This case study shows how the activities of a large foreign-invested mining company on land held by the Awajun community in the northern forests of Peru have led to a characteristic cycle of state permissiveness in granting mining concessions, thus leading to social conflict.

Report which alleges that International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans and policies have caused extensive deforestation in each of the 15 countries of Africa, Latin America, and Asia studied.This forest loss, the author claims, has occurred both directly and indirectly through:the IMF's promotion of foreign investment in natural resource sectorsausterity measures that cut spending on environmental programsprograms that have unwittingly worsened the conditions of povertythe IMF.s insistence upon export-oriented economic growth.The report finds that:IMF induced cuts have impeded:Promotion of resp

Each year, tens of thousands of people in Bangladesh are internally displaced as a consequence of riverbank erosion. Yet, such erosion does not draw the attention of policy makers in the same way that other natural disasters do and as a result, a number of coping mechanisms are employed by those affected, with the burden of displacement largely falling on women. This brief argues that instead of attempting to alter the course of nature, it is time to address the institutional mechanisms needed to help affected people cope with displacement and their material and social loss.

This paper looks at the water policy of Tanzania, and makes comparisons with the situation in Kenya. It focuses especially on recent attempts to move towards a participatory, demand-management approach to rural water supply.

How have Latin American countries been using Environmental Impact Assessments in order to build more sustainable extractive industries? A focus on Peru provides some interesting lessons.

Is it possible to develop extractive industries while preserving the environment? Several Latin American countries have been attempting to improve the environmental sustainability of their extractive industry sectors by developing their legal frameworks, in particular through the use and adaptation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) tool.

Over the last 25 years civil disturbances, drought, population increases and global market pressures have all contributed in direct and indirect ways to a modification of Sub saharan African land cover. 

Forests play an important role in the water cycle, stimulating rainfall, protecting soils from erosion and regulating the flow of water. It is therefore important to preserve forests for water management. Previous efforts to protect forests in Ecuador have relied on controlling land use and excluding local people. These methods often have limited success, because of problems such as corruption and a lack of enforcement. A new approach is to pay people to protect the forests.

This report cautions against an overly rigid approach to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which it argues could limit development options for poor countries, particularly in how they are able to manage critical water resources. It identifies key challenges such as setting realistic targets, carefully considering the local context to address the needs of the poor, and promoting sustainable water resources development in a way that values healthy ecosystems.

Climate change prompts policymakers to pursue a low carbon energy pathway in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, this can lead to trade-offs with other sustainability objectives. This policy brief outlines key issues relating to biodiversity and the development of the hydropower sector in Vietnam. It is aimed at informing policymakers, civil society and donors. It argues that the large-scale development of the country’s hydropower sector is being undertaken without due consideration of the impacts that this is having on the nation’s biodiversity.

For women in rural China, inheritance rights are often limited by traditional customs which give greater benefits to men. Although this is being challenged by new laws that recognise women’s legal rights, increased access for women to jobs and education, there is a big gap between legislation and reality.Research from
University College Chester analyses the transfer of resources between
generations within households and village communities in rural China, with
particular reference to Dongdatun, a village in the

This paper seeks to analyse some of the problems of degradation persisting in the dryland regions with particular reference to Sub-Saharan Africa, and describe the processes that aim to tackle them.It identifies the threat to dryland regions as a complex mixture of degrading soils, continuous exposures to frequent droughts and political and economic marginalisation which is putting poor people living in the drylands at risk.

This report examines the benefits that a resource-rich country can derive from endorsing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and implementing its Principles. It also searches for courses of action that the EITI Board can pursue to persuade more countries to endorse EITI. Both issues are investigated in the context of Angola, Indonesia, and Trinidad and Tobago. The authors argue that EITI is particularly beneficial for countries that suffer from the so-called “resource curse”.