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The document outlines how gender-responsive approaches—identifying barriers for women and promoting their leadership—enhance the efficiency of climate-smart technologies in agriculture and aquaculture. Drawing on the GLOW programme (2021–2024), it provides evidence from Africa and Central America showing that empowering women leads to higher yields, better market access, and increased attractiveness for impact investors.

The 2023 study found that none of the five water infrastructure investments in Garissa County were fully functional, with three partially functional and two non-functional. The primary drivers of failure were a lack of dedicated budgets for operations and maintenance (O&M), capacity gaps in local management, and limited early engagement with water institutions. The report recommends establishing sustainable financing mechanisms, integrating renewable energy to lower costs, and strengthening the technical and project management skills of local site committees.

The 2023 study found that only two of nine assessed water investments were fully functional, with many others limited by inadequate maintenance, vandalism, and resource-based conflicts. While community-led planning and local knowledge improved sustainability, the report highlights a need for dedicated maintenance financing, better technical siting, and genuine gender inclusivity in management committees.

A 2023 study of 12 water infrastructure investments in Kitui County, Kenya, found that 59% were functional or partially functional, while 16% were non-functional due to lack of maintenance. The report highlights that most investments failed to provide adequate water during dry seasons and suffered from insufficient funding for operations and maintenance. While local knowledge was integrated into planning via Ward Climate Change Planning Committees, the study recommends better integration of hydrogeological data, landscape restoration, and institutionalised project audits to ensure long-term sustainability.

A 2023 study of 13 water infrastructure projects in Makueni County, Kenya, found that most remain functional seven years after implementation. The success of these locally-led adaptation investments is attributed to the integration of local knowledge with technical data and strong partnerships between the county government and communities. While the projects have improved water access and increased agricultural incomes, challenges remain regarding siltation, funding for major repairs, and the need for green energy transitions to reduce production costs.

A 2023 longitudinal study of 23 water infrastructure projects in Wajir County, Kenya, found that boreholes are significantly more resilient to climate shocks than water pans, which accounted for all non-functional projects. While community involvement in planning fostered ownership, the study identified critical gaps in technical capacity for maintenance, a lack of climate information during the design phase, and a failure to budget for ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

The report finds that gender-responsive climate blended finance is scarce, with only 22% of climate deals in Convergence's database meeting the criteria. In the energy sector, gender focus is more prevalent in off-grid projects (28%) than on-grid projects (11%), largely due to the domestic nature of off-grid energy needs. The document highlights the role of concessional capital, technical assistance (TA), and performance-based incentives in driving gender outcomes. It provides case studies of vehicles like the Green Guarantee Company and Catalyst Fund to illustrate how blended finance can support women-led enterprises and increase female labor participation in technical roles. Key recommendations include deploying TA alongside financial incentives and utilizing equity to influence gender policies at early stages.

The document details restoration monitoring efforts across four countries. In Brazil, the Brazilian Restoration and Reforestation Observatory (BRRO) tracks progress toward climate agreements using a multi-stakeholder platform and satellite data. Kenya has developed a monitoring framework with 30 indicators integrated into its 2024 National Ecosystem and Landscape Restoration Strategy. Burkina Faso utilizes the ONEDD platform for centralized data sharing among government and NGO partners. Vietnam employs the FORMIS system for forest status monitoring, though it faces challenges with data accessibility and consistency.

The study explores a mechanism to transfer non-sovereign MDB loans to African institutional investors, particularly pension funds, in East and West Africa. It identifies a potential pool of eligible assets from the IFC and AfDB and estimates that up to US$8.69 billion in pension assets could be allocated to such a vehicle if locally domiciled. The report proposes a phased implementation starting with a pilot, managed by a dedicated Fund Manager, using an umbrella fund structure with local currency sub-funds to mitigate foreign exchange risks.

The report finds that while a diverse range of urban resilience solutions exist in the Global South's informal settlements and economies, most are in early development stages and heavily reliant on philanthropic funding. It highlights a significant gap in private sector investment and municipal buy-in, while noting that these interventions often yield co-benefits in health, gender equity, and livelihoods. The document recommends that municipalities integrate informal settlements into city plans and that funders coordinate to streamline access for small-scale innovators.

The GRP 2024–2029 Strategy focuses on three transformative opportunities: regenerative food systems, reimagined finance flows, and community-led resilience. The partnership aims to scale locally-led innovations and bridge the adaptation finance gap, which is currently five to ten times lower than required for developing countries. Key goals include transforming food and financial systems, scaling formal-informal collaborations, increasing transdisciplinary learning, and embedding resilience in the private sector. Geographically, the strategy prioritises sub-Saharan Africa, South and South East Asia, and Small Island Developing States in the Pacific and Caribbean.

The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) has invested over US$45 million in resilience innovations across the Global South, supporting 7 million people. The 2024 portfolio highlights several specific projects: the Near East Foundation's community-based credit systems in Sudan; Mountain Harvest's regenerative coffee farming in Uganda; MetaMeta's 'Green Roads for Water' initiative in Kenya and Ethiopia; Farm to Feed's digital marketplace for surplus produce in Kenya; FSPN Africa's carbon farming in Kenya and Tanzania; ROOH's climate-resilient housing in India; Mahila Housing Trust's heat action plans in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal; and Centro Sabiá's greywater reuse and agroforestry in Brazil.

The 2024 Regional Resilience Hubs virtual summit focused on democratising climate governance and advancing locally-led adaptation (LLA) across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The event emphasised the need for flexible, decentralised climate finance to bypass bureaucratic delays and reach vulnerable communities directly. Key discussions highlighted the intersection of gender, care work, and human rights, arguing that reframing care as a communal responsibility and securing land rights for women are essential for holistic resilience. The summit showcased specific tools and initiatives, such as the County Climate Fund in Kenya and the CSMAP tool in Asian Mega-Deltas, to demonstrate how participatory mapping and subnational funding can drive effective climate-smart agriculture and infrastructure. Looking toward COP30, the report calls for a shift from tokenism to meaningful inclusion of marginalised groups and a transition from high-level speeches to concrete, actionable proposals for community-driven adaptation.

The document analyzes Africa's role and priorities within the UNFCCC COP process, specifically focusing on the transition from COP27 to COP28 and looking ahead to COP29. It highlights the continent's success in establishing the Loss and Damage Fund and launching voluntary initiatives like the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative, while warning that climate finance remains severely constrained and dominated by loans rather than grants. The brief argues that Africa must shift from a reactive to a proactive approach, integrating gender perspectives and climate-peace-security policies, while balancing the need for energy access with a just transition to low-carbon energy.

Kenya's 2024 Adaptation Communication details the nation's vulnerability to droughts, floods, and sea level rise, particularly in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). It outlines a comprehensive policy framework centered on the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) 2015-2030 and the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) 2023-2027, prioritizing food security, water management, and disaster risk reduction. The report estimates a financial requirement of USD 44 billion by 2030 to implement priority adaptation actions.

Natural Justice's 2024-2028 strategy focuses on the legal empowerment of African communities to defend their rights against harmful extractive projects and climate impacts. The organisation employs a 'Litigation Plus' approach, combining strategic legal action with community-led research and policy influencing. Key priorities include securing land tenure, protecting traditional knowledge via the Nagoya Protocol, and promoting a just energy transition. The strategy is implemented through three main programmes: Standing with Communities, Defending Rights against Environmental and Social Impacts, and Affirming and Securing Rights to Lands, Resources and Knowledge.

Natural Justice's 2024-2028 strategy focuses on empowering African indigenous peoples and local communities to defend their land, resource, and human rights against environmental threats and extractive projects. The organization employs a 'litigation plus' approach, combining strategic legal action with community legal education and advocacy. Key priorities include fighting fossil fuel expansion, securing land tenure, and protecting traditional knowledge, with a specific emphasis on feminist leadership and the decolonization of environmental justice.

The STAND Initiative addresses the security risks faced by grassroots environmental defenders (GEDs), such as criminalization and physical attacks, which are often driven by poor enforcement of human rights and environmental laws. The initiative provides capacity building, a small grant fund, and collaborative partnerships to enhance advocacy skills and protection measures in Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and Liberia.

The Solidarity for Environmental Defenders (STAND) initiative, a partnership between the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Alliance for Land, Indigenous, and Environmental Defenders (ALLIED), provides support to local environmental defenders (LEDs) who face threats, criminalization, and violence. The initiative focuses on capacity building, financial support through a Small Grants Fund for Defenders, and the creation of collaborative partnerships to improve legal accountability and security for defenders in countries with weak governance or high extractive activity. The program operates in Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and Liberia.

The Standing Together for Environmental Defenders (STAND) initiative, led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Alliance for Land, Indigenous, and Environmental Defenders (ALLIED), addresses the security risks faced by grassroots environmental defenders (GEDs). These defenders often face criminalization, physical attacks, and murder, particularly in regions dependent on natural resource extraction. STAND implements a strategy based on co-created training in advocacy and legal accountability, the Defender Small Grant Fund (DSGF) for evidence-based advocacy, and collaborative partnerships to strengthen solidarity networks. The initiative focuses its efforts on Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and Liberia.