Search Climate Insights Directory

The policy brief highlights that mangroves are among the world's most threatened vegetation types, with over 20% lost in the last 30 years. It emphasizes that in Africa, mangroves often overlap with fossil fuel deposits and infrastructure projects, leading to degradation. The author advocates for the use of ecosystem valuations, integrated coastal zone management, and the inclusion of local communities in decision-making to reconcile economic growth with biodiversity conservation. Proposed interventions include the adoption of 'no net loss' policies, the use of Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs), and the implementation of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) and Blue Carbon trading to provide financial incentives for conservation.

The SADC region faces a critical infrastructure deficit that hinders intraregional trade and economic integration. While the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP) Vision 2027 identifies priority sectors, a significant funding gap exists, with the RIDMP requiring approximately $500 billion. The document argues that traditional donor grants are insufficient for 'hard' infrastructure and that the private sector is essential to fill the gap, though it is deterred by political risks, poor project preparation, and a lack of 'bankable' projects. The author concludes that donors and private investors are complementary rather than competitive, with donors increasingly focusing on creating the enabling policy environments and project preparation necessary to attract private capital.

The document analyzes the shift from traditional official development assistance (ODA) and commercial bank lending toward alternative financing for infrastructure in Africa. It highlights the role of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), blending finance, and institutional investors like pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. A significant portion of the text focuses on the SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP), which requires an estimated $500 billion in capital, and the systemic challenges facing the region, including underdeveloped financial markets and high utility tariffs.

The document examines the evolution of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) from a cooperative pool to a competitive regional electricity market (REM). It highlights the role of the SADC Energy Protocol and the integration of independent power producers (IPPs) and renewable energy sources (RES), using South Africa's REIPPPP as a primary example of private sector participation. The analysis identifies significant challenges, including the lack of political will among member states, disparities in national energy policies, and infrastructure deficits, while noting the potential for regional integration through shared hydropower and thermal resources.

The Southern African sugar sector is a vital agricultural industry characterized by high levels of state involvement and concentrated private ownership, particularly by South African firms. While the SADC region accounts for approximately 54% of African sugar production, the sector operates within a highly distorted global market marked by heavy subsidies and dumping. Regional cooperation is managed through the SADC Protocol on Trade (Annex VII), which establishes import quotas for surplus producers to access the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) market. The industry faces significant risks from the reform of the EU's preferential trade scheme for ACP countries, which threatens the value of exports for several regional producers.

The document examines Mozambique's transition from aid dependence to potential resource-based sovereignty following the discovery of over 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Rovuma Basin. It argues that while the 'gas boom' offers a significant opportunity for poverty alleviation and industrialization, the country faces risks of the 'resource curse' and 'Dutch disease' due to high levels of corruption and a history of 'mega-projects' that have failed to provide broad-based benefits. The author emphasizes the need for transparent governance, the renegotiation of inequitable contracts, and a strategic balance between LNG exports and domestic industrial use to ensure tangible benefits for the general population.

The report argues that public-private collaborations (PPCs) are a strong model for leveraging the resources of both government and business to meet the growing need for climate and disaster resilience investments. It identifies six key success factors for policy-makers: building on local trust, starting small for scalability, integrating skill building, strengthening livelihoods, creating value-chain partnerships, and finding innovative infrastructure alternatives. Through nine case studies across sectors like agriculture, water, and energy, the document demonstrates that PPCs can engage a diverse range of actors—from multinationals to micro-enterprises—to deliver place-specific adaptation and disaster risk management solutions.

The document examines the complex drivers of migration in Bangladesh, projecting that 9.7 million people may migrate over the next 40 years due to climate stresses. It argues that migration should be viewed as an adaptation tool rather than a failure of local interventions, noting that remittances help households recover from losses and adapt livelihoods. The authors critique existing Bangladeshi policies for treating migration as a threat or a symptom of unplanned urbanisation and propose a comprehensive climate change policy, an internal migration policy, and improved access to vocational training and migration finance in affected areas.

The report identifies seven primary and secondary barriers to institutional impact investing, including a shortage of attractive deals, lack of track records, and limited exit options. It suggests that governments can mitigate these by strengthening the investment pipeline through technical assistance and seed funding, and by promoting blended capital arrangements. The authors propose the National Impact Investment Readiness Assessment (NIIRA) tool to help investors and policy-makers evaluate the quality and scalability of a country's impact investment pipeline. A case study of India illustrates the role of pioneering firms like Aavishkaar and IntelleGrow in building a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The document applies an eight-step process to analyze climate risks in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, by comparing local community perceptions of floods, droughts, and sea-level rise with historical data from the Dar es Salaam International Airport station and future projections under the RCP8.5 scenario. While historical data only partially confirm local perceptions of specific flood and drought events, future projections strongly suggest increasing maximum temperatures and a likely decrease in the length of the long rainy season. The study concludes that these trends threaten agriculture and health, necessitating 'climate-smart' agricultural practices and improved coastal infrastructure.

The report analyzes President Barack Obama's 2013 visit to Africa, framing it as an effort to shift US-Africa relations from a focus on security and counter-terrorism toward economic growth, trade, and democratic investment. It highlights the competitive pressure from China's dominant trade position and the US's efforts to address energy poverty and youth unemployment through initiatives like YALI and renewable energy financing.

The report argues that traditional conservation policies relying on regulation and financial incentives are often insufficient because they ignore the psychological and social drivers of human behavior. It proposes a 'soft policy' approach using 'nudges'—small changes in the decision-making context—to encourage voluntary pro-environmental actions. The authors identify five primary 'areas of influence' for behavior change: attitudes, personal agency, emotions, social norms, and the environmental/decision context. To improve conservation outcomes, the report recommends that practitioners explicitly use social science evidence, track social indicators alongside ecological ones, and employ experimental or quasi-experimental designs to identify causal relationships between interventions and behavioral changes.

The relationship between Mozambique and Malawi has historically been marked by distrust, peaking during the second term of Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika. However, since President Joyce Banda took office in April 2012, relations have warmed, leading to the revival of critical infrastructure projects like the Interconnector Project and the Nacala Development Corridor. The document argues that mutual economic interdependency, particularly Malawi's need for sea access and energy security, provides a foundation for sustained stability.

The paper examines the early stages of biofuel production in Tanzania, specifically in Rufiji and Bagamoyo, highlighting significant failures in land acquisition and governance. It finds that discrepancies between national policy and local implementation led to conflicts of interest, inadequate compensation for farmers, and unfulfilled community benefit promises. The study argues that the Tanzanian government's drive for foreign investment has outpaced its capacity to protect citizen rights, creating vulnerabilities that can be exploited by resource-rich investors.

Thailand has achieved rapid growth in renewable energy, particularly solar power, through a combination of incentive policies, simplified regulations, and civil society engagement. Key mechanisms include the Small Power Producer (SPP) and Very Small Power Producer (VSPP) programmes, and the 'Adder' feed-in premium. While these policies attracted significant private investment and increased capacity, the government is now transitioning toward a more sophisticated feed-in tariff to manage costs and balance the energy portfolio, as solar growth has significantly outpaced other renewable sources.

The policy briefing addresses the declining momentum of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and its National Programmes of Action (NPOA). It identifies causes for this decline, such as lack of interest from heads of state and insufficient financial support, and proposes reviving the process by integrating NPOA into National Developmental Plans (NDPs) and collaborating with African Union organs and regional economic communities.

The study utilized IWRM models for Bukoba, Masaka, and Kisii to evaluate water resource sustainability. Findings indicate that all three towns are currently infrastructure-limited, with varying degrees of urgency for investment and different long-term supply outlooks based on local conditions.

The CDKN East Africa Climate Finance Workshop identified a gap between pledged and required climate finance and highlighted the need for supportive policy environments and institutional architecture to improve readiness. Participants noted a preference for grants over loans, particularly for adaptation, and emphasized the importance of inter-ministerial coordination and private sector engagement to catalyze financial flows toward low-emission and climate-resilient options.

The document examines Kenya's strategic use of economic diplomacy to position itself as a regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa. It analyzes the interplay between Kenya's foreign policy, its membership in regional economic communities like the East African Community (EAC) and Comesa, and the domestic political risks—including the 2013 elections and ICC cases—that threaten its economic stability. The paper highlights Kenya's dominance in intra-EAC exports and its efforts to diversify its economy through infrastructure projects like the Lapsset corridor, while noting challenges such as corruption and non-tariff barriers.

The SEI Science Forum 2013 Book of Abstracts presents a diverse portfolio of research focusing on the water-energy-food nexus, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and sustainable governance. Key projects include the development of integrated modeling toolkits (WEAP and LEAP), assessments of climate vulnerability in cities like Quito and Cape Town, and evaluations of international climate finance mechanisms such as the Adaptation Fund. The research spans global scopes with specific case studies in regions including Southeast Asia, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arctic, emphasizing the bridge between scientific research and policy implementation.