Items tagged:
Africa
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Africa’s evolving food systems
Most rural Africans now live and farm in liberalised markets, which most African and international policy forums assume to be the best basis for economic activities. But there is considerable debate about these developments, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa
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New Urban ARK website launched
A new website profiles a research and capacity building programme focusing on urban disaster risk reduction in sub-Saharan Africa
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Strengthening civil society to support natural resource management
A new report finds that civil society organisations in Africa struggle to get the support they need to play an effective role in natural resource management and conservation.
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Painting Africa's economy blue
The first official day of the decade for African Seas and Oceans provides a timely reason to think about how marine resources could better contribute to Africa's economy
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China-Africa forest governance strengthened with Cameroon event
An innovative multi-stakeholder event discussing Chinese trade and investment impacting Africa's forests will take place in Yaoundé, Cameroon from 22-25 June
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China-Africa trade and investment: benefiting Africa's rural informal economy?
Understanding Africa's informal economy – where people work with/for small-scale Chinese businesses – is critical for assessing China's impact and making policy for the rural poor
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RurbanAfrica
RurbanAfrica was all about collaboration. Linking rural and urban parts of sub-Saharan Africa and addressing the critical connections, this project championed progress and challenged some of the myths that hinder development
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2014 Barbara Ward Lecture: Fatima Denton calls for a "new paradigm" for African development
Leading climate expert Fatima Denton called for a new narrative on Africa and climate change when she delivered the 2014 Barbara Ward Lecture
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Ebola – what must we learn?
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is launching an unprecedented appeal in response to the Ebola crisis, but what lessons must we learn if we are to effectively and equitably tackle future shocks of this scale?
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Room for optimism on Africa, the "hopeful" continent
Climate expert Fatima Denton from the Economic Commission for Africa will say it's time for more optimism on Africa and climate change at an IIED lecture to celebrate Barbara Ward's birthday
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Securing land rights in West Africa
Land is an essential safety net for the rural poor during times of economic instability and helps define cultures and identities
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2014 IIED lecture: Let's rewrite the narrative on Africa and climate change
IIED is delighted to announce that the 2014 Barbara Ward Lecture will be delivered by renowned climate change specialist Dr. Fatima Denton
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Climate change in Africa: a guidebook for journalists
IIED authors have contributed to a new UNESCO publication to support African journalists as they get to grips with what will be a defining feature of all of our lives, our changing climate.
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Platform set for China-Africa forest governance action
A new partnership builds bridges between African and Chinese stakeholders to strengthen governance of forests.
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Tackling the trade law dimension of ‘land grabbing’
As trade talks regain momentum, ‘land grab’ activists are scrutinising negotiations and pioneering new opportunities for public accountability.
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Forest Governance Learning Group
The Forest Governance Learning Group aims to connect forest-dependent people who are marginalised from forest governance with those who control it
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Just forest governance
The way forests are governed is crucial for affecting how local people benefit from forests. IIED helps secure local communities’ commercial rights to forests by using a ‘learning group approach’, which emphasises sharing tools and tactics that have worked. At the same time, we also look at measures to reduce demand for agricultural and forest products that result in deforestation or degradation.
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A brief history of biodiversity at IIED
IIED’s work on biodiversity dates back over 25 years – although it has not always been labelled as such.
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Report sets stage for China-Africa forest governance research
IIED has published a report that identifies research that can shed light on the positive and negative effects of Chinese investment in African forests, and show how to improve governance of the timber trade.
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Book charts path from harmful land grabs to people-centred investment in Africa
The time is ripe for a new approach to the large-scale land deals that ultimately connect millions of consumers and savers in rich nations with millions of poor rural farmers in Africa, says a new book by one of the world’s leading experts in such deals.
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New paradigm for African agriculture sees sustainable intensification in a new light
The new report from the Montpellier Panel – a panel of international experts led by Professor Sir Gordon Conway of Agriculture for Impact – provides innovative thinking and examples into the way in which the techniques of sustainable intensification are being used by smallholder farmers in Africa to address the continent’s food and nutrition crisis.
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Gaining Ground? Report sheds light on demand for accountability amid resistance to land deals in Africa
People who feel wronged by large scale land deals in Africa are taking a variety of steps to seek justice, according to new research that examines the accountability of public authorities that preside over such deals and asks whether legal empowerment offers citizens scope to expect fairer outcomes.
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China in Africa’s forests
With growing Chinese investment in Africa’s forests and timber, could stronger China-Africa dialogue help ensure good management of forests and the timber trade?
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Rwanda: test case on international commitment to financing climate change adaptation?
Rwanda hopes climate change will provide an opportunity to secure additional climate finance. Will its new finance mechanism succeed?
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Chinese media in Africa
The ‘Chinese media dragon’ is raising its voice in Africa—and drawing criticism. So how much is cultural bias, and how much legitimate concern?
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Basic service provision shouldn’t just be a money maker
Are utility companies forgetting that their core function is to provide services and not just make money?
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A Chinese farm in Africa
Chen promotes new agricultural techniques in China, but he dreams of farming in Senegal because he wants to share his skills and do something meaningful.
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How markets can bloom for Africa's smallholder farmers
New deals between flower-growers in Kenya and big retailers such as Walmart offer African farmers a chance to expand.
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Communities adapting to climate change can learn from revolutionary conservation method
A revolutionary approach to conservation and development pioneered in southern Africa provides vital lessons that can help communities worldwide adapt to climate change, according to a new report published by IIED today.
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Invest in farmers, not in farmland
"Land grabs" are now one of the biggest issues in Africa.
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Putting farmers first: Democratising and reshaping agricultural research in West Africa
UK parliamentarians and civil servants will this week join African farmers, international donors and scientists in a policy dialogue that aims to reshape agricultural research to serve development goals and the public good.
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Young citizens: African youth step up to governance challenges
All over the world citizens are starting to demand accountability from those in power. We are seeing exciting experiments in participatory governance. But are they working for young people? And what spaces are most promising for the participation of children and youth?
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Five-nation study sheds light on costs of adapting agriculture to climate change
Research in Africa and Asia has shown that efforts to assess the costs of adapting agriculture to a changing climate often fail to reflect the diversity of the sector.
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African governments signing away water rights for decades
A paper published today by IIED warns that African governments are signing away water rights for decades with insufficient regard for how this will affect millions of local users, including fishing, farming and pastoralist communities.
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Five ways to bring benefits from large dams to local communities
A study into how large dams in West Africa have affected local people has identified ways to share the benefits of future dams more equitably and create development opportunities for communities.
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‘Land grabs’ in Africa: is there an alternative?
Millions of people across the developing world depend on land for their livelihoods, culture and identity — a connection that now risks being undermined by large-scale acquisitions of farmland in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
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Fairtrade and formalisation for small-scale miners
The world's first Fairtrade and Fairmined gold is launched in the UK to help formalise the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector. But is formalisation the best way forward?
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Open letter to Bill Gates on African land acquisitions
IIED's director Dr Camillla Toulmin, responds to comments Bill Gates made about large-scale land acquisitions in a recent interview.
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Report shows how secret land deals can fail to benefit African nations – and how to make them better
African nations risk giving investors access to large areas of land in rushed, secretive and one-sided deals that fail to deliver real benefits or create new social and environmental problems, according to the first ever legal analysis of contracts which is published today (31 January) by the International Institute for Environment and Development.
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A pinch of salt from Namaacha
Strengthening local communities’ rights to and capacity for sustainable forest management is critical to making REDD work in developing countries.
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Biofuels: Africa focus
Biofuels have come to be regarded as an important option for reducing consumption of
