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This guide, prepared by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and SouthSouthNorth (SSN), translates the findings of the 2019 IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land specifically for African policymakers. It examines the bidirectional relationship between land and climate, the risks of desertification in arid zones, and the resulting impacts on food security and poverty. The document outlines sustainable land management techniques, the importance of gender-inclusive policies, and the need for integrated governance to enhance resilience across the continent.

This guide distils the 2019 IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land for African decision-makers. It highlights the critical link between land degradation and climate change, noting that desertification affects 46 African nations and threatens food security. The report advocates for integrated governance, the empowerment of women and marginalized groups, and the adoption of sustainable land management practices—such as those seen in the Great Green Wall initiative—to build resilience and mitigate emissions.

This guide, produced by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and SouthSouthNorth (SSN), distils the 2019 IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate specifically for African decision-makers. It details how human-induced warming is altering ocean chemistry and temperature, accelerating sea level rise, and melting high mountain frozen lands, all of which threaten African ecosystems, food security, and coastal livelihoods.

This fact sheet examines the role of insurance and alternative risk financing in building financial resilience against climate change. It details the growing 'protection gap'—the difference between total economic losses and insured losses—and explores emerging tools such as catastrophe bonds, microinsurance, and sovereign risk pools designed to manage the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters.

This research paper analyzes the USD 18-36 trillion climate investment gap in developing countries and identifies key barriers to scaling finance, such as access to capital and investor skill gaps. It evaluates the roles of various public finance actors—including MDBs, bilateral DFIs, and National Development Banks—highlighting that while NDBs provide the largest flows, they often lack risk mitigation tools. The authors recommend that public actors adopt more flexible capital strategies, harmonize standards, and shift from project-specific finance to broader financial system development to better leverage private investment.

This research paper examines the history and systemic challenges of sexual abuse and exploitation perpetrated by United Nations peacekeepers. It details the 'food-for-sex' scandals, the legal hurdles preventing the UN from prosecuting troops due to national jurisdiction, and the policy responses implemented to combat these crimes, including Resolution 2272.

This research paper evaluates the effectiveness of woodfuel carbon-offset projects in reducing deforestation and emissions, finding that actual emission reductions are significantly lower than project expectations.

This report documents a national stakeholder meeting held in Cotonou, Benin, on February 16, 2017, hosted by the SEEP Network and FSD Africa. The meeting brought together 39 participants from 26 organizations—including government ministries, NGOs, and financial service providers—to explore how Savings Groups (SGs) serve as agents for broader social and economic development in Benin, specifically within the sectors of agriculture, health, and formal financial inclusion.

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies examines the gap between Africa's formal legal frameworks for freedom of movement and their actual implementation. While the African Union and various Regional Economic Communities have established treaties to leverage migration for development, national interests and securitized approaches often hinder progress, with West Africa currently serving as the continent's best practice model.

This research paper examines the challenges facing Nigeria's foreign policy since its return to electoral democracy in 1999, arguing that domestic instability and leadership failures have undermined its regional and global influence.

This policy brief describes the outcomes of two workshops held during the 2016 SIPRI Forum on Security and Development. The workshops used two contrasting climate scenarios—Radical Emissions Reduction (RER) and High-end Climate Change (HCC)—to analyze risks to security, development, and the implementation of four specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): food security (SDG 2), gender equality (SDG 5), clean energy (SDG 7), and inequality (SDG 10).

The SEI Initiative on Low Emission Development Pathways (LED-P) provides tools and research to help governments, particularly in developing countries, integrate the mitigation of greenhouse gases, air pollution, and short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). Central to this is the LEAP-Integrated Benefits Calculator (LEAP-IBC), which quantifies the health, agricultural, and climate benefits of specific pollution-reduction measures. The initiative works closely with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) to support national action plans in 16 countries and conducts research on the transferability of environmental impacts and the socio-economic barriers to low-emission transitions.

This technical annex evaluates progress toward Goal 3 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which targets the reduction of deforestation from non-agricultural sectors. It identifies infrastructure, human settlements, and mining as the primary non-agricultural drivers, with logging as the main cause of forest degradation. The report highlights a significant lack of disaggregated data, making it impossible to establish quantitative indicators for progress. It reviews public policy tools such as import bans on illegal timber in the US, EU, and Australia, and the use of Strategic Environmental Impact Assessments (SEA) by the World Bank. Private sector efforts include FSC and PEFC certifications, though certified forest land has plateaued at 10% since 2008, and emerging responsible mining initiatives like the Oro Verde program in Colombia.

A fact sheet by Friends of the Earth detailing how climate change and extreme weather patterns threaten the production of common Valentine's Day gifts, including chocolate, coffee, wine, flowers, and other agricultural products.

This research paper examines the capacity of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to implement post-conflict reconstruction and development (PCRD) and explores how South Africa can leverage its membership to strengthen these activities. The author argues that SADC is currently constrained by a state-centric approach to security, structural silos, and a lack of institutional capacity, leaving PCRD responsibilities to individual member states. By comparing SADC with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the paper suggests that SADC needs to adopt a more holistic, human-security-based approach and improve its coordination with the African Union (AU) and international donors.

This report, published by the South African Institute of International Affairs in 2015, examines the state of governance and accountability in Africa. It analyzes both continental frameworks, such as the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the African Peer Review Mechanism, and domestic institutions, including parliaments, courts, and ombudsman offices, to identify the drivers of democratic progress and the persistence of authoritarian tendencies.

This policy brief analyzes the differing health diplomacy approaches of China and the West during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. It contrasts 'vertical' interventions, which target specific diseases, with 'horizontal' systems that build general healthcare infrastructure, arguing that a combination of both is necessary for long-term pandemic prevention.

This policy note from the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the challenges and progress in African fisheries governance, focusing on the tension between economic development, environmental sustainability, and social justice. It analyzes the roles of small-scale and industrial fisheries, the impact of illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing, and the transition toward co-management systems to address the limitations of centralized governance.

This policy brief examines the implications of a 2013 US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) operation that targeted high-level cocaine traffickers in Guinea-Bissau, specifically former navy chief José Américo Bubo Na Tchuto and army chief António Indjai. While the operation signaled an end to institutional impunity, the authors argue that without a comprehensive strategy to rebuild the national justice system and ensure democratic transitions, the shift in power dynamics could trigger further instability and military backlash.

This report details the third annual Climate Knowledge Brokers (CKB) workshop held in June 2013 in Bonn, Germany. The event focused on forging collaborative links between online knowledge brokers specializing in climate and development, sharing lessons on user engagement and internet marketing, and developing shared technical tools to improve information discoverability.