The forced resettlement of river basin communities because of dam construction is a highly controversial process. It can be justified only if plans are implemented to enable resettlers to raise their living standards. They should be involved in all stages of project decision-making including project identification and, if a dam is selected, in project planning, implementation and monitoring.In the past,
people could express their concerns about dams and resettlement schemes to
project authorities, but this rarely had much impact. Today, the preferred

This paper follows the 2005 Dhaka workshop on "Peri-urban aquatic production and improvement of the livelihoods of the urban poor in south east Asia". It aims to raise awareness and create dialogue amongst policy-makers and development practitioners concerning the nature, extent and potential of urban and peri-urban aquaculture in Bangladesh and West Bengal, in support of the Bengal Platform established at the workshop.

Governments and scientists have long regarded the pastoralists’ way of life as a cause of environmental degradation. This belief is rooted in a misunderstanding of the pastoralist way of life and is reflected in national policies on land tenure and resource access in Kenya. The area of land controlled by pastoralists has been steadily reduced, and pastoralists have been encouraged to give up their nomadic way of life and settle, leading to conflict between pastoralist groups and other land users and damage to the environment.

This document presents the key findings of the evaluation of an integrated agricultural production and water management project implemented by IFAD in Netrakona district, in northern Bangladesh.

Focusing on Sarawak, this paper confronts the misleading claims of the Malaysian palmoil lobby and aims to inform decision makers about the serious sustainability challenges the palm oil sector faces on the ground. Key areas of contention highlighted include that:

Aimed at young people, this booklet presents key points from the 2006 Human Development Report on water scarcity and its effects on human life. The report is user-friendly, using photographs and illustrations, stories from young people, basic data on the health effects of poor-quality water, and examples of efforts to bring water to poor communities.

This report analyses all aspects of the metals mining industry, the extraction process, its products, and its social and environmental impacts.

Using the case study of the Telugu Ganga Canalin India, this paper examines the process of policy making and the role of political choices in sharing scarce water resource.

The IUCN protected area management categories are a global framework, recognised by the Convention on Biological Diversity, for categorising the variety of protected area management types. The following guidelines provide direction, descriptions, principles and advice in the application of the IUCN protected area management categories in particular biomes and management approaches.The document is broken into different sections focusing on key discussions on IUCN protected area management, which are included below.

This report investigates how Dutch public money is being used to support oil production in developing countries through Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) such as the World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and other International Financial Institutions (IFIs). It notes that the Dutch government contributes to MDBs in two ways: through financial contributions using public money and by voting on the boards of the banks.Three case studies demonstrate that recent oil projects financed by the Dutch government and MDBs are failing the poor.

Natural sand from estuary and coastal land is one of South Africa’s most valuable resources. However, there has recently been a drastic increase in uncontrolled and unauthorised sand mining activities in rivers, valleys and estuaries throughout the country. The frameworks governing small-scale sand mining in South Africa lack the necessary financial and human resource capacities to support better environmental compliance, and the enforcement mechanisms to successfully deter illegal activities are weak.

Following from the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture project, this book examines the relationships and linkages between land use and water management and social systems. Given that agriculture is the largest economic sector in many developing countries, this volume provides innovative ideas for the prevention of land degradation and for improving the sustainability of food production in the developing world.