Focusing on water resources and irrigation, this paper documents a talk by Michael Lipton exploring approaches to poverty alleviation in developing Asia. The talk discusses the findings of a recent paper ‘Pro-poor intervention strategies in irrigated agriculture in Asia: poverty in irrigated agriculture - realities, issues, and options with guidelines’. It looks at a number of topical issues such as irrigation in relation to access and global poverty, irrigation corruption, and sustainability.

The Kol tribals of Chitrakoot district live a life of abject poverty, exploitation and almost complete subjugation to the feudal landowners, locally known as Dadus. A local civil society organisation, the Akhil Bhartiya Samaj Sewa Sansthan (ABSSS) has adopted a multi-pronged approach to simultaneously address three sets of issues which it felt were crucial for improving the lot of the Kols.

By Samuel Gebreselassie
Land and land tenure is a hot policy issue in Ethiopia. Three key issues are raised – farm size and fragmentation and the question of what is a ‘viable’ farm unit; tenure security and whether lack of land registration/certification or titling undermines investment in productivity improvements; and finally the issue land markets and whether imperfectly functioning markets constrain opportunities for land consolidation, investment and agricultural growth.

This brief paper argues that through co-ownership, co-operatives offer a significant pathway for poor beneficiaries to secure land, wealth and financial resources - with benefits being augmented through sound institutions, human capital development and grant support.

Contemporary and historical state interventions in South African cities and towns have distorted urban land markets affecting especially the poor. Although partly underpinned by a formidable land administration system and a strong land rights base, South African cities and towns continue to manifest the historic inequality of class and race in their spatial land use and ownership patterns.

Improved governance of natural resources is crucial for building climate resilient livelihoods and economies in Africa’s drylands. This paper looks at why the authority and capacity of customary natural resource management institutions has been weakened, and how this impacts on resource governance and climate resilience. The case study included looks at a new hybrid form of customary/formal institution that is emerging as a response to the stagnation of development and increasing conflict around resource access.

The paper begins with a literature review of the basic theories which underpin range science. Two major approaches for determining carrying capacity (CC) are described, animal or plant oriented. The inherent problems with each approach are discussed in the light of a recent, wider debate, questioning the validity of CC as a range management tool.Methodological approaches for determination of CC, with inherent problems, are discussed.

This article disucsses the effects of the last four decades of change in China in relation to traditional Tibetan pastoral production systems.

This paper uses a human rights approach to look at the livelihoods of the Batwa of Rwanda and the Hadzabe of Tanzania. It looks at the problems related to the denial of their rights in areas of land, water, education and health care, and makes recommendations to NCA for further support.Findings include: Landlessness is a main problem Gaining education is critical for adults and children. Mobile education is needed for the ‘mobile people’ of Hadzabe Income generation is essential. Tourist related work is a possibility for Hadzabe.

Reports on and on-farm evaluation of hedgerow intercropping by the IRA/ ICRAF Programme in the lowlands of Cameroon, which has been in progress since 1988. Throughout the years the biophysical performance of the system was found to be inferior under farmer management on farm to that achieved on station. At the same time, farmers' interest in the technology was far below the expectations.

This paper analyses issues that affect the role of agriculture as a source of economic development, rural livelihoods and environmental services. Using experiences of land expansion in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa, it assesses the extent to which recent demand for land differs from earlier processes of area expansion and identifies the current challenges, in terms of land governance, institutional capacity and communities’ awareness of their rights.

We have used gender-disaggregated household panel data from 2007 and 2012 in combination with dictator games and hawk-dowe games to assess the effects of joint land certification of husbands and wives on wives' involvement in land-related decisions within households. Wives' stated preferences for stronger land rights to women and husbands' stated preferences for the traditional weak position of women were significantly affecting the wives' degree of within-household involvement in land-related decisions in opposite directions.