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The document proposes a 'nexus approach' to move away from sectoral 'silos' in the development of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By focusing on the interdependencies between water, energy, and food, the authors suggest that a bottom-up process starting with concrete targets—rather than overarching goals—can better identify trade-offs and synergies. The brief illustrates this through three analytical approaches: screening for interactions, exploring the nature of those interactions (interdependencies, constraints, and reinforcements), and mapping 'nexus targets' that serve multiple sectors. Case studies from Ethiopia, China (Ningxia), and the United States (California) demonstrate how these cross-sectoral tensions manifest in real-world resource management.

The project installed urine-diverting dry toilets, waterless urinals, and a sanitary napkin incinerator at Prakash Elementary School to address inadequate sanitation and menstrual hygiene management. While the facilities improved school attendance for girls and increased student awareness of water saving, the project faced challenges regarding the maintenance of facilities and the acceptance of treated excreta for agricultural reuse.

The PEDRA research group focuses on the human dimensions of environmental and socio-economic risks in Asia, employing systems-oriented approaches to promote inclusive governance and resilient development. Its current work includes nine diverse projects addressing climate change adaptation in peri-urban Southeast Asia, gender inequalities in environmental conditions, disaster risk reduction in WASH systems, and the governance of the Bali Cultural Landscape.

The SEI Initiative on Behaviour and Choice focuses on understanding why technical solutions in developing countries often fail due to a lack of user adoption. By collaborating with experts in behavioural economics and design research, the initiative seeks to create a framework that accounts for individual, relational, and structural drivers of behaviour. Initial empirical work focuses on the adoption of advanced biomass-pellet cookstoves in Kenya, specifically in Kiambu and Nakuru, to address high mortality rates from household air pollution. The initiative intends to produce a set of tools to help public and private sector actors design policies and products that better respond to user perspectives.

The document argues that adaptation planning has historically focused on local, direct impacts, neglecting the interconnected nature of global trade, finance, and migration. It proposes a framework to identify 'transboundary' and 'teleconnected' indirect impacts, categorizing them into four risk pathways: people, bio-physical, trade, and finance. The brief provides specific diagnostic questions for each pathway and recommends that NAPs include dedicated sections on international dimensions of vulnerability to improve regional and global resilience.

The report examines the role of carbon finance in scaling up improved cookstove initiatives in India and Kenya. Through a review of 75 project design documents and 49 stakeholder interviews, it finds that while carbon revenues can provide essential funding for price subsidies, R&D, and after-sales support, they also introduce significant risks. These include a potential mismatch between carbon efficiency goals and cultural user needs, uncertainties in emission reduction predictions, and volatility in carbon credit demand. The study suggests that carbon finance is most effective as a transitional tool for businesses that are already fundamentally viable, rather than as a sole funding source for NGOs or small enterprises.

The report evaluates a new audit methodology designed to assess how countries implement clusters of related multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Testing in Estonia and Tanzania focused on four biodiversity-related MEAs: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Ramsar Convention, CITES, and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). The methodology uses 15 categories to score implementation as strong, moderate, or weak. In Estonia, implementation was generally high, with 'Cross-border cooperation' being the strongest area. In Tanzania, overall effectiveness was moderate, with a strong legal framework but weaknesses in enforcement and monitoring. The report concludes that the methodology is a useful, relatively easy-to-apply tool for both national governments and international secretariats to identify implementation gaps and streamline reporting.

The report evaluates SAICM's impact in Tanzania, finding that while it has improved political awareness, legislative frameworks, and safety in large-scale mining, significant risks persist in the informal sector and agriculture. Key gaps include a lack of hazardous waste destruction facilities and inadequate coordination between government sectors.

The document details SEI's multi-scale approach to climate mitigation, focusing on sub-national policy for cities, the necessity of limiting fossil-fuel infrastructure to meet the 2°C target, and the strategic use of modern bioenergy in developing countries. It highlights the use of the LEAP system for low-carbon planning and describes ongoing efforts to integrate social variables into technical climate analysis.

The document argues that women's disproportionate vulnerability to climate change and environmental stress is driven by social constraints and unequal power relations rather than inherent traits. It highlights that gender-blind policies in sectors such as fisheries, disaster risk reduction, and sanitation often disadvantage women or widen existing gender gaps. The briefing emphasizes that gender intersects with age and class, meaning vulnerability is multi-dimensional. To be effective, the document asserts that interventions must move beyond simple legal changes or stereotypes and instead adopt multi-faceted strategies across household, community, and national levels.

The document outlines SEI's interdisciplinary approach to the water-energy-food nexus, emphasizing the need to integrate cross-sectoral interactions, ecosystem services, and multi-scale governance. It highlights the use of analytical tools like WEAP and LEAP to identify synergies and trade-offs in resource management. SEI advocates for participatory processes and the identification of policy 'entry points' to ensure scientific research translates into practical, sustainable solutions for resource scarcity.

The document details SEI's efforts to support sustainable urbanization through the development of the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) tool, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission tracking frameworks, and the promotion of ecological sanitation. It highlights specific projects in cities such as Bangalore, Seattle, and Leeds, while emphasizing the importance of stakeholder engagement and the co-benefits of urban green infrastructure.

The document argues that conventional formal institution building is insufficient for sustainable development and calls for new collaborations between governments, civil society, and the private sector. It emphasizes the need to link livelihoods in low-income regions with consumption patterns in affluent regions and to integrate disaster risk reduction (DRR) into development planning to build resilience. SEI highlights various projects, including palm oil governance in Southeast Asia, Arctic resilience, and sanitation in East Africa, to illustrate the need for 'hybrid accountability' and 'institutional bricolage' in governance.

The document describes the complex network of national and regional institutions managing water in Colombia, highlighting the role of the IDEAM and the Corporaciones Autónomas Regionales (CARs). It identifies critical gaps in water resource knowledge—specifically regarding supply, demand, and quality—that hinder effective decision-making. To address these, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) proposes the ADR (Robust Decision Making) process and the WEAP tool, which utilize the XLRM framework to model various climate and socio-economic scenarios, thereby supporting more robust adaptation strategies and reducing potential conflicts in water management.

The document details the application of the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model to the Otún river basin in Colombia to assess water supply and demand under climate change. It identifies the Corporación Autónoma de Risaralda (CARDER) as the primary institutional manager and calculates a total water demand of 10.35 m3/s for human consumption, energy generation, and environmental flows. A key finding is the critical role of the páramo ecosystem, which provides a relatively constant water flow and contributes up to 60% of the flow at Nuevo Libaré during low-flow months like August.

The document investigates the expansion of the oil palm industry in Palawan, operated primarily by Palawan Palm & Vegetable Oil Mills, Inc. (PPVOMI) and Agumil Philippines, Inc. (AGPI). It finds that while promoted as an economic opportunity, the industry has led to significant grievances, including contractual deception of smallholder cooperatives, land dispossession of indigenous peoples, and illegal encroachment into protected forestlands. The study highlights a failure in institutional oversight, noting that environmental clearances were often obtained after project initiation and that the legal framework fails to distribute liability fairly, leaving smallholders with most of the financial risk. It concludes with ten recommendations to strengthen corporate accountability, including contract revision, stricter government 'gatekeeping', and the promotion of RSPO certification.

The study implements a climate-informed water resources decision-making framework in Piura, Peru, combining the XLRM assessment framework with the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) system. By integrating participatory workshops with hydrological modeling, the research identifies system-level vulnerabilities in moorland base flows caused by climate variability and a reduction in moorland area over a 50-year simulation. These vulnerabilities directly impact water availability for downstream rural and agricultural users who depend on a reservoir.

The authors argue that accounting for aquatic ecosystem needs results in a lower planetary boundary for freshwater consumption than previously estimated, suggesting a value of approximately 2800 km3 yr−1 compared to the earlier 4000 km3 yr−1.

The study examines pig production in the Neman/Nemunas river basin, covering Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Kaliningrad (Russia). It highlights a shift toward large-scale industrial farming, which now constitutes 70-85% of the sector, while noting the continued importance of household farms for food security. The report identifies significant water pollution risks from manure management, particularly diffuse-source pollution, and notes a lack of transboundary coordination. Key recommendations include promoting nutrient reuse by linking pig and crop farms, improving manure handling through technologies like biogas plants and deep-litter housing, and strengthening regulatory frameworks to include small-scale producers.

The report finds that India's clean cooking sector is hampered by a lack of cross-government coordination, limited access to commercial finance for entrepreneurs, and a significant gap in consumer awareness. While the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has established technical standards, the sector remains supply-driven, often ignoring the agency and specific preferences of rural households. The authors argue that the National Biomass Cookstoves Initiative (NBCI) should evolve into a cross-government National Mission to leverage the distribution networks and awareness-raising capacities of other ministries.