Download or read book Enabling Equitable Collective Action Policy Change for Poverty Reduction and Improved Natural Resource Management in the Eastern African Highlands written by Laura German and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This research integrates empirical and action research in an effort to generate working solutions to problems facing rural communities in their efforts to manage their natural resources in the highlands of Ethiopia and Uganda.
Download or read book Collective Action and Property Rights for Poverty Reduction written by Esther Mwangi and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2012-05-22 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To improve their well-being, the poor in developing countries have used both collective action through formal and informal groups and property rights to natural resources. Collective Action and Property Rights for Poverty Reduction: Insights from Africa and Asia examines how these two types of institutions, separately and together, influence quality of life and how they can be strengthened to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor. The product of a global research study by the Systemwide Program on Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, this book draws on case studies from East Africa and South and Southeast Asia to investigate how collective action and property rights have contributed to poverty reduction. The book extends the analysis of these institutions beyond their frequently studied role in natural resource management by also examining how they can reduce vulnerability to different types of shocks. Essays in the volume identify opportunities and risks present in the institutions of collective action and property rights. For example, property rights to natural resources can offer a variety of advantages, providing individuals and groups not only with benefits and incomes but also with assets that can counter the negative effects of shocks such as drought, and can make collective action easier. The authors also demonstrate that collective action has the potential to reduce poverty if it includes more vulnerable groups such as women, ethnic minorities, and the very poor. Preventing exclusion of these often-marginalized groups and guaranteeing genuinely inclusive collective action might require special rules and policies. Another danger to the poor is the capture of property rights by elites, which can be the result of privatization and decentralization policies; case studies and analysis identify actions to prevent such elite capture.
Download or read book Integrated Natural Resource Management in the Highlands of Eastern Africa written by Laura Anne German and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book documents a decade of research, methodological innovation, and lessons learned in an eco-regional research-for-development program operating in the eastern African highlands, the African Highlands Initiative (AHI). It does this through reflections of the protagonists themselves—AHI site teams and partners applying action research to development innovation as a means to enhance the impact of their research. The book summarizes the experiences of farmers, research and development workers and policy and decision-makers who have interacted within an innovation system with the common goal of implementing an integrated approach to natural resource management (NRM) in the humid highlands. This book demonstrates the crucial importance of "approach" in shaping the outcomes of research and development, and distils lessons learned on what works, where and why. It is enriched with examples and case studies from five benchmark sites in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, whose variability provides the reader with an in-depth knowledge of the complexities of integrated NRM in agro-ecosystems that play an important role in the rural economy of the region. It is shown that the struggle to achieve sustainable agricultural development in challenging environments is a complex one, and can only be effectively achieved through combined efforts and commitment of individuals and institutions with complementary roles.
Download or read book Integrated Natural Resource Management in the Highlands of Eastern Africa written by Laura Anne German and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book documents a decade of research, methodological innovation, and lessons learned in an eco-regional research-for-development program operating in the eastern African highlands, the African Highlands Initiative (AHI). It does this through reflections of the protagonists themselves—AHI site teams and partners applying action research to development innovation as a means to enhance the impact of their research. The book summarizes the experiences of farmers, research and development workers and policy and decision-makers who have interacted within an innovation system with the common goal of implementing an integrated approach to natural resource management (NRM) in the humid highlands. This book demonstrates the crucial importance of "approach" in shaping the outcomes of research and development, and distils lessons learned on what works, where and why. It is enriched with examples and case studies from five benchmark sites in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, whose variability provides the reader with an in-depth knowledge of the complexities of integrated NRM in agro-ecosystems that play an important role in the rural economy of the region. It is shown that the struggle to achieve sustainable agricultural development in challenging environments is a complex one, and can only be effectively achieved through combined efforts and commitment of individuals and institutions with complementary roles.
Download or read book Resilience and social capital written by Bernier, Quinn and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2014-04-30 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increasingly, resilience is being incorporated into planning and social protection policy. People have been facing shocks, both natural and anthropogenic, forever, devising and innovating a variety of institutional responses to cope with, recover from, and prevent future impacts. Central to these shocks and this coping capacity, but often underexplored, is the role of social capital. This paper, using the case studies of iddirs (funeral societies) in Ethiopia and migrant networks in the Philippines, explores the contribution of local forms of social capital to building and strengthening the resilience of individuals and communities, focusing on their contributions to coping, adaptive, and transformative capacities. This paper argues that understanding clearly the role that existing social capital can play in building resilience is a necessary first step for policymakers. The authors suggest policy interventions to fill gaps where and when necessary while supporting and deepening existing social capital.
Download or read book Local sources of resilience written by Bernier, Quinn and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2014-05-04 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People have always faced shocks and have devised a variety of institutional responses to cope with, recover from, and prevent future impacts. Central to these shocks and this coping capacity, but often underexplored, is the role of social capital. Social capital includes features of social organization, such as networks, norms, and social trust, that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit and can serve as an asset for communities, enabling them to engage in and benefit from collective action and cooperation. While social capital takes many forms, of particular interest here are local-level organizations and less formal social networks. Having long played a role in individual, household, and community risk-smoothing and risk-sharing practices, social capital has also been identified as a vital component of adaptive capacity as well as a key factor contributing to post-disaster recovery. Practitioners often assume that the poor, who lack other assets, can develop, acquire, and utilize social capital instead; however, as many studies have illustrated, the poor face significant challenges in building and using this resource. Moreover, social capital by itself may not be sufficient to encourage proactive adaptive behaviors and changes; external interventions may be needed to strengthen indigenous associations and support for resilience. However, clearly understanding local-level social capital is necessary for such interventions to effectively engage with, and not erode, effective local responses. This brief explores how local forms of social capital can contribute to resilience and how policy interventions can build up, support, and deepen these connections.
Download or read book An innovation systems approach to enhanced farmer adoption of climate ready germplasm and agronomic practices written by Hellin, Jonathan and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2014-06-27 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By 2050, climate change is likely to reduce maize production globally by 310 percent and wheat production in developing countries by 2934 percent. Even without climate change, the real costs of wheat and maize will increase by 60 percent between 2000 and 2050; climate change could make the figure substantially greater. Food security, despite the above, may be possible if agricultural systems are transformed through improved seed, fertilizer, land use, and governance.
Download or read book Beyond the Biophysical written by Laura German and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-06-10 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beyond the Biophysical provides a broad overview of agriculture and natural resource management (NRM) scholarship and practice that lies beyond the biophysical, emphasizing instead epistemological, cultural, and political foundations of NRM. The volume is oriented toward professionals with expertise in agriculture and natural resource management scholarship and practice, but who lack exposure to the conceptual and methodological underpinnings of critical theory, the anthropology of development, ecological anthropology, and other relevant scholarship. It therefore follows common standards of academic rigour, but minimizes the use of jargon, integrates detailed case studies with conceptual syntheses, and attempts to move from critique to concrete recommendations for scholarship and practice. The volume seeks to foster a more nuanced and responsible engagement with local communities and the natural world among NRM scholars and practitioners.
Download or read book Water smart agriculture in East Africa written by Nicol, A. and published by IWMI. This book was released on 2015-03-01 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Resilience for food and nutrition security written by Fan, Shenggen and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2014-10-28 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economic shocks including food price shocks, environmental shocks, social shocks, political shocks, health shocks, and many other types of shocks hit poor people and communities around the world, compromising their efforts to improve their well-being. As shocks evolve and become more frequent or intense, they further threaten people’s food and nutrition security and their livelihoods. How do we help people and communities to become more resilient, to not only bounce back from shocks but to also to get ahead of them and improve their well-being so that they are less vulnerable to the next shock? How do we get better at coping with—and even thriving—in the presence of shocks?
Download or read book CIFOR annual report 2008 Thinking beyond the canopy written by Cifor and published by CIFOR. This book was released on with total page 89 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Governing Africa s Forests in a Globalized World written by Laura A. German and published by Earthscan. This book was released on 2009-12 with total page 445 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many countries around the world are engaged in decentralization processes, and most African countries face serious problems with forest governance, from benefits sharing to illegality and sustainable forest management. This book summarizes experiences to date on the extent and nature of decentralization and its outcomes, most of which suggest an underperformance of governance reforms, and explores the viability of different governance instruments in the context of weak governance and expanding commercial pressures over forests. Findings are grouped into two thematic areas: decentralization, livelihoods and sustainable forest management; and international trade, finance and forest sector governance reforms. The authors examine diverse forces shaping the forest sector, including the theory and practice of decentralization, usurpation of authority, corruption and illegality, inequitable patterns of benefits capture and expansion of international trade in timber and carbon credits, and discuss related outcomes on livelihoods, forest condition and equity. The book builds on earlier volumes exploring different dimensions of decentralization and perspectives from other world regions, and distills dimensions of forest governance that are both unique to Africa and representative of broader global patterns. Authors ground their analysis in relevant theory while attempting to distill implications of their findings for policy and practice.
Download or read book The gendered impacts of agricultural asset transfer projects written by Johnson, Nancy and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2013-12-02 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper looks at the gendered impacts of a development project that provided improved dairy cattle and training as part of a broader effort to develop a smallholder-friendly, market-oriented dairy value chain in Manica province, Mozambique. The project targeted households, registered cows in the name of the household head, and, initially, trained registered cow owners in various aspects of dairy production and marketing. Subsequently training was expanded to two members per household to increase the capacity within households to care for cows, a change which resulted in a significant number of women being trained. Using qualitative and quantitative data on dairy production and consumption and on gendered control over income and assets, the paper explores how men and women participated in and benefited from the project. We find that despite being registered to men, in practice dairy cattle are in some cases viewed as jointly owned by men and women. Beneficiary households dramatically increased dairy production and income, with men, women, and children all contributing labor. Womens incentives for participation in dairy are less clear. Despite their recognized rights and responsibilities related to dairy cow management, women exercise relatively little control over milk and milk income as compared to men. Various explanations related to monetary and nonmonetary benefits of MSDDP and dairying for women are explored, along with their implications for womens level of effort and overall project outcomes.
Download or read book Integrated Natural Resource Management in the Highlands of Eastern Africa written by Laura German and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book documents a decade of research, methodological innovation, and lessons learned in an eco-regional research-for-development program operating in the eastern African highlands, the African Highlands Initiative (AHI). It does this through reflections of the protagonists themselves-AHI site teams and partners applying action research to development innovation as a means to enhance the impact of their research. The book summarizes the experiences of farmers, research and development workers and policy and decision-makers who have interacted within an innovation system with the common goal of implementing an integrated approach to natural resource management (NRM) in the humid highlands. This book demonstrates the crucial importance of "approach" in shaping the outcomes of research and development, and distils lessons learned on what works, where and why. It is enriched with examples and case studies from five benchmark sites in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, whose variability provides the reader with an in-depth knowledge of the complexities of integrated NRM in agro-ecosystems that play an important role in the rural economy of the region. It is shown that the struggle to achieve sustainable agricultural development in challenging environments is a complex one, and can only be effectively achieved through combined efforts and commitment of individuals and institutions with complementary roles.
Download or read book Livelihood and Landscape Change in Africa Future Trajectories for Improved Well Being under a Changing Climate written by Sheona Shackleton and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2019-10-08 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is based on a Special Issue of the journal LAND that draws together a collection of 11 diverse articles at the nexus of climate change, landscapes, and livelihoods in rural Africa; all explore the links between livelihood and landscape change, including shifts in farming practices and natural resource use and management. The articles, which are all place-based case studies across nine African countries, cover three not necessarily mutually exclusive thematic areas, namely: smallholder farming livelihoods under new climate risk (five articles); long-term dynamics of livelihoods and landscape change and future trajectories (two articles); and natural resource management and governance under a changing climate, spanning forests, woodlands, and rangelands (four articles). The commonalities, key messages, and research gaps across the 11 articles are presented in a synthesis article. All the case studies pointed to the need for an integrated and in-depth understanding of the multiple drivers of landscape and livelihood change and how these interact with local histories, knowledge systems, cultures, complexities, and lived realities. Moreover, where there are interventions (such as new governance systems, REDD+ or climate smart agriculture), it is critical to interrogate what is required to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of emerging benefits.
Download or read book New Frontiers in Natural Resources Management in Africa written by Elias T. Ayuk and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-06-07 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses policy strategies for the effective management of natural resources in Africa within the context of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). While natural resource wealth has the potential to lift many out of poverty, sustain economic growth, and foster political stability, it does not guarantee these benefits. The absolute levels of human development in many resource-rich countries remain low, despite their apparent wealth. The challenge is to adopt policies that better harness the potential of natural resources, not only as an opportunity for development, but also to foster policies and institutional innovations that manage resource wealth equitably and boost human capital. To this end, this volume highlights key opportunities and solutions for harnessing natural resources for sustained economic development and explain how such approaches should be incorporated into the SDG agenda. These opportunities are communicated in the form of policy recommendations that in some cases, are country specific but can (and should) be adapted by individual African countries where applicable. With a broad perspective supplied by a diverse group of authors, this book will be useful for graduate students and academicians studying Africa, development economics, economic policy, and resource management, as well as policy makers, NGOs, and IGOs.
Download or read book Reducing Poverty and Sustaining the Environment written by David Satterthwaite and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A valuable contribution to our collective knowledge about governance, poverty and the environment' Frances Seymour, World Resources Institute 'Detailed and realistic documentation of contemporary development and governance relationships and trends' Melissa Leach, Institute of Development Studies There are growing signs that development work by governments, aid agencies and non-government organisations ignores the fact that environmental quality matters to the poor. There are also indications that some environmental work is pushing 'people-out' protection methodologies. Yet recently, an extensive range of project, programme and policy level activities has focused attention on the important links between poverty and the environment, and the benefit of entrenching these links in policy-making processes at all levels. The role that politics plays in all of this is of overriding importance. This volume is the first to address the role of politics in environmental issues that matter to the poor through a series of case studies. It describes experiences at regional, national and local levels in low and middle income countries including China, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa, Pakistan, Colombia, Peru, India, Saint Lucia and countries in East Africa. Ultimately the book demonstrates how understanding the national and local political context is crucial for addressing poverty-environment issues such as environmental health, access to natural resources for livelihoods and security, and coping with environmental disasters. The editors advocate ways in which political processes can be used to make positive changes - from the perspectives of both poverty reduction and the environment.
