Search results

131 results
A street vendor sells produce in Surabaya, Indonesia (Photo: Schristia, Creative Commons, via Flickr)
Showcasing innovations in policy approaches to informality
Article, 21 July 2015
This family in the Mecati Forest, Mozambique, cut down trees and cleared the land on this hillside to grow a crop of cowpeas. They will use this land for two more years, use the cut timber for firewood, and them move on (Photo: Mike Goldwater)
2014: the International Year of Family Farming
… all family-based agricultural activities (including agricultural, forestry, fisheries, pastoral and aquaculture production) that are … form of agriculture in the food production sector. What future for family farming? With more than 500 million family farms farming … we understand the strategic role of family farmers in achieving sustainable development. We are partners in the Forest and Farm Facility …
Article, 22 April 2014
Slash and burn, pictured in the Mopeia district, Zambezia province, Mozambique, has a noble motive – feeding families - but it is not sustainable (Photo: Isilda Nhantumbo/IIED)
REDD+: missionaries, conservation fortresses and the politics of carbon landscapes in Africa
… Zimbabwe, asking whether these bring the expected impact (a win-win for environment and people) in conserving or managing trees for carbon … we can afford this.  Their recommendations are clear: abandon carbon forestry and pursue traditional livelihood and integrated rural … role in shifting the development paradigm towards economies based on sustainable land uses. The message from various discussions at the …
Insight, 23 December 2015
Miners pushing a cart out of a mine near the Bolivian town of Potosi. For centuries this area had the richest silver mines in South America. Today many of the mines are worked by local cooperatives, but conditions are still harsh (Photo Nyall & Maryanne, Creative Commons via Flickr)
Listen and learn: lessons from the small-scale mining sector
… For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's … had a bigger voice at the table in defining the language of sustainable development for the sector. It is only in this way that the … mining IIED engages with small-scale producers in agriculture, forestry, fishery and energy – building capacity to get their voice into …
Insight, 05 February 2015
The post-2015 development agenda must recognise that the fates of forests and people are entwined. Credit: Duncan Macqueen
Saving the forests for last – in the hope, at last, of saving the forests
… the eighth and last meeting of the Open Working Group on the future Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , is to help shape a report that … feed into intergovernmental negotiations in September – when the SDGs for all nations to adopt will be set in stone (albeit not legally … of forests very much depends on investing in locally controlled forestry. Alternative approaches that strip away local control are a …
Insight, 31 January 2014
The Deccan Development society works with poor women in Andhra Pradesh, India. It facilitates a network of women seedkeepers who conserve and exchange seeds (Photo: Deccan Development Society)
IIED's best of 2016: blogs
… Why women's empowerment is essential for sustainable development February: Our most-read blog of 2016 put forward … lending and doing business that are being developed in the local forestry sector have the potential to create a more sustainable and just …
Article, 28 December 2016
Lushoto, Tanzania: Farmers are being encouraged to diversify into agroforestry. Here a tree nursery group discusses the challenges and opportunities (Photo: P Kimeli/CCAFS)
Look beyond the trees: the SDGs will have to do more than just 'protect forests'
… more resilient against natural disasters, and offer a haven for biodiversity. This long list of benefits is important to remember as … community grapples with finalising a set of targets, called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to be achieved by 2030. The UN … because they are among the conditions that enable locally-controlled forestry , which is known to deliver better development outcomes. …
Insight, 04 November 2014
Drip irrigation in Faylar village, Senegal. Investing in solar-powered water pumps and drip-feed irrigation systems can help farmers survive in times of drought (Photo: InnoAfrica, Creative Commons via Wikimedia)
Building a vision of climate resilience: questions to the adaptation community
… Having worked for decades as a meteorologist in Addis Ababa, I have been close witness … on a sector-by-sector and project-by-project basis. But building sustainable climate resilience requires working across multiple sectors, … in South Africa, and Climate resilient value chains in agriculture, forestry, energy and livestock that promote SME development and create …
Insight, 06 March 2019
Hippos bask in the sun in Botswana.
Botswana: Biodiversity and dragons come together
… workshop participant and ‘dragon’ responding to a high-pressure pitch for investment, in the style of the well-known TV programme Dragons’ … of ‘mainstreaming’ biodiversity including: new jobs stronger, more sustainable livelihoods more diverse products and potential advantages … “alternative livelihoods” projects with the Centre for International Forestry Research and the Zoological Society of London . Above all IIED …
Insight, 22 May 2013
A typical Kenya milk bar. Packaged milk in supermarkets has been found to be no better at meeting food safety standards than raw milk sold from kiosks (Photo: International Livestock Research Institute, Creative Commons, via Flickr)
Lessons in informality from Kenya's dairy sector
… in policy approaches to informality . Our research offers lessons for key stakeholders in the Kenyan context, but also for policymakers in … And informal markets more broadly – in agriculture, street vending, forestry and mining – provide jobs and incomes in many developing … ([email protected]) is a consultant researcher in IIED's Sustainable Markets Group . Related resource: Legitimising informal …
Insight, 03 November 2015