptive capacity to manage change.

The author contends that quota agreements between China and major economies like the EU, US, and South Africa are 'naive and wrong' because they attempt to recreate the distorted market conditions of the expired Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). The text argues that the surge in Chinese exports is a market correction rather than unfair trade, and that protectionist measures only increase consumer costs and delay industrial adaptation. While the author acknowledges that niches exist for high-value or specialized apparel, they suggest that South Africa's Customised Sector Programme (CSP) must change investor expectations rather than relying on the state-led 'Draconian measures' used by China to restructure its own industry in the 1990s.

The author contends that the MDGs provide 'political camouflage' for aid agencies and oversimplify development by targeting visible symptoms like hunger and disease instead of productivity and growth. The paper argues that focusing on universal primary education may divert resources from more commercially valuable technical and vocational training. To address these gaps, the document proposes 'African Millennium Growth Goals' centered on improving commercial infrastructure, investing in rural economies, enhancing technical skills, increasing domestic lending, and reducing bureaucratic corruption.

The report examines the rapid growth of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) and their dual potential to either build peace through economic interdependence or trigger conflict due to power imbalances and social dislocation. While the European Union is cited as a successful model of integration and stability, the authors argue that this trajectory is not automatic for other regions, particularly in the developing world. The document highlights that poorly designed RTAs can cement inequalities, create 'winners and losers' within domestic populations, and fail to prevent inter-state wars. It also discusses the trend of 'good governance' conditionality in North-South agreements and concludes that while isolation is dangerous, an uncritical rush toward regional integration without considering political contexts can be counterproductive.

The author argues that while the end of the Cold War initially saw a rise in local conflicts, the overall trend is moving toward a more peaceful world. This optimism is grounded in the observed decline in the number of armed conflicts since the late 1990s and the positive influence of global trends such as poverty reduction, democratization, and the rise of international military interventions for conflict settlement. The analysis highlights that internal conflicts (civil wars) are the dominant form of violence and are most strongly linked to poverty, though the author distinguishes between 'greed' and 'grievance' motivations. The document also notes that while ethnic polarization and resource scarcity are often cited as causes of war, systematic evidence is often ambiguous or secondary to broader economic and political factors.

The report argues that ICTs are essential for youth empowerment, governance, and livelihood opportunities, particularly in developing regions. It highlights that while young people use ICTs for advocacy, education, and entrepreneurship, they face significant barriers including high costs, lack of infrastructure, and a need for pedagogical shifts in education. The document details various regional initiatives—such as telecenters in Colombia and India, mobile internet units in Malaysia, and youth networks in Africa—to demonstrate how targeted ICT investments can bridge the digital divide and foster sustainable development.

The research paper examines the failure to operationalize the SADC Organ for Politics, Defence and Security, noting a deadlock between member states over its legal and operational structure. It critiques a 1997 Review and Rationalisation Report for ignoring the security-development nexus and suggests that SADC's economic focus is incompatible with the sensitivities of defence co-operation. By comparing SADC to regional arrangements like L'ANAD in West Africa, ASEAN in Southeast Asia, and the OSCE and WEU in Europe, the author argues that Southern Africa should 'divorce' its security mechanism from SADC to create a dedicated, flexible security convention or union focused on conflict prevention and democratic stability.