Meeting Name: Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Forest Genetic Resources (of the CGRFA) - ITWG-FGR
Meeting symbol/code: CGRFA/WG-FGR-3/14/3

Meeting Name: Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Forest Genetic Resources (of the CGRFA) - ITWG-FGR
Meeting symbol/code: CGRFA/WG-FGR-3/14/3

Meeting Name: Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Forest Genetic Resources (of the CGRFA) - ITWG-FGR
Meeting symbol/code: CGRFA/WG-FGR-3/14/3

This special issue of Policy Matters focuses on the outreach and impact of Dr. Elinor Ostrom's groundbreaking research on common property (or commons) theory. Her work was instrumental in shaping contemporary analyses of resource management and conservation, especially at a local level. This collection of research papers, essays, commentaries, and songs build upon her work and provide case studies demonstrating the practical application of her theoretical contributions. 

This trainer’s manual aims to help strengthen and build the capacity of community activists, community based organisations and educators to support communities to understand Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

The objectives are: • to enable communities to demand meaningful participation in natural resource management decision-making;

• to make sure that internal community decision-making processes include all members of the community;

• to ensure that projects only go ahead if the consent of the affected community is given.

Across the developing world, public
goods exert significant impacts on the local rural economy
in general and agricultural productivity and welfare
outcomes in particular. Economic and social-cultural
heterogeneity have, however, long been documented as
detrimental to collective capacity to provide public goods.
In particular, women are often under-represented in local
leadership and decision-making processes, as are young

Woodfuels (firewood and charcoal) are
the dominant energy source and the leading forest product
for most developing countries. Representing 60 to 80 percent
of total wood consumption in these nations, woodfuels often
account for 50 to 90 percent of all energy used. Although
woodfuels are widely perceived as cheap and primitive
sources of energy, commercial woodfuel markets are
frequently very large, involve significant levels of

The aim of this policy brief is to describe current and historical conflicts over rights to land and natural resources within and surrounding protected areas in Rwanda. We examine the roots of contested claims between citizens and the State and offer some potential avenues for resolving these conflicts in ways that consider both the priorities of the Government of Rwanda and the rights of local communities that depend on protected area resources.

This rangelands management framework is a product of a rapid pastoralist-led rangeland health assessment that was conducted in three sampled districts of Karamoja; Moroto, Napak and Kotido.

March 2014 – In most of Africa, land is at the heart of economic, social and political life. Therefore, land and natural resource rights and governance issues profoundly affect and are affected by development initiatives across the continent. To fully succeed and contribute to ending extreme poverty in the post-2015 world, development initiatives must recognize and strengthen the land and natural resource rights of local people, especially the rural poor and women. However, while there is growing awareness of these issues, they are often overlooked.

MENA’s permanent cropland – currently at less than 6% of the total land area – is shrinking due to serious land degradation and recurrent droughts. The region faces the most severe water shortage in the world with annual renewable water resources per capita estimated to decline from 1,045 m3/yr in 1997 to 740 m3/yr in 2015.

According to estimates by the International Land Coalition based at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), 57 million hectares of land have been leased to foreign investors since 2007. Current research has focused on human rights issues related to inward investment in land but has been ignorant of water resource issues and the challenges of managing scarce water. This handbook will be the first to address inward investment in land and its impact on water resources in Africa.