The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
Marine protected areas offer one of the best options for maintaining or restoring the health of ocean and coastal ecosystems, particularly when they form part of holistic policy and integrated management systems. Strong governance that influences human behaviour and reduces impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems is essential for marine …
The 'scan' aims to help policy-makers, practitioners and academics who are short on time get to grips with the range of literature, discourse and social media coverage of the intersection of resilience, climate change, conflict and security. It has assessed over 350 pieces of literature and summarises 146. It intentionally …
This paper examines the concept of urban clusters and explores its application in South Asia. Drawing lessons from international case studies, it highlights the advantages of clustered urbanization. It identifies developments around core cities Delhi, Dhaka, and Mumbai as mature clusters; and Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Colombo, Kathmandu, and Pune as …
Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) in association with WWF-India has launched a Masters Programme in Environmental Law, Energy and Climate Change, an official said on Thursday. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed between the two institutions here on Wednesday in the presence of Supreme Court judges …
People live longer in countries that became democracies from 1970 to 2015 finds this new global study published in the journal Lancet. It states that democracy reduced chances of dying from — heart diseases, cirrhosis, stroke and road accidents. Free and fair elections appear important for improving adult health… most …
A landmark UN report warned the world to drastically scale up environmental protections, or cities and regions in Asia, the Middle East and Africa could see millions of premature deaths by mid-century. The most comprehensive and rigorous assessment on the state of the environment completed in the last five years …
As measured by various indexes and indicators, Bhutan has made steady progress in human development since democracy was introduced in 2008; implying that democracy provides an environment for people to flourish. This is according to the National Human Development Report (NHDR) titled 'Ten Years of Democracy in Bhutan’. The report …
An adaptive programme management approach is well suited to address the complex and interconnected impacts of climate change facing developing countries. The pathway to adapting to climate change is unknown, and there are many deep-rooted institutional, political, economic and social barriers. Adaptive programmes can provide the flexibility to allow those …
Each year 15 million people between the ages of 30 and 69 die from cancers, diabetes, heart disease and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Over 85 percent of these premature deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for a one-third reduction in premature mortality from …
Sanitation is one of the most pressing global challenges that the world faces today. Despite significant advancements in coverage since the 1990s, a vast proportion of the global population still lacks access to safe sanitation. Almost 2.3 billion people still do not have access to sanitation and 892 million still …
This paper discusses how governance of the global environmental commons requires collective action to generate public goods. Public goods theorists vary in their views about what it takes and how likely it is to achieve such collective action to produce these goods. The history of efforts to generate the public …
The year 2019 has positive prospects for Africa in terms of increase in economic growth, governance and improved business environment, said Foresight Africa 2019 report launched in Johannesburg. The report contains different chapters written by different influential people in government, academia and civil society. South Africa's contributions to Africa's march …
The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018 was introduced in Lok Sabha on January 2, 2019. The Bill amends the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The Aadhaar Act …
This report builds on prior work to provide a new, comprehensive, and balanced view of water security in Pakistan, stressing the importance of the diverse social, environmental, and economic outcomes from water. The report highlights the complex water issues that Pakistan must tackle to improve water security and sheds new …
This paper proposes that transboundary water governance needs to become an essential input to sustainable governance of protected natural reserves. The paper reviews the challenges and opportunities for such governance mechanisms, and identifies the factors behind successful practices. Successful transboundary governance of water and nature requires the reduction of associated …
The objective of this working paper is to inform policy experts, legislators and decision-makers on the recent trends in climate change policy-making around the world and to draw lessons learnt from the experiences with designing and implementing climate change legislation. The study in particular aims to contribute to the current …
The NDC Update Report tracks the progress on the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement. The theme of this edition is “Ambition”: look ahead and explore whether governments are ready for the next round of pledges and where support and preparation could focus.
The State of Sri Lankan Cities 2018 presents the first comprehensive assessment of Sri Lanka’s recent urban development. The Report is a key output of the State of Sri Lankan Cities Project. It outlines a vision of a better urban future for all Sri Lankans, drawing on the UN’s Sustainable …
In this first Annual Report, the InsuResilience Global Partnership for Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance highlights the initiatives that the different actors worked on towards the Partnership’s vision. That is, 25 programs were supported in 78 countries by the commitments made in the context of the Partnership. This …
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently launched a report and preliminary study on benefit sharing opportunities in the Meghna Basin for Bangladesh and India. Governance based on ‘benefit sharing’ is more holistic than traditional governance, which has historically been about allocating water. ‘Benefit sharing’ accounts for all …
