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The document details a research effort to define equitable resilience in Southern Africa, addressing a gap in literature which has predominantly focused on the Global North. Using Group Concept Mapping (GCM), the study engaged experts from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region to identify key themes of resilience. Despite challenges such as technological barriers and power outages, the research identified nine central clusters: social justice, development, legislation and policies, collaboration and co-creation, capacity building, inclusion and participation, transformative change, preparedness measures, and mitigation and adaptation strategies. The study emphasizes the need for context-specific strategies that account for the region's severe inequality and climate vulnerability.

The Southern African Resilience Academy (SARA), coordinated by the Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST) at Stellenbosch University, operated from 2021 to 2023 to shift knowledge leadership toward the Global South. The initiative focused on 'Building equitable resilience in Southern Africa' through eight transdisciplinary working groups comprising academics and practitioners. Key outputs included a special feature in the journal Ecology & Society and various Non-Academic Products (NAPs) such as policy toolkits, guidance notes, and practice briefs. SARA's work spanned diverse sectors, including food systems, urban informality, conservation, and gender transformative approaches, emphasizing the interdependence of equity and resilience.

The document argues that a 'Just Energy Transition' in South Africa requires more than decarbonisation; it necessitates a radical socio-economic transformation involving 'energy democracy' and inclusive industrialisation. It highlights the role of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP) and the importance of decentralised energy governance and regional leadership to ensure equitable benefits for marginalised communities.

The document examines the role of urban informality—including unplanned settlements, unregistered economic activities, and unrecognized governance—in the context of rapid urbanization and climate change in southern Africa. It argues that while informality is often invisible or politically challenging, it provides critical services and livelihoods where formal systems fail. The brief recommends that city governments use 'bridging organizations' (such as NGOs and academic institutions) to mediate between formal and informal systems, create inclusive participatory spaces for innovative governance, and address the inequitable distribution of burdens and benefits associated with informal activities. Case studies from Cape Town, Malawi, Harare, and South African waste pickers illustrate how community-led responses and innovative finance can build resilience.

The document details a pedagogical application of Photovoice, a qualitative participatory research tool, within a post-graduate psychology course at the University of the Western Cape. Students used cameras to document defining elements of resilience in their communities, engaging in a process that included compulsory training on ethics and social justice, the creation of audiovisual reflective journals, and individual presentations. The project aimed to enhance students' research skills and cultural competence while challenging negative community narratives. This initiative is part of the Southern African Resilience Academy's (SARA) broader effort to develop a contextually grounded understanding of 'equitable resilience' in the Global South, specifically within Southern Africa, to address the gap in research typically dominated by high-income countries.

The report explores South Africa's energy transition through 2050, emphasizing the need to move beyond 'used futures' and growth-centric economic models. It identifies critical innovations in governance, technology, and social values, while proposing six alternative framings—ranging from ecomodernism to the 'great simplification'—to inform policy. The analysis highlights high-impact uncertainties such as a severe skills shortage for the decarbonized economy and the 'carbon trap' of meeting rising energy demands while reducing emissions. It concludes with four diverse scenarios for 2050 and recommends a shift toward regenerative economies and inclusive multilateralism.

The report examines the role of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) in South-South trade, noting that trade between developing countries grew from USD 600 billion in 1995 to USD 5.3 trillion in 2021. It highlights five examples of VSS integration in the Global South, including organic certification agreements between Chile and Brazil and regional standards in East Africa and the Pacific. The report concludes that integrating VSSs into trade policy can lower compliance costs, reduce trade barriers for smallholders and SMEs, and increase demand for sustainable products.

Climate Resilient Landscape Finance (CRLF) is an innovative umbrella facility combining microfinance, private debt, and technical assistance to address the lack of bankability for sustainable land use in African conservation areas. The instrument aims to mobilize USD 12 million in capital to support local landowners and landscape management companies, leveraging international carbon and biodiversity credit markets to create self-sustaining conservation economies. A pilot phase will begin in the Northern Maasai Mara, Kenya, with plans to expand across Eastern and Southern Africa.

The report critiques the current linear economy and the limitations of the conventional circular economy, proposing instead a 'resource-balanced economy' (RBE) for the SADC region. It argues that the green transition's demand for critical minerals is underestimated and faces thermodynamic and material constraints. To avoid 'financial capture' and poverty traps, the authors advocate for 'anticipatory governance'—a proactive, systems-based approach to policymaking—alongside bioregionalism, re-localisation, and the renegotiation of resource trade agreements to ensure equitable and sustainable development.

The document argues that Africa's vulnerability to climate change is underestimated because transboundary and cascading risks—where impacts in one country affect another via trade, finance, and shared ecosystems—are often overlooked. It suggests that National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) should be used to identify these external risks and the potential for domestic adaptation to create vulnerabilities elsewhere. The brief calls for increased international cooperation and the integration of climate risk into security, trade, and development policies to prevent adaptation efforts from creating 'winners and losers' across the continent.

The document outlines how various policy sectors—including agriculture, trade, land use, and energy—interconnect to influence urban food security in Southern Africa. It emphasizes that urban planners can improve food accessibility and resilience by designing food-sensitive infrastructure, optimizing transportation for fresh food, and allocating land for community gardens and markets. The note further advocates for inclusive governance, urging policymakers to engage informal food actors, such as street vendors, and diverse stakeholders through participatory workshops and capacity-building programs to ensure equitable food systems.

The document outlines the challenges of urban food insecurity in Zambia, drawing on household surveys from 14 cities. It advocates for a diverse urban food system that integrates formal and informal sources, such as street vending and urban agriculture. The toolkit details how the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) can be used for food-system investments and maps specific local and national policies—including those related to land, energy, and climate change—that can be leveraged to improve food access and affordability.

The report details a 2022 workshop organized by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) and the Belmont Forum to promote transdisciplinary (TD) knowledge co-production. It analyzes three case studies—Jamaican Women in Coffee (JAWiC), NICH-Arctic, and FRACTAL—to identify common challenges such as power imbalances and conflicting priorities between funders and local communities. The document concludes with best practices for TD project implementation, emphasizing the need to center local timeframes and enhance communication, as well as pedagogical recommendations for future 'train the trainers' events.

The document argues that coastal and island nations in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are highly vulnerable to climate risks, such as cyclones and sea-level rise, and should adopt ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) as a cost-effective alternative to traditional engineering. While some progress exists, implementation is hindered by fragmented governance, lack of technical capacity, insufficient funding, and the exclusion of local communities. The brief recommends integrating specific EbA targets into 2025 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), aligning cross-sectoral policies, and utilizing a newly established regional community of practice to share best practices and coordinate a regional EbA strategy.

The document analyzes the South African food system as a site of deep social inequality and climate vulnerability. It highlights a dualistic production structure where a small number of large-scale commercial farms dominate, while millions of smallholder farmers lack resources. The paper details the system's vulnerability to climate change—specifically heatwaves, droughts, and rainfall variability—and its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through livestock and synthetic fertilizers. It critiques 'market-centred' and 'technofix' approaches to sustainability, advocating instead for a 'deep just transition' based on agroecology, food sovereignty, and the redistribution of power and resources to ensure the right to food and decent work for all.

The document assesses the state of marine and coastal ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in Southern Africa, finding that while there is growing political commitment and various local success stories, marine concerns are frequently overshadowed by terrestrial issues in national climate policies. It identifies significant hurdles to implementation, including capacity gaps, siloed government coordination, insufficient financing, and unequal resource rights. The author recommends establishing enabling bodies to support NDCs, adopting a 'seascape' approach to integrate land-sea interfaces, and scaling innovative financing like blue carbon and debt-for-nature swaps.

The paper analyzes the growth of civic tech in southern Africa, identifying a strong concentration of initiatives in South Africa and a primary focus on democracy and governance. It explores two diverging pathways: civic tech as a government partner or as an independent, community-driven tool for development. The authors highlight significant barriers, including the digital divide, funding instability, and adversarial relationships between governments and tech innovators, while recommending sustainable funding models and increased digital literacy for public officials.

The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) reports on its 2022 efforts to bridge funding and measurement gaps in climate resilience. Key activities include the Innovative Finance for Resilience initiative in Uganda and Sudan, the RAIN Challenge for agriculture in East Africa, and the launch of the PREPARE Call to Action for the private sector at COP27. The GRP also coordinated the COP Resilience Hub, which engaged 15,000 people, and advanced South-to-South Resilience Academies focusing on food systems in southern Africa and Loss and Damage in South Asia.

The report highlights the urgent need for food systems transformation in southern Africa due to climate change, population growth, and high rates of malnutrition. It reviews key 2021 global and regional events—including the UN Food Systems Summit, the AGRF Summit, and COP26—to identify national entry points for action across southern African states, emphasizing the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus and the role of youth and ecosystem restoration.

The report outlines a framework for food systems transformation in southern Africa, emphasizing the need for a water-energy-food (WEF) nexus approach, the integration of indigenous knowledge, and the empowerment of women and youth. It identifies key leverage points for change, such as governance reform, sustainable rural livelihoods, and the adoption of climate-smart agriculture. The document recommends shifting from siloed sectoral approaches to systemic, multi-sectoral governance and suggests using 'futuring' methodologies to identify 'Seeds of Change'—small-scale innovative projects that can be upscaled to build regional resilience.