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This seminar report, based on a session held in Addis Ababa on January 20, 2009, uses the Ghanaian experience to examine whether elections can resolve political contests in the absence of political compromise. The seminar concludes that elections are not isolated events but are embedded within a broader political culture and body polity, meaning their effectiveness in conflict prevention depends on the surrounding political context.

This 2009 report by the Centro de Estudos de Integração e Desenvolvimento (CINDES) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the evolving relationship between Brazil's trade agenda and sustainable development (SD). While the Brazilian government has historically opposed linking trade negotiations to environmental and social standards, the report highlights how private actors, agribusiness, and transnational companies are increasingly forced to adopt these standards due to international market pressures, investment requirements, and unilateral measures from developed nations.

This research paper examines the challenges of identifying and ranking countries that are "particularly vulnerable" to climate change for the purpose of allocating adaptation funding. The author argues that vulnerability is a poorly defined concept without an agreed metric, making any attempt to create an objective vulnerability index a political rather than a purely academic exercise.

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute synthesises the impacts of agricultural water management (AWM) interventions across 37 cases in developing and newly-industrialised countries. Using the sustainable livelihoods framework, the authors evaluate changes across five capitals: natural, financial, social, human, and physical. The review finds that while AWM interventions generally lead to positive outcomes—particularly in income and yield—there is a significant lack of comprehensive monitoring and evaluation, especially regarding negative externalities and long-term sustainability.

This report provides a stylized review of the relationships between biomass, livelihoods, and international trade, focusing specifically on the trade and technical cooperation axis between the European Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

This report by Friends of the Earth International critiques the European Union's 'Global Europe' strategy, arguing that its pursuit of a 'new generation' of bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) prioritizes the competitiveness of European transnational corporations over sustainable development, food sovereignty, and the sovereignty of developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

This report analyzes the environmental and social impacts of China's role as a leading producer, importer, and exporter in the global cotton and textile supply chain. It examines the trade-offs between economic growth and environmental degradation, proposing a transition toward sustainable production practices and a strategic shift in sourcing toward rain-fed regions in Africa to reduce global environmental pressure.

This fact sheet, published by the Institute for Security Studies and based on data from the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), provides a yearly breakdown of personnel fatalities in United Nations missions from 1948 up to 30 June 2008.

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs analyzes the establishment of a Strategic Partnership between the European Union (EU) and South Africa, culminating in a July 2008 Heads of State summit in France. The document details the shift from a development-focused relationship to a strategic alliance aimed at addressing global geopolitical changes, energy security, and African development.

The minutes of the Fifteenth Meeting of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Conference of the Parties (CoP), held June 19-20, 2008, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, detail the institute's operational progress, financial status, and strategic planning. The meeting focused on the science-policy dialogue, the development of a new strategic plan, and the approval of the FY 2008-2009 core budget and country contributions.

This report, commissioned by the European Parliament, evaluates sustainability criteria for the proposed EU Directive on renewable energy, specifically focusing on liquid biofuels. It analyzes the potential for biofuel production globally and within Europe, the impacts of land-use change on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the feasibility of using degraded lands for energy crops. The document provides technical critiques of GHG accounting methodologies and suggests harmonizing EU standards with international frameworks like the IPCC and UNFCCC to ensure environmental integrity and global equity.

This report, published by the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, examines the complex relationship between international trade and climate change. It presents perspectives from political representatives and environmental organizations on how trade policy can either hinder or support climate goals, arguing for a paradigm shift that prioritizes environmental standards and global solidarity over market liberalization.

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) outlines its positions for the COP 14/MOP 4 negotiations in Poland, demanding a climate justice framework based on historical responsibility. The organization calls for steep emission reductions by industrialized countries, the rejection of carbon offsetting and market-based forest mechanisms, and significant financial and technology transfers to developing nations to support adaptation and mitigation.

This 2008 briefing paper argues that adaptation is a critical component of climate policy that must be pursued alongside mitigation. It highlights a massive funding gap for adaptation in developing countries, suggesting that annual needs could reach over US$100 billion. The authors emphasize that adaptation is inextricably linked to development and poverty reduction, and they advocate for 'new and additional' funding—potentially sourced from carbon levies—and the transition from isolated projects to comprehensive, country-driven national adaptation plans.

This fact sheet describes weADAPT, a collaborative platform launched in June 2007 to support climate adaptation through knowledge sharing, innovative tools, and data. The initiative is funded by UNEP and UNITAR and involves a network of partners including the Stockholm Environment Institute and the University of Cape Town.

This 2007 IISD report analyzes the compatibility of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other market mechanisms for sustainable development (MMSD) with various proposed post-2012 climate regimes. It identifies that while the current project-based CDM works in regimes with differentiated targets, it would be incompatible with a system where all countries have binding targets. In such cases, the report suggests a shift toward Joint Implementation (JI)-style mechanisms or 'expanded CDM' models that include sectoral and policy-based crediting. The report emphasizes the need to balance the developed world's demand for low-cost, additional credits with the developing world's need for sustainable development dividends and equitable access to investment.

This briefing by the Institute for Security Studies argues for the implementation of special measures to protect women and children from sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by private security companies (PSCs) and private military companies (PMCs) during peacekeeping missions. The author highlights a regulatory gap where UN-specific protections do not apply to private contractors, leaving them largely unregulated by express terms of international law.

This document is a highlights summary of a report by Friends of the Earth International analyzing the global performance of genetically modified (GM) crops between 1996 and 2006. It argues that GM crops have failed to provide superior yields, reduce pesticide use, or alleviate poverty and hunger, while noting significant public opposition in Europe and instances of environmental contamination.

This report analyzes the experience of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) from 1995 to 2005 in developing and sustaining international development networks. It defines network sustainability not as indefinite existence, but as the ability of a network to function until it achieves its goals, becomes irrelevant, or members are no longer willing to continue. The document identifies four dimensions of sustainability—time, resources, relationships, and relevance—and outlines critical management capacities (strategic, internal, external, and financial) and adaptive capacity required for networks to survive growth and decline phases.

This briefing records a roundtable discussion featuring Luke Eric Petersen on the implications of South Africa's Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) for development and human rights. The discussion highlights how these treaties may restrict South Africa's regulatory space, particularly regarding Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies and poverty eradication, and calls for a detailed review of existing agreements to ensure alignment with domestic policy objectives.