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Displaying 1513 - 1524 of 1594

From Dutch disease to deforestation - a macroeconomic link? A case study from Ecuador

December, 1996
Ecuador
Latin America and the Caribbean

In the literature about macroeconomics and deforestation, it is often supposed that strong foreign exchange outflows (e.g. debt service) increase deforestation, as higher poverty augments frontier migration and natural resources are squeezed to generate export revenues. This paper analyses the opposite phenomenon, i.e. the deforestation impact of substantial foreign exchange inflows, which is analysed in the "Dutch Disease" macroeconomics literature.

Economic and social components of migration in two regions of Southern Province, Zambia

December, 1996
Sub-Saharan Africa

Paper addresses the migration process in the Zambia's Southern Province. Until recently when droughts and cattle diseases have begun to plague the area, Southern Province was known for its ideal farming conditions. Monze district has been home to vast expanses of commercial farming, as well as smaller "emergent farms" and subsistence farmers, all of whom have benefitted from good soils and climate, and easy access to markets on the line of rail. The Gwembe Valley, which lies south east and 2000 feet below Monze district, is also part of Southern Province.

The importance of land tenure to poverty eradication and sustainable development in Africa: Summary of findings

December, 1996
Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper draws out the key links between land tenure and poverty eradication. The author argues that in countries where land distribution remains highly inequitable, effectively designed and targeted, it could be a key component of anti-poverty strategies, but significant complementary measures, notably agrarian support services, are also required to achieve real impacts, together with investments in employment and economic diversification.

Namibia: encouraging sustainable smallholder agriculture

December, 1996
Europe
Sub-Saharan Africa

Report recommends agriculture-sector poliy objective of risk reduction, production stability, and the diversification of agricultural and non-agricultural economic opportunities in the rural areas. The most fundamental problem remains, seven years after independence, the lack of a clear policy, administrative structures and legislation dealing with land allocation, tenure and management.

A critical analysis of the causes of world food insecurity

December, 1996

Although world food and agricultural production, based on current trends, should be sufficient to meet demand in the decades ahead, the world still faces a serious food crisis that is as dangerous and life-threatening for millions of poor people today as in the past. The main objective of this article is to illuminate the world food situation and to make a critical analysis of the root causes of world food insecurity by identifying the various misconceptions surrounding our understanding of hunger, starvation and poverty.

Poverty alleviation : the role of rural institutions and participation

December, 1996

Most approaches to poverty alleviation focus on income and subsidy measures; however, there is a growing realization that these measures alone are not sufficient. The growing amount of literature on the important role that “social capital” and institutions play in the development process indicates that there is a social-institutional dimension as well. This article focuses on the institutional dimension of rural poverty alleviation and outlines why institution- and capacity-building should be fundamental elements of any strategy aiming at alleviating rural poverty.

Stimulating indigenous agribusiness development in the northern communal areas of Namibia : a concept paper

December, 1996
Namibia
Sub-Saharan Africa

This concept paper proposes (a) market driven farm and off-farm entrepreneurial options, that could take advantage of the existing opportunities, thus leading to the creation of indigenous oriented economic growth and (b) empowerment of the small and medium scale private enterprises to create an enabling environment conducive for equitable growth of their businesses.

Better Land Husbandry: Re-thinking approaches to land improvement and the conservation of water and soil

December, 1996

Soil erosion has conventionally been perceived as the chief cause of land degradation, yet the limited effectiveness and poor uptake of widely promoted physical and biological anti-erosion methods challenges this logic. An alternative perception focusing on prior land damage - notably to soil cover, architecture and fertility - permits an holistic, farmer-centred approach which has generated positive response to date.

Roads, population pressures and deforestation in Thailand, 1976 - 1989

December, 1996
Thailand
Eastern Asia
Oceania

Population pressures play less of a role in deforestation than earlier studies of Thailand found. Between 1976 and 1989, Thailand lost 28 percent ofits forest cover. To analyze how road building, population pressure,and geophysical factors affected deforestation in Thailand during that period, Cropper, Griffiths, and Mani develop a model in whichthe amount of land cleared, the number of agricultural households,and the size of the road network are jointly determined.The model assumes that the amount of land cleared reflects an equilibrium in the land market.

Malawi: Services and policies needed to support sustainable smallholder agriculture

December, 1996
Malawi
Europe
Sub-Saharan Africa

Malawi’ s smallholder agriculture is facing a crisis, particularly in the more populated south. There is an insidious combination of land shortage, continuous cultivation of maize, declining soil fertility, low yields, deforestation, poverty and high population growth rate. Smallholder farmers are doing what they can to maintain household livelihoods under these difficult circumstances, however many of their actions, which are necessary for short term survival, such as the cultivation of hillsides, are not sustainable in the long term.