Payments  for  ecosystem  services (PES)  provide a market based instrument to motivate changes in land use that degrade ecosystem services. This investigation sought  to better understand how effective PES schemes are in meeting the goals of safeguarding ecosystem services,  while  also …

This case study draws on research that investigated the financial sustainability of cities in the Southern African region. The research was undertaken by the South African Cities Network (SACN). The project was jointly sponsored by the Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility and the…

This case study draws on research that investigated the extensive informal land market in Maputo, Mozambique; specifically, how urban land is transacted and the mechanisms by which it is secured. The case study is based on a research study managed by Caroline Wanjiku Kihato and Lauren Royston,…

Os preços e mercados são elementos importantes nas decisões dos produtores, tanto na lógica da maximização do lucro como na da auto-suficiência alimentar, considerando os custos de oportunidade comparativamente com outros bens, com a utilização da mão-de-obra familiar na exploração agrícola e o…

This paper analyses the shifting role of South African farmers, agribusiness and capital elsewhere in the Southern African region and the rest of the continent. It explores recent trends in this expansion, and investigates the interests and agendas shaping such deals, and the ideologies and…

Focusing on incentive schemes that induce participation in land-use activities to supply environmental services, this paper examines the potential impacts of REDD+ on livelihoods, in particular with respect to incomes and poverty alleviation. Two case studies, each at a different scale, are…

Traditionally, the spread and extent of human settlement beyond the major riparian zones of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and across many other arid regions of the world, has been determined by availability of groundwater supplies, accessed through hand-dug wells andsprings. In more recent times,…

This paper analyzes the effects of climate change on water availability and use in the Limpopo River Basin of Southern Africa, using a linked modeling system consisting of a semi-distributed global hydrological model and the Water Simulation Module (WSM) of the International Model for Policy…