There are multiple obstacles to the economic empowerment of women in Africa. For example, limited access to productive resources such as land, seed and fertiliser means that women may be unable to benefit from the expansion of trade in agricultural products. In fact, it has been calculated that agricultural productivity could increase by up to 20 percent if women's access to these resources were equal to men's.

The primary purpose of this study was to profile residents and living conditions in novostroiki, or the rapidly growing areas of new self-built construction ringing Bishkek where more than one fourth of city residents now live, in order to identify the major problems and areas for potential future Bank and donor engagement. The study findings are based on analysis of results from a survey of 493 households in nine novostroiki established from 1989-1991, as well as focus group findings, a study of the institutional framework, and a study of sanitation.

Throughout history, conflicts have been waged over land. Confrontations over territory, border disputes, occupation of the territory of one State by another, or grievances stemming from inequitable access to land invariably have dramatic consequences for human settlements. Never before has this been truer than with today?uss very different types of conflict which are increasingly taking place within nations.

A four page summary of a comprehensive 14 chapter base document highlighting strategy essentials

• Reframing land reform as a joint programme of government
• Area based integrated planning
• Providing comprehensive support services
• Securing rights, enhancinglivelihoods and enabling development

A four page summary of a comprehensive 14 chapter base document highlighting strategy essentials

• Reframing land reform as a joint programme of government
• Area based integrated planning
• Providing comprehensive support services
• Securing rights, enhancinglivelihoods and enabling development

Includes relevance of the World Social Forum to the Kenyan situation, Kenya’s informal traders and their WSF experiences, Kenya’s fisher folk community and their WSF experiences, news.

This paper examines land tenancy systems and tenant contracts in Rwanda, with
respect to socioeconomic contexts. Our research in southern and eastern Rwanda produced
data suggesting that land borrowing with fixed rents has been generally practiced, and that rent
levels have been low in comparison to expected revenues from field production. In the western
areas of coffee production, however, the practice of sharecropping has recently appeared. This
system is advantageous to landowners, as they are able to acquire half of the harvests; in

Extracts from a farewell talk. Includes back to the land; engaging with Oxfam International in Zimbabwe; working on the Zambian Copperbelt; supporting post-tsunami, post-conflict land and property rights advocacy in Aceh, Indonesia; helping to create and sustain national land alliances and support awareness campaigns in Africa; women’s land rights in Southern and Eastern Africa; concluding thoughts, some publications.

The law is supposed to protect a woman’s rights to land. The law is failing, and husbands can ignore their wife’s legal rights. Why? And what should be done about it?

The World Social Forum in Nairobi in January 2007 was a timely New Year rallying event for Kenyans to revisit the fundamental principles for building a democratic and sustainable society as we prepare for December 2007 elections.The current organizing principles of the institutions that govern us in Kenya are narrow and serve the few at the expense of the many millions of Kenyans that live in abject poverty. Yet, from all corners of the country it is acknowledged that it is within our collective ability to create a healthy and sustainable society that serves and work for all

Land is a central issue for both rural and urban communities in Sudan. It is not just a means of livelihood and basic survival, but also has profound cultural and socio-political dimensions. Local level conflict over access to natural resources, often in a context of environmental degradation, have always characterised the interaction of different groups in Sudan. However, issues of governance and administration, both at the local and national levels, have precipitated these conflicts and magnified their impact to a national scale.

This publication is a record of the efforts of the past three years to reconcile farmers and indigenous peoples by finding some common ground between them. It also tries to capture the experience in building partnerships among the government, groups supporting both farmers and indigenous peoples, and other agencies in order to address inconsistencies in the country’s laws and programs in regard to land and asset reform.