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The report analyzes how the 2012 gold rush in the Sahel region coincided with rising religious extremism and organized crime, leading to areas beyond government control in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. It focuses on governance frameworks, illicit financial flows, and the links between mining and conflict to help governments restore stability and increase tax revenues.

The document analyzes China's strategic efforts to increase its presence in West Africa, contrasting the deep, multi-sectoral engagement in Ghana with the more recent and technology-focused growth in Senegal. It attributes these differences to the length of diplomatic relations and the lingering influence of former colonial powers, particularly France.

La Banque Agricole (LBA) is seeking US$ 646,600 from the Green Climate Fund's Project Preparation Facility to design a large-scale programme aimed at fostering climate-smart agriculture in Senegal. The proposed programme intends to establish a dedicated Line of Credit (LoC) to provide concessional loans to smallholder farmers, MSMEs, and cooperatives for the adoption of CSA practices, such as drip irrigation and biodigesters. The PPF will fund critical preparatory activities, including baseline and market studies, a feasibility study for a digital lending platform (Agricash), a gender assessment, and the development of a climate rationale. The ultimate goal of the full programme is to increase farm productivity and resilience while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 3.42 million tCO2e over 20 years, benefiting approximately 307,000 direct beneficiaries.

The document argues that while FTZs and SEZs are not the sole cause of illegal wildlife trade (IWT), their inherent characteristics—such as simplified customs, limited oversight, and legal opaqueness—act as facilitators for both IWT and corruption. Through case studies of the Golden Triangle SEZ (Laos), Suifenhe FTZ (China), and Las Palmas FTZ (Spain), the author demonstrates that corruption in these zones often mirrors national patterns but is amplified by the zones' complexity. Key drivers include social and cultural norms, such as the desire to 'lose face' or the acceptance of corruption as a business norm. The report also highlights the risk of 'displacement,' where strict regulations in one country push illicit activities to less regulated jurisdictions. It concludes with recommendations for governments and multilateral organizations to implement clearer oversight, regional coordination, and certification schemes to mitigate these risks.

The Lagos Declaration on Community Justice outlines a series of pledges by West African organisations to strengthen legal empowerment for the poor. Key commitments include training paralegals to address climate change and land rights, increasing the participation of women in legal work, and advocating for the formal recognition of community paralegals across the region. The participating organisations, forming the West Africa Legal Empowerment Network, aim to co-create participatory action research to tackle environmental and land justice challenges in both rural and urban settings.

Togo is requesting a 24-month Readiness grant of USD 540,000 to address critical gaps in its climate change governance. The project focuses on operationalizing the National Designated Authority (NDA), reforming institutional frameworks, and enhancing technical expertise in greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems. Key goals include reducing dependency on external expertise, improving the quality of national communications to the UNFCCC, and increasing the involvement of the private sector in climate finance. The program will be implemented by the Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE) of Dakar.

The project aims to establish a comprehensive multi-risk early warning system in Togo, targeting 100% of the population (approximately 8.28 million direct beneficiaries). It addresses critical gaps in hydrometeorological monitoring, data processing, and dissemination. The initiative is structured around four components: institutional development, operational capacity improvement for monitoring agencies, infrastructure modernization (including low-cost automated weather stations), and the creation of a sustainable financial framework involving public-private partnerships. The project seeks $10 million in GCF grants with an equal amount in co-financing for a total cost of $20 million over four years.

The paper argues that EU migration policy has shifted from a broad, horizontal approach to policy coherence for development toward a narrow, vertical focus on the efficiency of irregular migration management and return.

The document details how West Africa is experiencing warming faster than the global average, leading to increased heatwaves, erratic rainfall, and severe economic losses. It highlights critical vulnerabilities in health, food security, and coastal infrastructure, while emphasizing the urgent need for increased climate finance and data collection to support transformative adaptation.

West Africa has experienced warming of 1–3°C since the mid-1970s, leading to increased heatwaves, variable rainfall, and widespread losses in GDP and food productivity. Future projections indicate severe risks, including a potential 30% decline in marine fisheries catch and significant population exposure to sea level rise, particularly in coastal cities like Lagos and Abidjan. Adaptation requires transformative, ecosystem-based approaches and a significant increase in climate finance, as current funding is insufficient and heavily skewed toward non-African institutions.

The proposed project aims to shift Lagos State from unsustainable development practices to a climate-resilient pathway. It focuses on three outputs: strengthening institutional and financial frameworks for coastal planning, implementing hybrid grey-green infrastructure for flood and storm surge protection, and supporting climate-resilient livelihoods. The project targets approximately 2.8 million direct beneficiaries, particularly in the Lagos Island, Eti-Osa, and Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Areas, with an indicative total cost of USD 130.5 million.

The project achieved a 'Satisfactory' overall rating, successfully exceeding several output targets despite an ambitious design and challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Key achievements include the development of the Soy, Beef, and Palm Oil Toolkits, the expansion of the Trase transparency platform, and the launch of RSPO-labeled cooking oil in Indonesia. While the project was highly efficient in leveraging co-financing—reaching US$ 130,308,741 against an initial target of US$ 42,334,902—it faced difficulties in gender mainstreaming and encountered socio-political resistance in Brazil. The evaluation recommends deeper local context analysis during design and the formalization of exit strategies to ensure the sustainability of established platforms and tools.

A keynote speech delivered by Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) at the Youth Connekt Africa Summit, advocating for increased regional labor mobility to address youth unemployment and skills gaps in Africa.

The report evaluates 33 major European retailers on their aquaculture procurement practices. It finds a systemic failure to address ecological and social challenges, with 76% of retailers falling into a 'red zone' of insufficient action. Key failures include a lack of targets to eliminate wild-catch fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) from feed, inadequate fish welfare monitoring, and poor transparency regarding the origin of products. While some UK and French retailers show slight progress, retailers in Spain, Austria, and Switzerland performed particularly poorly.

The report finds that the majority of European retailers are failing to implement substantive policies for sustainable aquaculture. Three-quarters of the 33 retailers assessed were placed in the 'red zone', with none achieving 'frontrunner' status. Key failures include a lack of targets to eliminate wild-caught fish from feed, inadequate fish welfare protections, and poor transparency in labelling and sourcing. While UK retailers showed more progressive approaches in feed and welfare, and some French and German retailers joined industry initiatives, Spanish retailers performed the worst, with all 11 assessed companies landing in the red zone.

The report evaluates 33 major European supermarket chains across six countries on three priority areas: the elimination of wild fish in aquaculture feed, the monitoring of fish mortality, and supply chain transparency. The findings indicate a widespread failure to implement responsible practices, with 76% of retailers falling into the 'red zone' due to a lack of relevant policies. While some UK and French retailers show more progress, no company achieved the 'at the forefront' status. The report highlights the negative externalities of the industry, such as the extraction of over half a million tonnes of fish from West African waters annually for feed, which undermines local food security.

The report evaluates 33 European retailers across three priority areas: the elimination of wild fish in aquaculture feed, the monitoring of fish mortality, and supply chain transparency. It finds that 76% of the companies are in the 'red zone,' indicating a near total lack of substantive policies. No retailer achieved 'Leader' status in any category. While some UK and French retailers show more progress, Spanish supermarkets performed exceptionally poorly, with all 11 evaluated companies in the red zone. Key issues identified include the impact of fish meal and fish oil (FMFO) on West African food security and a general failure to provide transparent labeling to consumers.

The report finds that European retailers are failing to perform adequate due diligence on their farmed fish supply chains, with 76% landing in a 'red zone' of poor performance. No surveyed retailer has a clear target to eliminate wild-caught fish in feed, and none have policies to blacklist farms with high mortality rates. While some UK retailers show progress in transparency through the Ocean Disclosure Project, overall industry standards for fish welfare and labelling remain inadequate, often relying on insufficient third-party certifications.

The policy brief examines the conflict between the OECD's Pillar Two Global Minimum Tax and 'fiscal stabilization' clauses, which are common in developing economies and can lock in tax incentives for decades. It argues that these clauses risk exposing governments to international arbitration if they raise taxes to meet the 15% minimum. The author recommends that OECD model legislation explicitly state that the global minimum tax applies regardless of stabilized incentives and that Inclusive Framework members agree that good-faith adjustments to align with GloBE rules do not constitute breaches of international law or investment treaties.

The report analyzes the security landscape of West Africa, identifying a complex interplay of weak governance, economic inequality, and emerging threats like violent extremism and transnational crime. It highlights how these factors undermine regional stability and development, particularly in the Sahel. While Ghana is relatively stable, it faces risks from porous borders and internal community tensions. The document recommends pursuing economic integration via the AfCFTA, addressing youth unemployment, and strengthening regional security alliances to combat terrorism and trafficking.