This paper highlights the plight of black rural areas in South Africa, in which deep poverty and weak subsistence agriculture are embedded. The apartheid policy and its numerous measures are the first causes of such a situation. Besides, the existence of a relatively well-developed non-…

Volume 1 of the study on Hydro-Institutional Mapping of the Olifants River Basin. This study aims to give an overview of water users and influences on water use by institutions in the Steelpoort river basin, a sub-basin of the Olifants. Describes a general methodology and framework for setting…

Charles Batchelor explaining how the traditional Indian concept of water as a community resource has been replaced by a system of private wells, so restricting the access of poorer people to water.

For much of the last century the Fengu people living near Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, have held title deeds to their land. In this report the chief of the Fengu explains how the title deeds have helped them, and how his people are responding to the current land redistribution programme in Zimbabwe.…

As cities expand to cover farmland with roads and buildings, the conflict between traditional land rights, and modern systems of ownership and distribution become very clear. This report comes from Blantyre in Malawi, where city authorities now charge rent on land that was once freely owned.

The study provides a comparative analysis of the devolution and empowerment process in 14 case studies drawn from eight countries in southern Africa. Each case study examined the extent to which policy and legislation devolves significant control over decision making and benefit flows to…

The miombo woodlands of eastern, central and southern Africa are some of the most extensive dry forests in Africa. They supply a myriad of products and services for local populations, governments and the private sector - the main stakeholders. Planning the management and use of the woodlands to…

The study is reported in two Working Papers. Working Paper 17 reports the findings of the HIM exercise. This paper contains the policies, legislation and organizations relevant for understanding of the HIM for the Olifants river basin. It also includes the historical development of the…

Throughout Southern Africa there has been a move to decentralize natural resource management (NRM). Decentralization has taken many forms, resulting in different organizational structures for NRM. Fourteen case studies from eight countries can be classed into four types, depending on the key…

Trade liberalisation processes impact differently on men and women due to the fact that men and women have different roles in production. Despite the fact that women are actively involved in international trade, WTO agreements are gender blind and as such have adverse impacts on women. The…