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The document argues that agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa is hindered by gender gaps, as women provide the bulk of agricultural labour but lack decision-making power and access to resources. It introduces a conceptual framework for empowerment based on agency, structure, and relations, and discusses the necessity of addressing land ownership and value chain participation to improve food security and nutrition. The brief highlights that closing the gender gap in agricultural inputs could lift 100–150 million people out of hunger.

The document presents a business case for implementing sustainable public procurement in fragile states, highlighting its potential to mitigate risks, combat corruption, and build local industrial capacity. It identifies significant challenges, including weak institutional capacity and political opposition from vested interests, and proposes the use of readiness assessments to tailor procurement policies to individual national contexts.

This report examines the drivers and flows of tropical timber exports from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through Uganda to regional markets, highlighting the prevalence of unregulated trade and the disparity in benefits among actors within the supply chain.

The document examines the flow of tropical timber from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into Uganda and the wider East African region. It highlights the challenges of regulating this trade due to its informal nature and the influence of powerful middlemen. The authors argue that regional cooperation, improved infrastructure, and the promotion of plantation forestry in Uganda are essential to reduce illegal trade and pressure on natural forests. Key recommendations include utilizing the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) for coordination and aligning timber certification standards across the DRC and East African Community (EAC) members.

The report examines the trade of tropical timber from the eastern DRC through Uganda to regional and international markets. It finds that approximately 80% of timber leaving the eastern DRC enters Uganda, where it is either consumed locally or transited to Kenya and South Sudan. The trade is characterized by high levels of informality, significant revenue loss for the DRC, and a profit structure that heavily favors middlemen and politically connected traders over primary producers and transporters. While international markets are increasingly regulated by frameworks like EU FLEGT and the US Lacey Act, regional trade remains largely unregulated due to timber shortages in East Africa. The report highlights the role of the Northern Transit Corridor in facilitating these flows and suggests that bottom-up regional cooperation, similar to the Albertine Rift Strategic Planning Process, could improve sustainability and governance.

The 2011 elections in the DRC were marked by logistical failures, allegations of fraud, and political radicalization. While Joseph Kabila was declared the winner and maintained a parliamentary majority, the process was criticized by international observers and the domestic opposition. Post-election stability has been undermined by renewed insecurity in the east, specifically army mutinies and tensions with Rwanda, alongside persistent socioeconomic hardship and a lack of national reconciliation.

The document argues that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has failed its dual goals of reducing emissions and promoting sustainable development. It highlights that 40-70% of projects are non-additional, meaning they would have occurred without CDM registration, and that many projects cause social and environmental harm. The signatories call for the exclusion of fossil fuel and large hydro projects, the implementation of 'do no harm' assessments, and the creation of meaningful public participation and grievance mechanisms.

The document analyzes the International Bar Association's Model Mining Development Agreement (MMDA 1.0), providing a template and narrative to ensure mining contracts promote sustainable development, transparency, and equitable resource distribution. It details key contractual areas including land tenure, royalties, taxation, and community obligations, while emphasizing the use of international standards like the IFC Performance Standards and EITI. Additionally, the report investigates the existence of similar model agreements for the oil and gas sector, concluding that no internationally accepted model currently exists despite the availability of various national form contracts.

The document details an expert meeting held in April 2012 to address two critical determinants of REDD+ success: the development of Safeguard Information Systems (SIS) and the fostering of effective private sector engagement. It highlights the need for flexible, country-driven SIS that leverage existing national and international architectures to keep transaction costs low. Regarding the private sector, the report emphasizes that policy clarity, certainty on carbon rights, and a 'nested approach' to accounting are essential to attract investment. The report also identifies significant capacity gaps in MRV, safeguards, and benefit-sharing systems across national and local levels.

The document analyzes the first official recognition of agriculture by the UNFCCC at COP 17 in Durban. It reviews submissions from 21 parties to the SBSTA, highlighting a tension between developed countries' focus on scientific mitigation and developing countries' priority on adaptation and food security. The briefing argues that agriculture requires a unique approach to emission reductions—potentially based on efficiency per unit of production—due to the necessity of increasing food supplies for a growing global population. It identifies key points of divergence, including trade implications and the role of smallholder farmers, while suggesting areas of consensus such as the link between agriculture and food security.

The document examines how DFI lending through financial intermediaries (FIs) reduces transparency, weakens environmental and social safeguards, and often fails to reach the poorest populations compared to direct investment. It highlights specific cases of land disputes and environmental degradation in India and Brazil, and recommends that DFIs prioritize local ownership, increase public disclosure of sub-projects, and implement stricter due diligence focused on development impact.

The report documents how the Ugandan government's drive for foreign investment has led to large-scale land grabs for industrial agriculture, carbon credits, and oil exploration. In Kalangala, the oil palm project has caused deforestation, water contamination, and food insecurity, while displacing local populations. Similar patterns of dispossession are noted in carbon offset projects in Mt Elgon and Bukaleba, and oil exploration in Buliisa. The document argues that these trends are driven by global over-consumption and calls for a shift toward agro-ecological farming and the protection of customary land rights.

The Green Economy Coalition supports the UN's Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative but argues it requires more ambition and a specific focus on energy equity. The authors contend that universal energy access is a prerequisite for achieving Millennium Development Goals, particularly in health and education. They advocate for a strategy that prioritises the poorest, measures success through development outcomes rather than infrastructure metrics, and promotes community-led stewardship of local resources. While acknowledging the role of the private sector, the document emphasizes that reaching the most impoverished will require significant public sector and NGO involvement, as 'base of the pyramid' business models often overlook the absolute poorest.

The external review assesses WRI's transition toward a more global presence, specifically its expansion into China, India, and Brazil, and its shift toward a 'do-tank' model. While praising WRI's analytical excellence, reputation, and successful engagement with the business sector, the review identifies needs for better program focus, increased attention to poverty and gender, and a more systematic approach to partnership management. It recommends that WRI refine its balance between strategic research and tactical implementation to maintain its comparative advantage as a high-impact global think tank.

The document argues that road traffic accidents are a critical development issue in Africa, with fatalities forecast to rise as motorisation increases without corresponding infrastructure improvements. By comparing a 'base case' forecast with an 'improved scenario' where death rates are stabilised at the current continental average of 32 per 100,000 people, the authors estimate that Africa could prevent 4.2 million deaths and add US$ 234 billion to its GDP by 2050. The brief highlights that the economic gains, primarily driven by a larger labour force, would far outweigh the estimated costs of intervention, which range from US$ 1.7 billion to US$ 24 billion.

The report argues that social media can drive political engagement in Africa, citing examples from the Arab Spring and elections in Nigeria and Zambia. However, it highlights significant obstacles, including low internet penetration, high costs, and active government censorship or surveillance in countries like Uganda, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Cameroon.

The report details a seminar on the governance of Africa's natural resources, focusing on oil, mining, and renewable resources. It highlights the critical role of transparency, accountability, and the need for home-grown African solutions to avoid the 'resource curse'. Key discussions include the benefits and challenges of state-owned oil companies, the impact of resource extraction on local communities, and the complexities of trans-boundary resource management. The document emphasizes that while initiatives like the EITI are positive, broader societal changes and stronger parliamentary oversight are necessary to ensure resources lead to poverty eradication and sustainable development.

This report examines the potential political and social impacts of Uganda's transition to an oil-producing state, highlighting risks related to military influence and local community grievances in the Lake Albert region.

The report examines how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be strategically applied to climate change adaptation in Africa. It utilizes an analytical framework that categorizes adaptation interventions into four areas: addressing vulnerability drivers, building response capacity, managing climate risks, and confronting climate change. The analysis is supported by case studies from Senegal, Malawi, and Uganda to suggest practical actions and policy interventions for building adaptation capacities.

The document critiques the application of carbon trading in Africa, asserting that the continent remains marginal to the global market. It highlights how the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) creates perverse incentives, such as rewarding illegal gas flaring in Nigeria or subsidising fossil fuel dependence, while providing minimal financial benefit to local communities. The author argues that carbon offsets act as an 'avoided responsibility mechanism' for the global North and recommends shifting toward more just forms of climate finance.