This study discusses the social dimensions of MPAs in Tanzania, using the case of the Mafia Island Marine Park and the socioeconomic, political and cultural contexts within which Mafia people live their lives. Based on documentary surveys and interviews with residents of the island’s villages, national government officials, and the...

This study from Brazil shows, it is possible to use MPAs as a tool for livelihood-sensitive conservation. Based on detailed studies of three sites–the Peixe Lagoon National Park in Rio Grande do Sul, and the marine extractive reserves (MERs) of Mandira, São Paulo, and Corumbau, Bahia–the study shows how communities...

This study on marine protected areas (MPAs) in India analyzes the legal and institutional framework for their establishment, and uses two case studies–the Gulf of Mannar National Park and Biosphere Reserve, and the Malvan (Marine) Wildlife Sanctuary–to document and understand the experiences and views of local communities, particularly fishing communities,...

This dossier puts together a collection of articles from the pages of SAMUDRA Report, the triannual journal of ICSF. The articles show that conservation and livelihoods are closely intertwined, and that top-down, non participatory models of conservation can be counterproductive. Despite being poor and powerless, fishing and coastal communities can...

The history of Central Asia reveals a complex patchwork of tribes, ethnicities and nations bound together in a struggle to survive in some of the region’s most harsh and unforgiving lands. Only those who knew the secrets of living in harmony with their environment were able to survive and eventually...

This was a regional workshop that brought together representatives from regional and national producer organizations, representatives in agribusiness from the Caribbean region and members of the Caribbean Farmers’ Network. It was held to identify capacity building strategies that agricultural producer organizations and networks at the regional, national and sub-national levels...

Farming in the area of Maramureş has created a land of impressive scenery and rich cultural heritage. The unique patchwork of forests, orchards, wetlands and grasslands forms the second largest protected area in Romania. This is a semi-natural landscape, the result of a long tradition of traditional farming and shepherding,...

This Occasional Paper examines the role of agricultural mechanization in the agricultural and economic development of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The paper argues that in the light of global changes and challenges the time is ripe to reconsider the potential of mechanization and the priority that needs to be given to...

For small island countries like the Cook Islands, no issue merits more attention and action today than climate change! Climate change is the defining human development issue of this generation as it threatens to erode human rights and freedoms to make choices and lead lives the way people and countries...

According to the Territory of Estonia Administrative Division Act, Estonia is divided into counties, rural municipalities and cities. There are 15 counties (LAU 1) and 227 local governments - 33 cities and 194 rural municipalities (LAU 2) in Estonia [2]. In Estonian case (in the context of rural development) county...

This paper proposes a general pattern of rural development in which rises in per capita income are associated with a decline in the importance of agricultural production and a rise in the importance of non-agricultural income sources. Following the approach to examining Engel's Law, we use data from 15 developing...

This paper attempts to fill some of the key research gaps in the literature on Urban Agriculture (UA) using survey data for 15 developing or transition countries. The paper analyzes in a comparative perspective the importance of UA for the poor and food insecure households located in urban areas.

This report intends to provide key elements for answering these questions. Before starting the analysis, it is necessary to introduce the factors that have fuelled the adoption of certification in the banana industry and the main categories of schemes used.

Climate variability poses a severe threat to subsistence farmers in southern Africa. Two different approaches have emerged in recent years to address these threats: the use of seasonal precipitation forecasts for risk reduction (for example, choosing seed varieties that can perform well for expected rainfall conditions), and the use of...

This is an updated (March 2008), revised version of an earlier working paper with the same title. The paper characterizes household access to assets and agrarian institutions through the comparative analysis of datasets from 15 nationally representative household surveys from four regions of the developing world.

Soil type and the effect of management on the condition of the soil are important determinants of the character and quality of wine, and have profound effects on long-term profits. Land managers need tools that are reliable, quick and easy to use in order to help them assess the condition...

A new tourist modality, the community tourism, has strongly appeared in the countries of the Andean region of Latin America, mainly in Ecuador. The present document identifies and analyzes the aspects that distinguish the community tourism as tourist modality, the model of tourist development in which it is framed and...

Food insecurity and income poverty are rampant in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thirty-one percent of children under the age of five are malnourished and some 72 percent of the population lives on less than US$2 day. Forty-one percent lives on less than US$1 day. The impoverished and hungry are concentrated disproportionately in...

In their individual and joint efforts to address the problems of poverty, IFAD and its partner agencies in the NENA region are confronted by a large number of constraints, including:• The natural resource base in both quantity and quality, in particular, the prevalence ofdesert and semi-arid areas and the frequency...

Small producers, who sell their own products from their own farms, have been making and selling their products for many generations. They believe in the health of their products. But in certain cases, production and storage conditions can lead to serious food poisoning, even though the producer/seller who eats the...