FPA 2017: Celebrating the world’s best policies to combat desertification

Abstract

In this brochure, we present the winning policies of our Future Policy Award 2017. In partnership with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), this year’s award celebrates laws and policies that successfully tackle land degradation, and contribute to the protection of life and livelihoods in the drylands.

Policies score highly in the Future Policy Award evaluation not only by advancing the sustainable use of resources but also by addressing equity, the eradication of poverty, community participation, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

We seek to inspire lawmakers worldwide with these exemplary, award-winning policies, and hope to see their key elements being spread and implemented in the months and years ahead.

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WFC China Program Annual Report 2016

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Abstract

Judged by either its speed or scale, China has fully exceeded developed countries in urbanization progress. The magnificent scale of cities and rapid urbanization in China make sustainable development a priority that not only concerns Chinese policy-makers, but also draws attentions from the entire world. The WFC launched the Regenerative Cities program in 2015 to stand with China in meeting the inevitable challenges that occur during sustainable urbanization reform. After one year of trial and error, 2016 marked the second year since the WFC initiated the Regenerative Cities program.

This report captures the full scope of the project in 2016. We are very proud to share these achievements with you and look forward to the journey ahead.

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100% Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development

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Sustainable development can only be reached by transitioning to 100% Renewable Energy (RE). This paper describes the vital relationship between renewable energy (RE) and sustainable development. In particular, it demonstrates how supporting the transition to 100% RE is both a necessary condition and a driver for sustainable development that leaves no one behind.

In fact, 100% RE is more than just replacing fossil with renewable sources in today’s energy system. It can serve as a means for socioeconomic development and help create an equitable society for today’s and future generations.

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Policy Roadmap for 100% Renewable Energy and Poverty Eradication in Tanzania

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Abstract

In November 2016 at the UN COP22 in Marrakesh/ Morocco, 48 countries committed to strive to meet 100% domestic renewable energy production as rapidly as possible while working to end energy poverty, protect water and food security, taking into consideration national circumstances. These 48 countries are among the most vulnerable countries and are united as the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF). Tanzania is one of these countries.

This report suggests concrete political measures and outlines necessary governmental action to operationalize the target. It captures reflections, experiences and concrete recommendations articulated by Tanzanian stakeholders to scale up Renewable Energy (RE) while spurring sustainable development and eradicating poverty in the East African country.

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Scenario: 100% RE for all in Tanzania

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By deploying 100% renewable energy, Tanzania can provide access to reliable energy for all its citizens, while increasing living standards to the level of industrialized countries by 2050. This is the conclusion of a scientific study that is released today in Dar Es Salaam by the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Climate Action Network Tanzania (CAN Tanzania), Bread for the World and the World Future Council (WFC).

The study also reveals that generating electricity from renewable sources is about 30% cheaper than from fossil resources.

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Growing Food in Windhoek

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Windhoek is a growing city, reflecting a global trend: by 2050, the world’s urban population is expected to nearly double, which poses massive challenges for all cities in regards to housing, infrastructure, health, education, jobs, natural resources and food. At the same time, Windhoek has a very testing climate and there is, of course, the water issue.

Windhoek’s vision is that all of its citizens enjoy food and nutrition security. This means that enough and healthy food is available in the city and that all of Windhoek’s citizens can afford to feed themselves adequately.

By producing food in and around the city, we can connect – the production with the market, experiments, ideas and solutions, and people of all ages and all walks of life. When we grow food in Windhoek, we need to do it right. With this handbook, we want to help make connections and develop ideas further.

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Debt and Asset: From a Macroeconomic Perspective

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The model of a thrifty housewife as the prototype of sustainable domestic bookkeeping is a familiar one. Indeed, the thrifty housewife does everything correctly when she takes care not to spend more than she earns, thus ensuring she does not live above her means. The situation, however, becomes more difficult when many households follow the same rule. In the national economy as a whole, the thrifty housewife can only succeed in her model of living if at least some other households spend more than they earn and become indebted, i.e. live above their means.

Each household can only earn interest on its savings if another economic sector borrows money and becomes indebted but at the same time makes enough profit with the borrowed credit to service the interest and repayment costs. If this is not the case no interest can be generated. The amount of financial assets of one side is always exactly the same as the debt of the other side.

Looking at this from a global perspective, a country can only reach an export surplus if at least one other country has a matching deficit. The attempt of all countries to achieve a surplus simultaneously will fail because the trade balance sheet of the global economy is always zero.

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Financial Market Reform: Strengthening Public Interest

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Financial institutions and governments are keen to stress that regulation should not unnecessarily burden the financial sector. However, the key question must be: how can the public interest be effectively protected and strengthened? — This new WFC-brochure shows the urgent need for financial market reform to catch up and highlights new risks as well as methods and routes towards sustainable financial markets. It demonstrates how trade agreements such as CETA, TTIP and TiSA put enormous brakes on reform and contradict the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

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Enhancing Regional Renewables Cooperation in the EU

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In five days in September 2016, 13 policy-makers and -shapers from 8 countries travelled 1,500 kilometres from Denmark via Germany and the Netherlands to Belgium.

Their mission? Exploring what regional cooperation means in practice and
how it can boost renewable energy in Europe.

This report presents their key insights, presents the learnings from the visited projects and summarises the main policy recommendations for decisionmakers on local, national and European level.

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Policy Recommendations for European policy makers:

Policy Recommendations

Protecting refugees Women and Girls from Violence

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An increasing number of refugees worldwide are women and children. In many cases, they are forced to leave their homes due to armed conflicts, insecurity or generalised violence. For women and girls, their migration experience is shaped by some particular features, the roots of which lie in the gendered forms of violence they may face throughout their journey. Some may leave their country of origin because of experiences of gender-based violence or in fear of such violence. Without regular pathways to reach a country where they can seek international protection, women often have to resort to dangerous routes. During their journey, they are exposed to sexual and gender-based violence.

However, once they reach their destination, many women and young girls still face risks due to limited access to support services, a lack of effective procedures to identify survivors of gender-based violence and inadequate reception conditions in accommodation facilities.

The aim of this report is to suggest positive actions that international organisations, local, regional, or national authorities, civil society organisations and NGOs can take to better protect refugee women and girls from violence. This is with the goal of promoting the exchange of good and promising practices and opening up a space for transnational dialogue, experience-sharing and peer-to-peer learning.

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Beyond fire: how to achieve sustainable cooking

Abstract

Across the world, 3 billion people rely on traditional biomass fuels, such as firewood, charcoal or animal dung to meet their energy needs for cooking, causing serious adverse consequences for the environment, health, and economic development of the population.

Reliance on wood and charcoal for cooking has a number of well-recorded negative effects, including deforestation, soil erosion or loss of biodiversity. Exposure to household air pollution from cooking with solid fuels causes 4.3 million premature death according the World Health Organisation.

We need a breakthrough transition towards truly long-term, sustainable solutions which do not leave anyone behind. To inform and push the discussion beyond wood and charcoal-based solutions, this broad analysis on sustainable cooking suggests how the various renewable energy technologies could help accelerate this transition. The goal of this report is not to prove that a particular pathway will ever fully or exclusively replace the use of traditional biomass for cooking purposes: rather, the goal of the report is to critically evaluate the various different technological pathways and the barriers along the way.

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