The desire for research to be policy relevant has caused many social science studies to have “engineering” dimensions. With respect to the engineering of property rights, economic approaches indicate that we require knowledge regarding the makeup of current property rights structures, how changes to current structures affect the use and management of natural resources, and how property rights have evolved.

CIFOR facilitated 27 communities in the Upper Malinau watershed to develop agreements about their village boundaries and map them through participatory methods. Decentralization reforms created new values of forest resources and uncertainties that increased conflict over local resources. The authors report on the nature of these conflicts, the stability of agreements and the factors affecting how agreements were reached.

On-site sanitation systems, such as septic tanks and pit latrines, are the predominant feature across rural and urban areas in most developing countries. However, their management is one of the most neglected sanitation challenges. While under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the set-up of toilet systems received the most attention, business models for the sanitation service chain, including pit desludging, sludge transport, treatment and disposal or resource recovery, are only emerging.

An organic vegetable exporter from Malawi explains the difficulties that small scale farmers may have if they want to export crops to foreign markets.

A medicinal herb grower from South Africa describes the process of cleaning and certifying her farm for organic production, and the potential for other farmers.

At independence in 1960, Africa was a modest food exporter while Asia was engulfed in a food crisis. The Green Revolution boosted food production in Asia and the global food problem shifted to Africa. However, science and technology have been promoted on an ad hoc basis in Africa's 45 years of independence. This chapter analyses why the Asian Green Revolution failed to take root in Africa, and why the average African grain yield has been flat since 1960.

Briquettes made from waste charcoal dust

Mr. Lotto Simon of Tanzania?s Zonal Plant Protection Centre, explains the advantages and disadvantages of not using chemical pesticides, and a local training and certification process.