Agricultural policies and the emergence of cotton as the dominant crop in northern Côte d'Ivoire: Historical overview and current outlook

In most of sub‐Saharan Africa, where the agricultural sector experiences dismal performance and is characterized by a gloomy picture, the cotton sub‐sector in Côte d’Ivoire is often mentioned as a “success story” given the spectacular rise in the quantity of cotton production and the profile of the crop within the farming system. What are the historical and political antecedents of the development of cotton and the factors responsible for the feat accomplished in the midst of general failures in the same continent? To what extent can cotton be regarded as a “success story” and, what lessons can be drawn for agricultural development strategies based on the Ivorian case study? This paper traces the historical and socio‐political background of cotton development in Côte d’Ivoire and identifies key policy and institutional interventions that have influenced the rise of cotton production and its emergence as the dominant crop in the farming systems of the country. Four stages in Ivorian cotton development are identified: planning, take off, crisis and the renaissance phases. The study demonstrates how a combination of good planning, technological advancement and appropriate policy and institutional conditions have contributed significantly to the rise of cotton production and its influence on the agricultural economy of northern Côte d’Ivoire. The study also highlights how the sustainability of agricultural development has been impacted by domestic and international policies and political events over which smallholder farm families have little control, and can at best only respond to. Important questions about cotton development in Côte d'Ivoire are raised that need to be answered before the program can be categorized conclusively as a success story. The study shows that there are no quick fixes to agricultural development in the sub‐region. Rather, good planning and putting the necessary building blocks in place are important prerequisites. It is recommended that agricultural development efforts in the continent take cognizance of the complexity of the sector and address the inter‐relationships that exist among the technical, policy, market and institutional factors that combine individually and collectively to influence African agriculture.     

Labour challenges and mercury management at gold mills in Zimbabwe: Examining production processes and proposals for change

The use of mercury in small-scale gold mining has been a growing concern in many parts of Africa. However, although the negative effects of mercury pollution are increasingly reported, little has been written about how labour relationships and gold production challenges in mining communities affect mercury management practices. This article provides an integrative analysis of small-scale gold extraction processes, labour challenges, and mercury use at gold mills in Zimbabwe, focusing on a gold rush area in Mashonaland West Province. It examines practices employed by miners who have limited economic capacities to upgrade technologies, and how the complex relationships between miners, mill owners and government regulators affect environmental performance. The study draws attention to how poor environmental management practices relate to labour inequities, low gold recovery as well as the informal gold trade dynamics amid the country's economic crisis. Results of a United Nations-supported stakeholder consultation process are discussed, with proposals for improving labour conditions and reducing environmental risk. The article highlights why the government should develop and support local programs to assist miners, as well as the decisive roles mill owners could take in ensuring improved standards on their sites.     

Forestry-based carbon sequestration projects in Africa: Potential benefits and challenges

Carbon sequestration through forestry and agroforestry can help mitigate global warming. For Africa, carbon sequestration also represents an opportunity to fund sustainable development through financial inflows. However, with a low share of global carbon trade, there are strong concerns that African countries are losing out on this valuable opportunity. Through a comprehensive review of 23 carbon sequestration projects across 14 countries, this paper discusses ways to overcome critical challenges to scale up carbon investments in Africa. These projects are expected to sequester 26.85 million tCO₂ beyond the baseline situation. Within the continent, East Africa is the preferred destination for carbon investors. Most projects are non‐Kyoto compliant and represent voluntary emission reductions. While project benefits such as increased local incomes and improved natural resources are promising, there are concerns that conversion of grasslands into tree plantations can harm local ecosystems. Insecure land tenure constrains new investments and increases the risk that local communities will lose access to forests. Another challenge is that projects with smallholders have high transaction costs. These costs can be overcome by building strong community institutions and simplifying project guidelines. To attract more projects, African governments will need to build their capacity to identify relevant opportunities.     

Land Claims and Comanagement of Protected Areas in South Africa: Exploring the Challenges

Comanagement has recently become the most popular approach for reconciling land claims and biodiversity conservation in South Africa and beyond. Following the resolution of land claims on protected areas in South Africa, comanagement arrangements have been created between the relevant conservation authorities and the land claimant communities who are legally awarded tenure rights to the land. However, it is doubtful that these partnerships constitute success for the former land claimants. Using the case of a “resolved” land claim in Mkambati Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape Province, as well as insights from comanagement literature, this paper identifies and discusses three key possible reasons for the unimpressive performance of comanagement in reconciling land restitution and conservation. The first one is the origins of the comanagement idea in the conservation of high value natural resources (e.g., fisheries, forestry), rather than in or including concerns for resource rights. The second reason is the neglect of key conditions for successful comanagement, as discussed in the comanagement literature. The final reason is the ambiguity in settlement agreements, including the use of terminology and concepts that reinforce unequal power relationships, with the state emerging as the powerful partner. This paper concludes that, unless there is a serious reassessment of the comanagement idea as a way of reconciling land reform and conservation, and a possible review of settlement agreements that have relied on comanagement, both the integrity of the “successful land claimant’s rights” and that of conservation remain under threat.     

Analysis of a rural water supply project in three communities in Mali: Participation and sustainability

This paper presents a qualitative assessment of the participatory water management strategies implemented at the community level in rural Mali through a water supply project — The West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI) — coordinated by World Vision International, a non‐governmental and humanitarian organization. Data for the study were generated through a combination of primary and secondary sources in three villages. Results of the study indicate that while community‐based rural water supply is a positive step in responding to the needs of rural Malians, the installation of boreholes with hand pumps informed merely by consultative participatory approaches and limited extension involvement will not necessarily proffer sustainable rural water supply in the region. A “platform” approach to rural water supply management that can mobilize the assets and insights of different social actors to influence decision making at all stages, including the design and choice‐of‐technology stages, in water supply interventions is instead advocated.     

Global localism: Recentering the research agenda for biodiversity conservation

Global environmental crisis narratives about biodiversity loss promote conservation research on how human activities impact natural resources and link scientific findings to protectionist policies. This paper critiques how local knowledge, over space and through time, is constructed for these studies and integrated with ecological measures and qualitative interpretations of biodiversity conditions. As a case example, we describe how ethnoecological research at Mt. Kasigau, a biodiversity hot spot in Southeastern Kenya, changes ‘scientific’ views on human–resource relations. Species richness in woody plants and local knowledge about trees show resource continua on the mountain that question the designation of diverse undisturbed forests and degraded human‐utilized lands. Local narratives document spatially dynamic and adaptive relationships between the Kasigau Taita and their plant resources as they moved up and down the mountain in response to environmental conditions and extra local forces. We argue that greater ‘local learning’ about local places is important to hypothesizing and potentially guiding ‘global action’ for biodiversity conservation.     

HIV risk and prevention in emergency-affected populations: a review

While basic guidelines on HIV prevention in emergencies have been available for several years, international agencies involved in the provision of health services have not placed sufficient priority on the prevention of the human immune deficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in complex emergencies. This paper reviews the factors that may increase the risk of HIV transmission in populations affected by complex emergencies and outlines recommendations for research and programmes. Research into the most appropriate methods of carrying out HIV surveillance and interventions in these settings is needed. In the post-emergency phase programmes need to be far more extensive than those offered under the Minimal Initial Services Package (MISP). While the potential for stigmatization represents an important constraint, there is a need to prioritize HIV/STI interventions in order to prevent HIV transmission in emergency-affected populations themselves, as well as to contribute to regional control of the epidemic.     

苏南地区新近沉积土的动剪切模量比与阻尼比--试验研究

苏南地区的场地土主要为漫滩相、湖沼相或冲湖相新近沉积软弱土，结构松散，沉积零乱，成分复杂，饱水可液化粉细砂层及粉土层较为发育，在地震或动力荷载的作用下有可能发生软土震陷或砂土液化。通过对苏南地区淤泥质粉质粘土、粘土、粉质粘土、粉质粘土与粉细砂互层土、粉土、粉砂、细砂和中粗砂等8类新近沉积土155个原状土样历时4年的试验研究，给出了该地区上述8类新近沉积土的动剪切模量比G／Gmax和阻尼比D随剪应变幅值γ变化的平均拟合曲线及其参数的推荐值。为便于一般工程应用，给出了这8类新近沉积土的G/Gmax-γ，和D—γ关系曲线的推荐值及其标准差。     

Adapting to climate variability: Pumpkins, people and policy

Understanding of how best to support those most vulnerable to climate stress is imperative given expected changes in climate variability. This paper investigates local adaptation strategies to climate variability, focusing on agricultural decision‐making in a communal irrigation scheme in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Research done through interviews, surveys and participatory methods demonstrates that adaptation strategies within a community are socially differentiated and present differing objectives and priorities. These results highlight the need for intervention and policy that support a heterogeneous response to a wide range of stresses. Evidence for climate change is clear and the need for adaptation is urgent. However, adaptation measures have to be sensitively integrated with ongoing development pathways to ensure they are sustainable and relevant to local priorities.     

National minerals policies and stakeholder participation for broad-based development in the southern African development community (SADC)

This paper explains how the well-accepted concept of improved stakeholder participation during mineral policy development leads to a national mineral policy that accommodates the diverging views and interests that allows wide acceptance of decisions, enhancing the success of implementation and, ultimately, national benefits. This process is based on lessons learnt during the South African experience and has been successfully applied in the development of the Namibian and Malawian national minerals policies. An effective policy in the SADC will engineer the delicate balance between poverty reduction and an internationally competitive minerals sector. This balance enhances the possibility of long-term economic growth and development in the SADC region. The overriding advantage of this strategy is that it generates ‘home-grown’ policy instruments and implementation of mineral law with which stakeholders can identify. This process presents a new challenge to traditional policy formulation strategies in emerging economies and the bottom-up approach, linked to wide political support, allows the potential realisation of national objectives.