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3,753 documents from International Institute for Sustainable Development
Turning Tides: How Women are Reshaping Fisheries Sector Belize
The document details the transition of women in Belize's small-scale fisheries from an unrecognized, informal workforce to a formalized governance structure. It highlights the role of the Women in Fisheries Forum (WIFF), started in 2017, and the subsequent creation of the National Women in Fisheries Association (NWIFA) in 2024 to advocate for women's rights, access to resources, and participation in fisheries management.
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Document type: Case study
Canada Water Infrastructure Investment
A national poll by IISD and Nanos Research indicates that 72.5% of Canadians view improving water infrastructure as an urgent priority. The data shows that 63.8% of the population has experienced water-related issues in the last five years, with a majority perceiving these problems as increasing in frequency. While initial awareness of 'natural infrastructure' is low, over 70% of respondents support it as an urgent priority once its role in mitigating floods and droughts is explained. The report also notes that Indigenous respondents face disproportionately greater water infrastructure challenges and that experiences vary by region.
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Document type: Report
A call to stakeholders to engage in the public consultation
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is calling for public engagement in the consultation of a draft Instrument on International Investment Contracts developed by UNIDROIT and the ICC. The consultation period runs from June 24 to September 15, 2026. IISD emphasizes that the final text must move beyond aspirational language to make sustainability a core operational objective and ensure that investor protections do not undermine the right of states to regulate.
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Document type: Briefing
Canadians Ready for Water Infrastructure Investment, and Natural Infrastructure Has a Key Role
The report details a national survey of 2,219 Canadians showing strong public demand for urgent government action on water infrastructure, with 72.5% viewing it as an urgent priority. While awareness of the term 'natural infrastructure' is low (47% have not heard it), there is high support (71.1%) for its implementation as a cost-effective alternative or supplement to grey infrastructure. The findings highlight significant regional disparities, such as high rates of water main breaks in the Prairies and seasonal shortages in British Columbia, and underscore a persistent infrastructure gap for Indigenous communities who experience disproportionately higher rates of boil-water advisories and water shortages.
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Document type: Report
Anchoring Sustainable Development in the UNIDROIT–ICC Instrument on International Investment Contracts
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) calls for broad stakeholder engagement in the public consultation of the draft UNIDROIT–ICC Instrument on International Investment Contracts, running from June 24 to September 15, 2026. IISD argues that the final instrument must prioritize sustainable development over traditional investor protections, transforming aspirational sustainability commitments into binding obligations and avoiding open-ended protection standards typical of old-generation investment treaties.
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Document type: Briefing
Scaling Rural Distributed Renewable Energy in India
The report argues for a shift from fragmented, scheme-driven DRE deployment to a coordinated approach using Village Energy Plans in rural India. It emphasizes that DRE design must be driven by local electricity-use patterns and supported by strong institutional coordination to ensure economic viability and long-term durability.
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Document type: Report
How Canada's industrial carbon price can drive investment and emissions reductions beyond 2030
The report evaluates three carbon price scenarios for Canada from 2030 to 2040: a flat price (CAD 130/t CO2e), a low price (rising to CAD 230/t CO2e), and a high price (rising to CAD 380/t CO2e). It concludes that a high-price trajectory is the most effective for driving investment in clean projects and achieving significant emissions reductions with minimal economic impact. However, the report emphasizes that carbon pricing alone is insufficient to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and must be supported by robust complementary policies and differentiated tightening of performance standards, particularly in sectors like oil and gas production.
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Document type: Report
National Organic Strategy Madagascar
Madagascar has implemented a National Strategy for Organic Agriculture and Law No. 2020-003 to transition traditional farming into a certified organic sector. Supported by IISD, the government is piloting "organic territories" (TVABs) in the Diana, Sava, and Analanjirofo regions to achieve economies of scale and protect crops from contamination. Between 2020 and 2024, organic farmland increased from 103,817 to 169,893 hectares, and the number of organic producers grew to 62,000. Key priorities include strengthening internal control systems for certification and navigating new regulations like the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation.
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Document type: Case study
Rethinking public support to agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa
The report examines the limitations of traditional input-heavy agricultural subsidies in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia. It argues that while these programs can stabilize production in the short term, they often hinder the transition to climate-resilient systems and negatively impact soil health. The document emphasizes that successful reform requires a holistic approach combining organic inputs, improved land governance, and complementary investments in infrastructure and market development.
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Document type: Report
An exporter’s technical guide
The guide explains the transition of the EU CBAM to its definitive phase in January 2026, emphasizing the financial impact on exporters of steel and aluminum. It highlights that the use of high default values for missing verified emissions data increases costs, while carbon prices paid in the country of origin can be deducted from CBAM liability.
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Document type: Guide
Water retention to reduce algal blooms in Canadian lakes
The De Salaberry water retention project study (2019-2023) demonstrates that small naturalized dams can reduce phosphorus loads while mitigating floods and erosion, though performance varies based on retention time and incoming loads. The report argues that standard design practices often fail to maximize phosphorus reduction and recommends strategic targeting of phosphorus hot spots and increased retention times to better combat eutrophication and harmful algal blooms in Canadian freshwater systems.
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Document type: Report
An Intersectional Approach to Climate Risk Assessment
The document presents a working framework for an intersectional approach to climate risk assessments (CRAs), developed through a co-production workshop in May 2025. This approach aims to move beyond oversimplified views of vulnerability by analyzing how intersecting systems of inequity create structural barriers. The framework is currently being tested via participatory case study research in Nepal and South Africa.
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Document type: Research paper
Nature-based solutions inventory Zimbabwe
The inventory identifies nature-based solutions (NbS) in Zimbabwe, focusing on reforestation and wildlife corridor conservation in biodiversity hotspots like Hwange and Zambezi National Parks. These projects integrate traditional knowledge with modern practices across sectors such as water management and sustainable agriculture to combat droughts, unpredictable rainfall, and rising temperatures.
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Document type: Report
Implementation of a Strategic Framework for Scaling Up Ecosystem-Based Adaptation
The document outlines the challenges and success factors for scaling up ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala. It argues that scaling up requires a combination of technical interventions and enabling environments, such as political leadership and sustainable financing. Based on 18 cases, the text demonstrates that scaling up occurs through both vertical processes (public policies and institutional frameworks) and horizontal processes (replication of community and sectoral practices).
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Document type: Guide
Nature-Based Solutions Inventory for Namibia
The inventory details nature-based solutions (NbS) in Namibia, emphasizing community-based natural resource management and the integration of biodiversity conservation with climate adaptation. It highlights the critical need for NbS due to Namibia's high vulnerability to arid conditions, recurrent droughts, and land degradation, which threaten agriculture, tourism, and rural livelihoods.
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Document type: Report
Nature-Based Solutions Inventory for Zambia
The document inventories nature-based solutions (NbS) in Zambia, emphasizing the integration of community-driven conservation, gender-responsive approaches, and livelihood development. It highlights Zambia's high economic dependency on natural resources—with agriculture, forests, and fisheries contributing significantly to GDP—which increases vulnerability to climate threats like erratic rainfall and droughts. The inventory aims to align these projects with national frameworks and avoid duplication among stakeholders.
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Document type: Report
Nature-Based Solutions for Adaptation in Uganda
The report inventories nature-based solutions (NbS) in Uganda since 2015, noting that these interventions are distributed across diverse ecosystems including wetlands, forests, and savannahs. It highlights that NbS projects typically address coupled societal challenges—such as food insecurity and water stress—and focus on reducing habitat degradation rather than species-specific conservation. While social inclusion is present, the report notes it is uneven across the project portfolio.
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Document type: Report
Toolkit for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for National Adaptation Plan Processes
The document outlines the role of adaptation indicators within national monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems, emphasizing that their design must account for institutional landscapes and adaptation objectives rather than being a purely technical exercise. It highlights how these systems support accountability, learning, and the fulfillment of international reporting obligations under the Paris Agreement, including the second round of Biennial Transparency Reports due by the end of 2026.
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Document type: Guide
Renewable Energy Infrastructure and Mining Community Resilience
The report argues that renewable energy infrastructure for mining can serve as 'horizontal linkage' to provide energy access and economic benefits to surrounding communities. It recommends that governments integrate these investments into local content policies and plan for long-term resilience through skills development, inclusive training, and mine closure planning to ensure benefits persist beyond the life of the mine.
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Document type: Report
Economic Cost of Plastic Waste in Canada
The report assesses the economic burden of single-use plastics on Canada's waste systems and ecosystems, highlighting a critical lack of item-level data. It advocates for the use of volumetric measurements in waste audits and introduces a Plastic Waste Cost Calculator to help municipalities estimate and compare management costs across various waste streams.
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Document type: Report