The Gatekeeper Series of the Natural Resources Group at IIED is produced by the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods Programme. The Series highlights emerging issues and new perspectives in the fields of natural resource management (NRM), livelihoods and sustainable agriculture.

Each Gatekeeper paper provides a succinct review of an issue of contemporary importance and makes preliminary recommendations for policy makers, researchers and planners. The series presents a diversity of perspectives, both from within and outside IIED, and with a special focus on work by Southern authors. All geographic regions are covered, although the main focus is on Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Since the Series was established in 1987, papers have covered a huge range of topics from global restructuring and agri-food systems to participatory plant breeding. Gatekeeper papers have dealt with equity, gender, research methods, ‘ways of knowing’, institutions, participatory methods, wildlife, and many dimensions of sustainable agriculture and the health of the natural resource base.

The interactions of the macro-level (national to global) with micro-environments, in both natural and human terms, are another thread running through the Gatekeepers. Analyses have been centred equally on lessons from the local level for the formulation of policy, and the efficacy on the ground of policy directives.

Successes and constraints in using participatory methods in localised projects and research exercises have also formed a recurring theme over the past 15 years. The livelihoods perspective informs all of the Gatekeepers’ coverage, and some papers have dealt directly with livelihoods strategies. These broad thematic areas covered by the Series are reflected in the organisation of back issues on this website.

The Natural Resources Group at IIED has recently undertaken to expand the scope of the Series, while retaining the emphasis on sustainability and equity in agri-food systems and forms of environmental interaction that have characterised the Gatekeeper Series.

The series reaches over 4000 policy makers, researchers and planners in 121 countries. The Series is published three times a year - three issues each in April, August and December.

To obtain information on subscribing and contributing to the Series , and for abstracts and full text of the back issues, follow the links at the top of this page.

Or contact:

Editorial coordinator: Su Fei Tan
Subscriptions: Holly Ashley

The Gatekeeper Series is funded by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Authority (SIDA) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC).