"A situation analysis with regard to the vulnerability of water resources systems in the Eastern Nile Basin was carried out. The focus was on using internationally recognized indicators and indices that can provide an insight about the situation in the region in a concise and illustrative fashion. A generic operational framework for assessing vulnerability of water systems was outlined and applied to the Eastern Nile Basin. Based on a careful survey, a list of 31 indicators used for vulnerability assessment were identified and categorized according to an outlined categorical structure designed to separate hydrological and physical indicators from other indicators of socio-economic or political nature. [...]"
Sustainable Development and International Cooperation in the Eastern Nile Basin
Salah El-Din Amer, Yacob Arsano, Atta El-Battahani, Osman El-Tom Hamad, Magdy Abd El-Moenim Hefny, Imeru Tamrat, 2005
The following article provides an overview of issues related to international cooperation and water use in the Eastern Nile Basin, thereby introducing the following three papers written from an Ethiopian, Sudanese and Egyptian perspective respectively. Basic environmental and socio-economic data is given. The various national interests and international initiatives in the Nile Basin are introduced. Key areas of consensus between the authors, as well as open questions that still need to be worked on, are elaborated. The article also describes the unique process of how the six authors from three countries worked on this joint publication in the Nile Dialogue Workshop of 2002. Key conclusions are that sustained, non-polemical communication can lead to cooperation, and that cooperation is the cornerstone to sustainable water development.
Ethiopia is the main source of the Nile River, and the country urgently needs water for irrigation and hydro-electric power development. To-date, however, Ethiopia is the country in the Eastern Nile basin that uses the least amount of water from the Nile run-off. There is no basin-wide agreement on the utilization and management of the water resources of the Nile Basin. Unilateral planning and implementation approaches have hindered the possibilities of cooperation and coordinated development. On the national level, economic and institutional capacities are also limited. Past initiatives as well as the current Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) are outlined regarding how far these dilemmas are dealt with. The paper ends with suggestions on how to deal with open questions and lessons learned from the ongoing NBI process.
This thesis addresses the use and management of the Nile waters from a legal/institutional, security, environmental and economic point of view. On the national level the limited institutional and economic capacity to make use of Ethiopia's waters was highlighted as a key factor, slowing development and minimizing Ethiopia's clout to influence international relations to her advantage. On the international level the downstream's (Egypt and Sudan) holding on to the status quo of historical agreements and the principle of "acquired rights" was identified as a major factor blocking cooperative development. The Nile Basin Initiative, since 1999, gives hope for a more cooperative future. The success of the NBI, however, will only be assured if a legal/institutional framework can be agreed on. The PhD ends with various options to increase cooperation, also on non-water issues.
In: Flury M, Geiser U. 2002. Local Environmental Management in a North-South Perspective. Issues of Participation and Knowledge Management. vdf Hochschulverlag Zurich & IOS Press Amsterdam, pp. 91-108
"De plus en plus souvent, les groupes pharmaceutiques et agroalimentaires font valoir des licences sur certaines propriétés d’espèces animales et végétales, s’assurant ainsi des droits de distribution lucratifs. En même temps, les pays en développement, «génétiquement riches», revendiquent une juste répartition des bénéfices. Cette évolution peut être illustrée par l’exemple du Pérou."
"The optimism generated by proponents of India’s “Look East” policy and tentative peace talks between armed opposition groups and the state would suggest that there has been a radical change in the government of India’s north-east policy. However, militarisation and ethnic confrontation continue to define the parameters of public policy in India’s north-east. Ethnic violence is accentuated by the existence of parallel political and administrative structures that undermine the rule of law. This article argues that the change in India’s north-east is contingent upon the government’s motivation to encourage transparency in governance and administration and to consciously move away from its existing reliance on archaic military solutions."
This book provides the first systematic analysis of peace-building in Central Asia for inter-ethnic conflicts over water and land in the Ferghana Valley based on concrete, in-depth and on-site investigation. The core analysis centres on peacebuilding projects in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan by three international aid agencies – an international NGO, a bilateral governmental donor and a multilateral agency – and the shared approach which the donors developed and used for conflict transformation. Using ethnographic case material, the author critically examines both the theoretical assumptions guiding this approach and its empirical outcomes when put into practice. Building on existing work in conflict transformation and the ethnography of international assistance in Central Asia, the book sheds light on Western attempts to transform the post-socialist societies of Central Asia and provides fresh empirical data on and insights into irrigation practices, social institutions, and state and identity formation in the Ferghana Valley.
The book was published by Routledge in its Central Asian Studies series.
"The present study focuses on irrigation disputes and 'conflict transformation' in Central Asia. It analyses three projects by international and bilateral donors who share common approach to transforming irrgation conflicts in the Ferghana Valley. [...] Three major research foci guide this study. First, it addresses the environment-conflict nexus. It explores the relationship between irrigation and the occurence of inter-group conflict. Second, the thesis examines the prescriptive approach of 'conflict transformation'. It focuses on the norms and values that construe conflict and its mitigation. Third, the research addresses the issue of power. It examines both conflicts and interventions studied for their embeddedness in power relations."
For further information, please contact the author
In Search of Harmony: Repairing Infrastructure and Social Relations in the Ferghana Valley
While development cooperation can cause or exacerbate conflicts, withholding aid is not the solution. The issue is how to provide aid in a manner that prevents conflict, so as to achieve sustainable peace. This Practical Note examines how NGOs have prevented and managed conflicts arising from water projects in Ethiopia.
Master's Thesis, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland
"This thesis deals with the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in preventing and managing conflicts arising from water development projects in Ethiopia. It seeks to find out development organization’s comprehension of a conflict, their perception of their role in a conflict setting and their relationship to other organizations. Besides a descriptive part, the thesis also examined reasons seeking to explain the success or failure of NGOs’ efforts in conflict prevention. [...]"
L’objectif de cette communication est de nous questionner sur les causes et la nature des changements sociopolitiques encourus ces dernières années dans les sociétés d’Amazonie bolivienne, en présentant une approche, quelques données contextuelles et une brève étude de cas : la Réserve de Biosphère et Territoire Indigène Pilón Lajas.
"El trabajo interpreta el fenómeno de recuperación fabril como parte del nuevo repertorio de acción colectiva en Argentina. Estudia el Movimiento Nacional de Fábricas Recuperadas por sus Trabajadores con el análisis preliminar de una investigación en terreno realizada entre marzo de 2005 y junio de 2006 en ciudad y provincia de Buenos Aires. Muestra cómo se enfrentaron los problemas laborales con los recursos disponibles y explora el horizonte de sentido en que estas circunstancias motivaron y justificaron las acciones. Así, el repertorio no sólo se concibe como un conjunto de medios para formular reclamos, sino también como una colección de sentidos que aparece relacionalmente en la lucha. Se espera aportar al estudio de la constitución de nuevos actores colectivos al ilustrar los mecanismos de un fenómeno que internacionalmente es ubicado entre las formas posibles de lucha obrera del siglo XXI."
El artículo examina la situación de enfrentamientos en la que se encuentra Bolivia. Enfrentamientos que están conociendo una frágil tregua que permitirá la confrontación electoral de diciembre del 2005. ¿Pero cómo se ha llegado a esta situación de empate social, que se traduce en una serie de conflictos? y ¿cuál podría ser el desenlace de este empate? Son algunas de las preguntas que el artículo trata de responder.
Les mécanismes participatifs qui accompagnent le processus de décentralisation en Bolivie ont permis un accès plus important, notamment en ce qui concerne les populations rurales, paysannes et indigènes, aux services publics de base. Cet exposé examine quand et dans quelles conditions les populations marginalisées et exclues depuis toujours, ont obtenu un meilleur accès aux services publics.
Par ailleurs, les lois liées au processus de décentralisation et d’autres lois connexes ont favorisé un renforcement des organisations populaires. Cet exposé s’efforce également de comprendre ces processus, en se demandant pourquoi une politique de décentralisation, conçue à partir de l'Etat et des organismes internationaux, a ce type de conséquences qui, bien évidemment, n'étaient pas désirées par l'Etat.
De la Fuente M. 2007. El triunfo de Evo Morales: início de una nueva institucionalidad o etorno de los conflictos sociales? Búsqueda. Cochabamba: IESE-UMSS, 29, pp 9-35.
De la Fuente M. 2008. La violence collective en Bolivie. In: Corten A (dir.) La violence dans l'imaginaire latino-américain. Karthala/Presse de l'université du Québec, pp. 105-116.
This book presents a critical analysis of the potentials and constraints of past and present models of developing agrarian innovations.
These innovations had low to non-existent impacts on the sovereignty and security of food production. They focused on linking indigenous food production to a market economy that was not able to guarantee reasonable prices to farmers, preventing them from covering production costs and basic needs for their livelihoods.
The attempt to overcome this one-sided policy in order to develop agrarian innovations in the context of a dialogue among scientific, indigenous and popular forms of knowledge was presented as an institutional experience developed by AGRUCO. This experience was developed during the last 15 years with active support from the Centre for Development and Environment, NCCR North-South and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
Read an extensive account of the book launch by Stephan Rist
Entre justesse et justice
Les ONG dans les politiques du régime de la biodiversité
"[...] La bioprospection est une de ces questions qui est venue sur le devant de la scène dans la plupart des pays latino-américains à la fin des années 1990, même si, en tant que collecte scientifique de matière vivante (plantes, champignons, micro-organismes, animaux, etc.), il s’agit d’une pratique ancienne et très répandue. Cette pratique peut s’appuyer sur la participation des populations indigènes et de leurs savoirs traditionnels sur les plantes, comme il en est question ici. [...] On voudrait analyser ici la bioprospection non dans ses modalités pratiques, mais plutôt comme objet de conflit politique, de controverse sociotechnique, permettant de faire dialoguer scientifiques, militants et politiques. [...]"
"The present study attempts to determine the significance of gender in environmental conflicts and to trace how considerations of gender may contribute to the management of environmental conflicts. These issues are examined by applying gender analysis to the specific case of the Cauvery River dispute in South India. The results show that gender does determine the way people are affected by an environmental conflict, and the way they are involved in the conflict management process. Consideration of gender may contribute to improved management of environmental conflicts by promoting the involvement of all stakeholders, including women, who are often marginalized in conflict management."
Latitude. Revista do Programa de Mestrado em Sociologia, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Maceió, Brasil. 2007, Año 1, Nº 1, pp. 83-100.
For further information, please contact the author.
Movimientos piqueteros: alcances de su construcción política
"The article approaches the subject of the significacy of the ‘piqueteros’ movements for the Argentine political field, retaking two habitual axes of discussion in the bibliography. As opposed to the debate about the continuity or rupture that these movements represent with respect to “the traditional” forms of organization of the popular sectors, it is indicated that this type of approach does not allow to understand the complex articulation between past and present that characterizes them. In relation to the controversy on the political effectiveness of its action, it is indicated that they have lastly transformed the perspections about unemployment, archivieng recognition in the public space and generated relevant spaces of social militants."
"Based on case study analysis of four picketing organizations in Argentina, this article analyzes the impact of women's participation in the picketing movements, on the ways in which women think about themselves and the social roles they claim. Women's initial involvement in the picketing movements was tied closely to their performance of the traditional roles of mother and wife. Over time, and as a result of women's social participation, these roles acquired new meaning. Women began to reject certain stereotypes linked to the feminine, and to challenge some aspects of the gendered division of tasks and responsibilities. Redefinition of feminine roles, however, has limitations, which are evident through analysis of the unequal participation of women in the movements’ leadership."
Since 2002, the Peruvian government has allowed the Harakmbut people to conserve and manage natural resources within their ancestral territory. In order to alleviate the difficulties the Harakmbut had in establishing the institutional and operational framework of this protected area, a PAMS project aiming to strengthen indigenous institutions in the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, has supported training of administrative leaders and forest rangers.
Metis Knowledge. Analysis of the Traditional Knowledge Policy in Peru:
This research aimed to produce a critical analytical framework to understand the process of international norms creation, transmission into a national context and implementation at the local level. This objective has been addressed by choosing traditional knowledge (TK) issue as a strategy to analyze the multi-level governance process, and by studying especially the Peruvian Law for TK protection. This law voted in 2002 intended regulate the encounter of local supply with international demand. But a number of doubts have appeared: Is this law an efficient way of protecting traditional knowledge? Why is its implementation so slow? What is the potential of TK for nature conservation and sustainable development?
"This is an important contribution to the literature on protected areas and the political ecology of natural resource management and conservation. It provides a very timely analysis of "participatory" PA governance and management, examining "new paradigm" PA approaches which - in policy and rhetoric if not always in practice - offer alternatives to the fortress conservation approaches that have so often proved environmentally ineffective, socially disastrous and morally questionable. The editors and 31 contributors "tried to determine how the participatory approach to conservation evolved in specific settings and who profits from the new approach." Drawing on research by 13 research groups working in diverse regions of the global South (South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and South and Southeast Asia) and in Switzerland, the book offers a set of coordinated case studies that are attentive to historical, geographical, political, social, and economic contexts and dynamics." Stan Stevens, Univ. of Massachusetts
Student Workshop Proceedings on Peace-Building in Nepal
Safal Ghimire, A. Nahikian, 2009
The document contains the results of discussions held during a visit to Nepal by Harvard University students, co-hosted by the NCCR North-South and Kathmandu University.
"Laurent Goetschel et Didier Péclard rendent compte, dans leur contribution, des enseignements qu’ils ont pu tirer d’un projet individuel de recherche mené par la Fondation suisse pour la paix, projet qui s’inscrit dans un programme national de recherche intitulé NCCR North-South – Research Partnerships for Mitigating Syndromes of Global Change. Selon ces auteurs, la portée heuristique du lien de causalité supposé direct entre la diminution des ressources naturelles et la survenance de conflits violents doit être nuancée. Il y a en effet d’autres facteurs à prendre en compte, notamment historique, politique et économique, pour expliquer les conflits."
This article proposes an alternative interpretation of political disorder in Ethiopia's Somali Regional State since the rise to power of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) in 1991. Some observers have perceived contemporary politics in the former Ogaden as an example of ‘internal colonisation’ by highland Ethiopians. Others attribute political instability to the ‘nomadic culture’ inherent in the Somali clan structure and the ineptness of its political leaders. This study argues that neither of these two politicised narratives grasps the contradictory interactions between the federal Ethiopian government and its Somali periphery, nor the recursive relations between state and society. With reference to the literature on neo-patrimonialism, I elucidate political disorder in the Somali Region by empirically describing hybrid political domination, institutional instability, and patronage relations, showing how neo-patrimonial rule translates into contested statehood in the region and political devices ranging from military coercion to subtle co-optation. Rather than unilateral domination, a complex web of power and manipulation between parts of the federal and regional authorities animates political disorder in Ethiopia's Somali Region.
In: Buur L, Kyed H M, editors. State Recognition and Democratisation in Sub-Saharan Africa. A New Dawn for Traditional Authorities? New York: Palgrave, pp. 31-51.
With the introduction of « ethnic federalism » by Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, Somalis have finally been accorded autonomy in eastern Ethiopia. But fifteen years after the Derg, Ethiopian-Somali identity is still disputed and the question of self-determination is far from being resolved. The inhabitants of the Somali region are struggling with three options : integration into Ethiopia, independence based on territory and genealogy or irredentism toward the defunct Democratic Republic of Somalia.
The following article gives an overview of Sudanese water development facts and potentials and their regional impact on the other countries sharing the Nile River and beyond. These are set in relation to the unique environmental, socio-economic and political context of Sudan. While the availability of land for irrigation is great, water is limited due to Sudans situation upstream of Egypt and downstream of Ethiopia and the Equatorial Lakes. This geographical position makes Sudan take on a mediative approach to international relations in the Nile Basin. Recent steps to cooperation in the Nile Basin Initiative are presented; they highlight the enormous opportunities that exist in the cooperative development of the Nile.
The following paper examines the Nile question from an Egyptian perspective. The Nile is Egypts main source of water, and 96% of this water originates from outside of its territory. This explains why water is a key security issue for Egypt, and why, from Egypts point of view, cooperation with the upstream Nile countries is the only way forward. Egypts water policy focuses on demand management, environmental protection and international joint projects to increase the water supply (e.g. Jonglei canal).
In: Schweizerisches Jahrbuch für Entwicklungspolitik. Öffentlich-private Partnerschaften und internationale Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, Band 24, Nr. 2. 2005. iuéd, Genf, pp. 183-194.
Este artículo presenta un esquema analítico de la ciudadanía, el mismo que comprende diferentes dimensiones interrelacionadas. Partiendo de las dimensiones “status versus práctica”, “lo privado versus lo público” y “espacio público” se busca conceptualizar la noción de la participación ciudadana en los espacios públicos.
"L’article de Sabine Hoffmann aborde la notion de partenariat par le biais des régimes institutionnels de propriété et de possession. Aux yeux de l’auteure, les partenariats posent inéluctablement des conditions institutionnelles qui définissent les droits, les obligations, les privilèges et les non-droits des acteurs concernés. L’article expose les différentes logiques auxquelles sont soumis les acteurs dans le cadre de partenariats : rationalité économique (liée à une économie de propriété) ou raison écosociale (liée à une économie de possession). Quelle logique guide les acteurs ? La réponse apportée par l’auteure s’appuie sur une étude de cas menée à Cochabamba, en Bolivie, concernant l’accès à l’eau potable."
Participation citoyenne à la construction des espaces publics, ou les diverses pratiques et conceptions autour de la gestion des services de l'eau potable à Cochabamba, Bolivie
Un aporte conceptual y analítico para la investigación
Marc Hufty, Ernesto Bascolo, Roberto Bazzani, 2006
Governance in health: a conceptual and analytical approach to research
"In the Latin American region there is a notable absence of conceptual coherency in the use of the terms governability and governance. This is true for their application to both the social and political sciences and health. Researchers’ understanding of governance varies, and the concept is used heterogeneously within academic circles, with ignorance of the term on the part of decisionmakers and great confusion and ambiguity in the meanings used by researchers and decisionmakers in the health sector. Instead of the prevailing normative use, promoted by most international agencies, a conceptual and analytical framework for governance is proposed here for health systems and services research. Advances in the design of this framework were used to evaluate the public health insurance program in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which allowed the use of the analytical framework to be assessed as a tool for systemizing the social, political, and institutional complexity of the health policy formulation and implementation processes."
"La mise en place d’aires protégées est un instrument essentiel pour la conservation de la diversité biologique. Mais elle ne peut aboutir que si les mesures de protection tiennent compte des besoins de la population locale."
In: Hufty M, Freire A, Plagnat P (Ed). 2005. Jeux de gouvernance: Regards et réflexions sur un concept. Cahier des jeunes chercheurs de l’IUED. Paris Karthala.
"En apparence, la culture du soja est une chance pour l’Argentine, la Bolivie, le Brésil et le Paraguay. Elle apporte à ces pays une manne financière bienvenue. Mais ses conséquences pour la forêt, le sol, la biodiversité, l’eau et - surtout - les populations locales rendent cette réussite économique dérisoire. Quelques mouvements d’opposition tentent de faire entendre leur voix, mais ils restent démunis face à la demande mondiale de soja."
The GAF was validated in the NCCR international conference held in Geneva in November 2007. This text presents the tool and is at the disposition of the scientific community.
In: CESU [Centro de estudios universitarios superiores], CIDES [Postgrado multidisciplinario en ciencias del desarrollo], IFEA [Instituto francés de estudios andinos] , IRD [Institut de recherche pour le développement], Gobernabilidad y gobernanza de los territorios en América Latina, Cochabamba / La Paz: 94-118.
For further information, please contact the author.
Commentary - Save Darfur: A Movement and its Discontents
In: Steinmetz, E (ed.). 2003. Naturschutz - (Aus-)Löser von Konflikten? Dokumentation einer Tagung des Bundesamtes für Naturschutz und der Heinrich Böll Stiftung vom 25. - 27. November 2002 in Berlin. pp. 73-81
This thesis focuses on domestic processes of water policy making in Egypt and Ethiopia in the context of transboundary conflict and cooperation in the Nile Basin.
It presents results at two different levels. First, the water sectors of Egypt and Ethiopia are analyzed with regard to their capacity to jointly design and implement effective and sustainable strategy for transboundary river development. Second, the study produces general insights regarding the nature of transboundary river conflicts and the challenges of conflict mitigation.
"Alors que le discours sur la « gestion de l'eau » privilégiait autrefois une approche axée sur l'ingénierie, il adopte désormais une perspective plus globale qui privilégie la protection de l'environnement, l'efficacité, ainsi que les aspects politiques et institutionnels de la gestion et de la planification intégrée et coopérative de l'eau. C'est la crainte d'une « guerre de l'eau » qui a permis d'accélérer l'intégration de la gestion de l'eau dans les bassins versants partagés ; les questions hydriques figurent désormais à l'ordre du jour de décideurs haut placés et d'organisations internationales spécialistes des questions de sécurité, et des cadres spécifiques ont été créés pour gérer les relations conflictuelles entre groupes d'opérateurs à différents niveaux."
Paper presented at the ECPR Joint Sessions of Workshops, Edinburgh, 28 March to 2 April 2003
This paper focuses on the linkages between international and subnational water conflicts in the Eastern Nile and Syr Daria Basins. It follows the notion of “conflict system”, to conceptualize dynamic linkages between different “water conflict arenas”. The aim of our paper is to categorize possible linkages, describe examples and explore implications for water conflict mitigation, with the goal of a better problem-solving potential.
Water consumed upstream does not flow downstream. Consequently, upstream–downstream relations along a shared river may entail competitive use or even conflict. What is the role of communication in preventing or transforming such behavior? The present article addresses this question based on lessons learned in 3 Dialogue Workshops carried out between 2002 and 2004 in the Eastern Nile Basin, with participants from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan. It indicates that the danger of upstream–downstream relations is not primarily “scorpion-like” behavior (damaging an opponent), but rather “ostrich-like” behavior (burying one's head in the sand, ignoring unilateral developments). Dialogue is shown to be a key determinant in rectifying this situation, as it is the basis for trust-building, exchange of information, and development of mutually acceptable management options. Other key factors to be considered are the balance of power between highland–lowland actors and the legal/institutional framework governing their interaction.
Geography of Governance: Party Alternation as a Factor of Power Consolidation for Governors in Mexico’s National Scenario?
Governors are increasingly present and active in the Mexican national scenario since the 1990s, but even more since 2000, when they began to mobilize vis-à-vis the federal executive and to build a front for defending their interests: the conago. Having developed from states’ tax and budgetary claims, the conago serves now as a platform for governors –mainly for those from the pri–, who use it as a tool to shape both the federal government agenda and national politics, though this party may no longer lead the state. The new –and relative– autonomy of state governors was facilitated by the president’s retraction within the boundaries of his constitutional powers, as a result, among others, of the succeeding victories of opposition parties that broke the twin chains of the pri’s control of the political game: the partisan and the institutional chains. However, the Mexican political system is still presidential and centralized, and therefore the conago’s influence on wide and public decision-making is limited. The future of the conago will depend on the capacity of its members to transcend the individual interests of the states they represent. In this sense, the arrangement of power after the 2006 presidential elections will be crucial.
This article presents aspects of a research project on so-called «violent resource based conflicts» in pastoral areas. It focuses on the question of how various actors of the main involved parties interpret and «frame» conflicts differently. It is a case study conducted among the Kereyu pastoral community in the upper and middle Awash valley of Ethiopia who relate with other neighbouring groups and share common resources through both violent and non-violent conflicts.
With the current attention given to climate change and global warming, the issue of “environmental security” is back high on the agenda of the international community. Environmental degradation is increasingly considered as a potential cause for the (re-)emergence of violent conflicts due to shrinking natural resources such as drinkable water and land. However, research on the issue has shown that there is very little empirical evidence of a direct causal link between environmental degradation and violent conflict. In order to set effective priorities for environmental peacebuilding, it is important to understand - particularly in situations of environmental stress - how natural resource conflicts are embedded in social and political dynamics, how they are managed by local institutions, and how these institutional arrangements can be supported through outside intervention. Based on a research project conducted by swisspeace within the framework of the NCCR North-South, the swisspeace annual conference 2007 explored those complex linkages and formulated entry points for improving intervention strategies by external actors.
"La dégradation de l'espace résiduel forestier constitue un des problèmes majeurs du développement agricole à Madagascar. Malgré l'importance de l'aide internationale dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre du PNAE les forêts se sont dégradées à un rythme de 1,7% par an. Aux lacunes techniques d'encadrement paysan et l'insuffisance des connaissances sur la forêt Malgache (croissance lente, relief accidenté) ont été proposées des solutions institutionnelles qui prônent la responsabilisation des acteurs locaux dans la gestion forestière. Cet article vise à évaluer la pertinence des outils institutionnels et des concepts utilisés pour la protection des forêts à Madagascar à partir d'analyse institutionnelle et spatiale par comparaison des normes juridiques et techniques avec les pratiques réelles (analyse des filières et diagnostic technique) [...]".
"An investigation of the impact of policies of the natural resources on Madagascar uncovered a number of deficiencies. A widely recommended participative approach is reaching its limits. The impartiality of the actors involved is at stake. Illicit product networks play an important role in the redistribution of commercial income. Strategies that weaken the role of the state should be reversed."
«El comedor los pibes, una fábrica de Trabajo y de Sueños»
Isabelle Rauber, Norberto Inda, Alvaro San Sebastian, 2007
Buenos Aires, NCCR North South
Entre crue et glissement de terrain en périphérie de Cuzco (Pérou) : un risque à prendre pour être en ville
Nicolas Rey, 2005
Problèmes d’Amérique Latine
La construction du risque urbain en périphérie nord-est de Cuzco (Pérou)
Nicolas Rey, 2005
L’ordinaire Latino-Américain
Briefing: Counting ‘New Sudan’
Martina Santschi, 2008
Between 22 April and 6 May 2008, Sudan’s fifth population and housing census was conducted in both North and South Sudan. Because it will have a decisive impact on future power and wealth sharing in Sudan, the census has been highly contested, and its outcome is likely to be controversial.
This briefing argues that the hotly contested census not only highlighted existing tensions between the North and the South on topics such as resources, power sharing, and identity but also intensified competition among Southern Sudanese political actors.
Im Südsudan ist der Zensus ein hochpolitisches Unterfangen
Martina Santschi, 2008
Erstmals in der Geschichte des Sudans wird eine Volkszählung durchgeführt, die den gesamten Südsudan sowie grosse Teile des Nordens umfasst. Im Zensus spiegeln sich der Machtkampf zwischen Khartum und dem Süden sowie Rivalitäten innerhalb des Südsudans.
"Fortalecimiento de la organización comunal: estrategia para la conservación y regeneración de bosques andino" in: Delgado F, Serrano E, Bilbao J. editors. 2004. Agroforesteria en Latinoaméria: Experiencias Locales, Cochabamba, MALEA- AGRUCO, pp. 41-50.
For further information, please contact the author
Multi-Stakeholder Workshops - A Forum for Deliberative Democracy?
The Theory of Deliberative Democracy as applied to the Multi-Stakeholder Workshops of Swisspeace/NCCR North-South Research Project on "Operationalizing Human Security".
P. Stadler, 2006
Sustainable tourism and post-conflict state building
P.K. Upadhaya, Sagar Raj Sharma, 2010
In: Upreti BR, Sharma SR, Pyakuryal KN, Ghimire S, editors. The Remake of a State: Post-conflict Challenges and State Building in Nepal. Kathmandu: South Asia Regional Coordination Office of the Swiss National Centere of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South) and Human and Natural Ressources Studies Centre (HNRSC), pp. 87-109.
The common proverb “Save seed in famine and save life in crowd” has even more relevance in the context of corporate globalisation and privatisation of genetic resources. This statement vividly highlights the importance of plant genetic resources in sustaining production system, respecting farmer’s rights and protecting national sovereignty of country of origin of those genetic resources. Protection, promotion and sustainable use of genetic resources for food and agriculture have even specific importance to secure local control over food production, distribution and utilisation system. Therefore, seed has an imperative economic prospect, socio-cultural value, political essence and continuation of viable production system.
Land has always been one of the major causes of armed conflict and structural violence in Nepal. Land is also a source of feudal socio-economic structure in the country. Hence, examining land issues from these perspectives is crucially important to initiate fresh debates on the potential contribution of land reform in the transformation process and addressing the problems of landlessness in the changing political context.
This is an effort of researchers and practitioners to examine various aspects of land related issues in Nepal. This work particularly focuses on conflict and exclusion of marginalized people in access to and control of land resources and associated power dynamics in Nepal.
Relationships between Resource Governance and Resource Conflict
This paper highlights the relationships between resource rights, governance practices and conflict in Nepal. The discussion is focused on policies, strategies, laws and regulations, and decisions and actual governing practices in natural resources. The good governance framework is used as a conceptual basis to analyse the relationships. This framework is for the purpose of this paper consensus oriented, participatory, guided by the rule of law, effective and efficient, accountable and transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive. Within this framework, the paper examines the role of resource governance in creating or minimising scarcity and conflict in Nepal. It is based on my current research project on ‘livelihood security, environmental security and conflict mitigation’ in Nepal. It highlights power relations, feelings of injustice, mistrust, the intervention of new technologies, contradiction between customary practices and statutory laws as sources of research. Resource conflicts produce both positive and negative consequences and alter existing social relations, as they induce change in resource management regimes, policy process, livelihood strategies, land use patterns, gender relations, power structures, and individual and collective behaviour. This paper also establishes the linkages between resource conflict and the ongoing Maoist insurgency in Nepal.
The NCCR North-South is hosted by the University of Bern
and funded jointly by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
