Policy Briefs / Dossiers de politique

Permanent URI for this collection

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 14 of 14
  • Item
    Community forestry in Nepal : management rules and distribution of benefits
    (SANDEE, Kathmandu, NP, 2004) Adhikari, Bhim
  • Item
    Participatory forest management : collective action under three different institutional regimes
    (SANDEE, Kathmandu, NP, 2004) Ghate, Rucha
    Rucha Ghate examines the initiation and implementation of forest management in the villages of Duelgaon, Ranvahi and Markegaon in Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra. The study is a qualitative analysis of the factors that contribute to institutional sustainability.
  • Item
    Collective titling and the process of institution building : common property regime in the Colombian Pacific
    (Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Economics Program (LACEEP), Turrialba CR, 2008) Alejandra Velez, Maria
    The design of new rules and procedures to manage the commons is an ongoing process. The Colombian Government has assigned collective land titles (more than 5 million hectares) to 157 communities along the Pacific coast, benefiting more than 60,000 families. This two-page policy brief references a study that illustrates how collective titling has changed the region’s political landscape and the local environmental governance in Afro Colombian Communities. Formal property rights have created the incentives and legal tools to guard against encroachment by external intruders.
  • Item
    Why helping the environment helps women : understanding the links between resource availability and gender equality in India
    (SANDEE, Kathmandu, NP, 2007) Chopra, Neetu; Singh, Supriya; Bellamy, Rufus
    In many developing countries, environmental degradation and the resulting loss of natural resources can have significant social and economic impacts, especially on disadvantaged groups such as poor, rural women. A SANDEE study looks at the impact of the availability of three key natural resources – water, forests and fodder – on villagers in the Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh in India. It aims to provide a better understanding of the link between the scarcity of such resources and gender inequality.
  • Item
    Why does community participation fail after the state withdraws? : understanding watershed management in Tamil Nadu, India
    (SANDEE, Kathmandu, NP, 2007) Suresh Kumar, D.; Bellamy, Rufus
    Watershed protection and enhancement are vital aspects of rural development work in India. However, many community-based watershed management projects do not produce the desired results and often fail, especially after the state withdraws its support. A new SANDEE study looks at why this is the case and what should be done. The study finds that greater success is likely if community groups are crucially dependent on wells for irrigation, are better informed about post-project requirements and are given more control over funds and overall project management. Leadership is critical to sustaining interest in community activities.
  • Item
    Sustainability of community aquaculture : a study of transaction costs from Sri Lanka
    (SANDEE, Kathmandu, NP, 2007) Senaratne, Athula; Karunanayake, Kalpa; Bellamy, Rufus
    Over the last decade there has been a major push within policy circles to strengthen community initiatives related to natural resources management. The success or failure of such projects is an important issue for decision-makers who are interested in poverty alleviation. A new SANDEE study from Sri Lanka looks at the factors that affect the performance and sustainability of one such group of projects. It focuses on Community-Based Aquaculture (CBA) schemes in the interior of the country. Although these have the potential to be an important source of protein for poor communities, many CBA projects in the country are failing.
  • Item
    Non-timber forest products and community forestry : a tale of two villages
    (SANDEE, Kathmandu, NP, 2006) Khatri-Chhetri, Arun; Bellamy, Rufus
    Many rural people harvest non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for food, resources and supplementary income and forms a key component of community forest management. It is therefore vital to understand how different approaches to community forestry impact the way in which local people can use forest resources and benefit from the available NTFPs. A new SANDEE study from Nepal investigates this important question. The study compares the experience of people living under an informal and a formal community forest management system in Pyuthan district. It finds that under the informal management system NTFPs make a higher contribution to household income than under the formal system. It also finds that poorer households, who are more dependent on forest products, are more significantly affected by forest management rules and regulations than their richer neighbors. To help these poorer households, the study proposes some changes in the formal management system rules.
  • Item
    Common land : commercialization vs conservation
    (SANDEE, Kathmandu, NP, 2006) Dasgupta, Purnamita; Bellamy, Rufus
    Across South Asia, many rural people use common land to harvest naturally-growing plants, grow crops and feed their livestock. Increasingly this activity is being commercialized as farmers move to sell the produce they obtain. Despite the importance of this development to village people, its overall effect is uncertain and there are fears that it will damage the environment.
  • Item
    Privatization, co-operation and sustainability : understanding the implications of land-reform in Goa
    (SANDEE, Kathmandu, NP, 2006) Mukhopadhyay, Pranab; Bellamy, Rufus
    Across the developing world the way in which land is controlled and managed has been steadily changing. In the past fifty years, community ownership has increasingly given way to privatization. The impact of this change on social equity and on the environment is a key issue that interests conservationists and politicians alike.
  • Item
    Making tribal land profitable : a study from the Western Ghats of India
    (SANDEE, Kathmandu, NP, 2006) Purushothaman, Seema; Bellamy, Rufus
    Many farmers across the developing world cultivate marginalized and degraded land. Such land is often of low productivity. This means that the people who depend upon it are very vulnerable to food scarcity and famine. Boosting the productivity of such land is therefore a key strategy for improving the livelihoods of the rural poor.
  • Item
    Understanding migration : do the commons matter?
    (SANDEE, Kathmandu, NP, 2005) Shah, Amita; Bellamy, Rufus
    Across South Asia people are on the move – migrating in search of work and to escape hardship. Understanding the circumstances that compel migration in arid areas is particularly important since environmental constraints can drive rural households into making decisions that place them in even deeper poverty. What factors motivate people to move? In particular, does degradation of natural resources matter for migration decisions? And, do the poor in the region follow the same path as the wealthy? A recent SANDEE study looks into some of these issues by studying migration in three districts in Gujarat in India.
  • Item
    Sharing traditional knowledge for commerce : the power of bargaining strength
    (SANDEE, Kathmandu, NP, 2005) Bhagirathy, K. Aparna; Bellamy, Rufus
    Across South Asia, traditional communities use knowledge that has been accumulated over many generations to treat sickness and improve food production. Many companies and organizations – particularly those involved in the pharmaceutical industry – have become increasingly interested in such traditional knowledge because it offers the possibility of a ‘short cut’ to the development of new foods, drugs and other products. // A recent SANDEE study investigates the economic incentives that can be used to protect and sustainably use this traditional knowledge. The study also looks at how revenues from the utilization of traditional knowledge can be shared equitably. Not surprisingly, it finds that both traditional communities and pharmaceutical companies need to be confident that they can profit from working together. However, a number of hurdles can come in the way of developing workable contracts and agreements. The study suggests that actual sharing of the revenues depends, most importantly, on the relative bargaining strengths of the two parties. Factors that affect bargaining strengths need to be taken into account in designing schemes that can help communities benefit from the use of their traditional knowledge.
  • Item
    Paying the price for partnership : why community costs are key to successful resource management
    (EEPSEA, Singapore, SG, 2001) IDRC. Regional Office for Southeast and East Asia, Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia; Sumalde, Z.M.; Pedroso, S.L.
    The report assesses costs involved in three stages of the San Miguel Bay (SMB) project. Direct project costs, defined as the direct expenses needed to carry out the SMB-CRM (Community Resource Management) activities were obtained from available records; transactions costs were estimated as the value of time spent in planning, follow-up and monitoring activities. For the people's organisations, the estimated value of time was based on the expected net income from fishing. For the other parties, it was based on actual wages. Transactions costs shouldered by people's organizations during the implementation phase were dominated by the value of time in coordinating, motivating and follow-up activities.