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The Capital Markets Master Plan 2022 outlines a ten-year roadmap to transform Zambia's capital markets into an attractive international destination for long-term investment. The plan is structured around five thematic development areas: enhancing the government bond market, improving traditional security markets (equities and corporate bonds), developing innovative products (such as green bonds, ETFs, and REITs), building capacity across regulators and practitioners, and strengthening the regulatory environment. Key goals include increasing the Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) market capitalization to 33% of GDP by 2031, launching the country's first green bond, and establishing a primary dealership system for government bonds. The strategy emphasizes the need for a transparent, efficient, and trusted market to mobilize private finance for infrastructure, agriculture, and energy projects.

The report outlines key messages from a community of practice workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, focused on scaling and improving the effectiveness of adaptation finance in Africa. It provides specific recommendations for the public sector, private sector, and strategic partnerships to support the African climate agenda ahead of COP27.

The 2022 SEforALL Forum, held in Kigali, Rwanda, mobilized USD 347 million in new financial commitments to support clean energy transitions and energy access in developing countries. Key outcomes included the Kigali Communique, which outlines seven transformative actions for a just energy transition in Africa, and the launch of several new partnerships and initiatives targeting renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean cooking. The event emphasized the integration of youth in energy leadership and provided a platform for ministerial roundtables and B2B investment matchmaking.

The paper reviews the evolution of disaster risk science, shifting from an emergency management focus to a proactive disaster risk reduction (DRR) approach. It analyzes the interplay between hazards, exposure, and vulnerability, while highlighting the emergence of systemic and Anthropocene risks. The authors identify significant geographical imbalances in research production, with a heavy reliance on Western scholarship and a lack of data from Africa and low-to-middle income countries. It calls for greater integration of DRR with climate change adaptation (CCA) and a stronger focus on disaster justice and indigenous knowledge.

The Living Planet Report 2022 documents a severe decline in global wildlife populations and emphasizes the interlinked nature of the biodiversity and climate crises. It advocates for a global 'nature-positive' goal by 2030, requiring transformative shifts in economic systems, production, and consumption to move beyond current conservation efforts and address the root drivers of environmental degradation.

The AfCFTA has the potential to generate USD 3.4 trillion in GDP and lift over 100 million people out of poverty by 2040, with primary gains expected in manufacturing and services. However, significant disparities in factor markets—including labour skills, technology adoption, and financial capacity—exist across the continent, with Eastern and Southern Africa generally possessing higher capacities than Central and Western Africa. The document highlights risks associated with heavy reliance on non-African financing, such as the EU-funded Africa Trade Observatory, and urges member states to leverage domestic capital markets and sovereign wealth funds. It further emphasizes that political stability and the empowerment of regional bodies are essential to protect private sector investment in cross-border infrastructure, which the World Bank estimates requires USD 47.6 billion annually.

The policy brief examines the severe fiscal constraints facing African countries during COVID-19 recovery, noting that while advanced economies mobilised about 6% of GDP, African countries mobilised barely 1%. It highlights the inadequacy of current debt relief mechanisms like the DSSI and the Common Framework, and the high cost of borrowing from international capital markets due to unfair credit ratings. The author proposes five policy priorities: establishing national donor coordination frameworks, reallocating public investment to de-risk private projects, extending the DSSI for two years with partial debt cancellation, creating a transparent multilateral framework for debt resolution involving commercial creditors, and exploring the establishment of independent, publicly owned credit rating agencies.

The document examines the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework's 'Two-Pillar Solution' to tax challenges from the digitalisation of the economy, highlighting how current global tax fragmentation allows multinational corporations to avoid taxes. It argues that African and least-developed countries suffer disproportionate revenue losses as a share of GDP and are underrepresented in negotiations. The brief criticizes the agreement for a high turnover threshold that limits the number of taxable companies and for a minimum corporate tax rate of 15% that some African nations find too low. It recommends increasing African participation, moving negotiations to a neutral UN forum, and providing technical and financial support to ensure equitable implementation.

The document outlines key lessons for SADC member states to improve their NDCs, emphasizing the need for inclusive stakeholder engagement, alignment with long-term development goals, and the use of quantifiable targets and evidence-based analysis. It highlights examples from South Africa, Rwanda, and Costa Rica to demonstrate how detailed implementation roadmaps and participatory scenario planning can enhance climate commitments.

The document analyzes the resurgent roles of China and Russia in Africa since 2000. China's influence is primarily economic, driven by the Belt and Road Initiative and long-term infrastructure investments, while Russia's approach is more opportunistic, focusing on mining, arms exports, and the deployment of private military contractors in fragile states. While the two powers coordinate on challenging Western norms and supporting non-interference in the UN Security Council, they maintain a 'competitive partnership' characterized by limited strategic coordination in security and economics, and occasional competition for commercial contracts in countries like Zimbabwe.

Russia is attempting to leverage historical Soviet-era ties and new institutional frameworks, such as the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum, to increase its presence in Zambia and Tanzania. While there is significant high-level political engagement and cooperation in nuclear energy and military sales, the report finds that Russia's economic footprint remains limited compared to China and other global powers. Key efforts include the promotion of nuclear research centers in Zambia and the use of 'debt-for-development' schemes, though the latter have seen little success in these two countries. The report also notes the use of the COVID-19 pandemic for geopolitical gain through vaccine diplomacy and targeted tourism to Zanzibar.

The document examines how Sub-Saharan Africa can utilize the energy transition to foster industrialization. It proposes strategies including the creation of green industrial policies, the development of domestic manufacturing capabilities for clean technologies through research and skills transfer, and the strategic use of natural gas and critical minerals to bridge energy access gaps and move up the global value chain.

The report explores the 'Use of Research Evidence' (URE) by policymakers in Africa, focusing on the intersection of CSO research and tax policy. Through case studies in Tunisia, Nigeria, Zambia, and Uganda, it finds that while the technical quality of CSO research is generally high, its influence is primarily determined by non-technical factors such as the timing of engagement, the perceived non-partisan reputation of the CSO, and existing relationships with policymakers. The document provides strategic lessons for CSOs to increase their policy impact and recommendations for funders to better support internal capacity and flexible funding timelines.

The report outlines systemic barriers to gridless services, emphasizing that failures often stem from a lack of understanding of user needs, regulatory gaps, and financial instability rather than technical performance.

The document details the status of five rhino species. The greater one-horned rhino and white rhino show recovery trends, while the Javan, Sumatran, and black rhinos remain critically threatened. Poaching is a universal threat across all species, with climate change and habitat loss specifically impacting the greater one-horned rhino.

The project targets the Luangwa Upper Sub-catchment in Mafinga District, Zambia, to secure the river's source and maintain water flow and quality. It addresses threats from shifting agriculture (chitemene), unsustainable wood collection, and forest fires. The strategy involves improving the management of the Mafinga Hills National Forest Reserve, establishing the first Water Resource Protection Area (WRPA) in Zambia, and promoting climate-resilient conservation agriculture and community forestry. The project is funded by the GEF with a total cost of US$ 24,738,355, including significant co-financing.

The project targets the Luangwa Upper Sub-Catchment in Zambia's Muchinga Province, specifically focusing on the Mafinga Hills National Forest Reserve and surrounding lands. It aims to combat deforestation and land degradation caused by shifting agriculture (chitemene), unsustainable wood collection, and forest fires. The strategy involves improving the management of the Mafinga Hills NFR, establishing a new Water Resource Protection Area (WRPA), and promoting climate-resilient conservation agriculture and community forestry. The project is funded by the GEF and implemented by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment with technical support from WWF.

The report examines how gender norms and power dynamics influence vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the ocean economy of SIDS and coastal LDCs. It highlights the undervalued roles of women in small-scale fisheries and tourism and analyzes how climate change, market shifts, and COVID-19 disproportionately affect women due to socio-economic structures. The document advocates for the systematic collection of sex-disaggregated data, the implementation of gender-transformative policies, and the alignment of international finance, such as Official Development Assistance (ODA) and climate risk insurance, with gender equality goals to enhance overall community resilience.

The document provides a comprehensive overview of nuclear governance across the Southern African Development Community (SADC), categorising member states by their nuclear capacity and identifying gaps in regulatory synchronisation. It highlights the critical need for harmonised policies to manage the transport of uranium ore concentrate (UOC) and radioactive sources across borders. The author proposes leveraging the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the African Association of Competent Authorities (AACA) to create a more integrated regional safety and security architecture.

The paper assesses the synergy between the AfCFTA and the BRI, arguing that targeted, structured cooperation—such as sector-specific preferential trade agreements and the strategic use of Special Economic Zones (SEZs)—is more beneficial for Africa than a status-quo ad hoc approach or a full continent-wide Free Trade Agreement (FTA). It highlights the potential for growth in manufacturing and agriculture while warning against the risks of increased Chinese imports and the complexities of rules of origin.