The main general objective of this study
is to promote a deeper understanding of municipal finance in
the West Bank and Gaza, including identification of the key
issues that local governments currently face. The paper
discusses the policy implications associated with its main
findings as potential policy options for future decision
making on local government reforms. As such, this study aims
at facilitating the process for a future policy dialogue

The world economic crisis of 2008
presents clear challenges to prospects for economic growth
in developing countries. This is particularly true for
emerging economies in East Asia that have relied to a great
extent over the past decade on export-led growth. What steps
to facilitate trade promise a relatively strong return on
investment for East Asia to help sustain trade and growth?
The authors examine how port infrastructure affects trade

This report deals with medium and
long-term growth issues rather than the challenges posed by
the world financial crisis, the structural policy options
presented in the report become even more important in that
context, and can help to partially mitigate the impact of
the crisis on Macedonia. Section B looks at poverty and
inequality issues. Section C examines Macedonia's past
growth in terms of total factor productivity analysis,

Remarks by Gregory Myers, during negotiations for the Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests on March 8, 2012 Ministers, Excellencies, honorable representatives of member countries, civil society participants and guests: This morning we begin our session with recognition of International Women’s Day. Each year the United Nations declares an International Women's Day theme.

Par Ward Anseeuw, Liz Alden Wily, Lorenzo Cotula, et Michael Taylor

Ce rapport, réalisé par des expert fonciers renommés, est le résultat d’un projet de recherche de trois ans qui a rassemblé quarante membres et partenaires de l’ILC pour examiner les caractéristiques, moteurs, impacts et tendances d’un phénomène – les pressions commerciales sur les terres -  en augmentation.

A USAID IMPACTblog on February 2, 2012 highlights a land tenure program in Afghanistan.
Land tenure work supports good governance, econmic growth and conflict resolution--all important priorities in Afghanistan. To learn more about USAID projects to address this, read the IMPACTblog post.

This page is meant to provide a quick overview of major reference to women's land rights in existing international instruments, as well as paragraphs related to women  - or more broadly gender - in the First Draft of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the context of National Food Security (VGs). The VGs are still under-negotiations under the auspices of the Committee of World Food Security, and are therefore still subject to change.

A recent USAID publication titled, The Global State of Agriculture, cites access to land as one reason why women farmers are less productive than men. Structures within the statutory and customary land tenure systems compounded by societal norms in many locations limit a woman's ability to secure land. Click the links below to see the infographic and a report outlining land tenure and property rights challenges for women.
To view the infographic, click here.
To read the full report linking Land Tenure, Property Rights and Gender Challenges, click here.

 "Land should be considered a right that is integrally linked to the right to live with dignity and essential for the fulfilment of several other human rights, including housing, food, health, work, water, and security. (...) Central (...) is the need to recognize women’s rights over land.

The Rangelands Observatory

The International Land Coalition (ILC) believes that a fair and effective monitoring of ongoing conversion and fragmentation of rangeland ecosystems is needed in order to provide a thorough understanding of the trends and their implications – and also to enhance informed and participatory decision making on land use and investments in rangelands, and on the trade-offs involved.

To this aim, a Rangeland Observatory (RO) project has been established.

Public agricultural extension systems often fail due to inadequate consultation of farmers about their information needs and poor understanding of their information search strategies. In discussing and implementing extension programs and advisory services, the following questions need to be addressed: What information do the farmers need? How and where do they search for information? What factors determine their search behavior? How much are they willing to pay for information?

The current concern n for and policy response to malnutrition in India is solely restricted to undernutrition diagnosed on the basis of body size (anthropometry). However, recent evidence indicates that the burden of overnutrition and related morbidities is rapidly escalating to alarming proportions. This research first examines the need to address overnutrition in India and subsequently explores the potential of the agricultural sector to mitigate the burden of over nutrition and related non-communicable diseases.