The story of agricultural policy in Northeast Asia over the past 50 years illustrates the dramatic changes that can occur in distortions to agricultural incentives faced by producers and consumers at different stages of economic development. In this study of Japan, the Republic of Korea (the…

Countries throughout the world are rapidly urbanising, particularly in the developing world, and for the first time in human history, the majority of people today are no longer living in rural areas, but rather in cities. This report examines the worldwide phenomenon of urbanisation from the…

This paper notes that under a sustainable, well-managed, logging regime, Papua – the most densely forested part of Indonesia – can potentially contribute substantial forest revenues for socio-economic development. Yet, it remains the poorest region in the country, in part due to widespread…

This book examines the gender dimensions of natural resource exploitation and management, with a focus on Asia. It explores the uneasy negotiations between theory, policy, and practice that are often evident within the realm of gender, environment, and natural resource management. It offers a…

Although the historical focus on tenure reforms has resulted in some important improvements in the livelihoods of forest communities, it has not prevented them from suffering social exclusion and impoverishment. Based on a review of 17 years of work with forest peoples in Africa, Asia, and Latin…

This paper summarises a study undertaken by the Indonesian Forest Climate Alliance (IFCA) to support Indonesian stakeholders to participate in global negotiations. The authors note that the objective of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) payment distribution…

Secure land rights are important for development and poverty reduction and the greatest challenges for providing such rights are in urban, peri-urban areas, and the most productive rural areas. This publication updates and revises UN-HABITAT’s 2004 publication ‘Urban Land for All’, and stresses…

This report provides an overview of the issues, root causes, and driving forces behind the crimes related to illegal logging. The report includes a comprehensive review of existing initiatives to address the challenges of illegal logging in Southeast Asia. The results are derived mainly from a…

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…

Contract farming is seen by proponents as a way to raise small-farm income by delivering technology and market information to small farmers, incorporating them into remunerative new markets. Critics, however, see it as a strategy for agribusiness firms to pass production risk to farmers, taking…

This report documents the performance of the world’s second largest mining company with regard to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Despite Anglo American’s participation in various voluntary CSR initiatives, it continues to abuse human rights, fuel conflict and damage the local environment…

This report examines the benefits that a resource-rich country can derive from endorsing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and implementing its Principles. It also searches for courses of action that the EITI Board can pursue to persuade more countries to endorse EITI.…