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• Is the bride too beautiful? Safe motherhood in rural Rwanda

  Posted: 21 May 2013 15:52:57 GMT

  Despite recent improvements in some countries, progress towards reducing maternal mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa overall lags considerably behind that of other developing country regions.
  
  Recent evidence indicates that Rwanda has made impressive progress in this area, particularly in the rural locations. This report presents research findings from a project concerned with identifying the institutional arrangements which have enabled Rwanda to achieve significant improvement in ensuring safe motherhood for growing numbers of women in the rural districts of Nyamagabe and Musanze.
  
  Ethnographic research conducted over several months explored how actors, institutions and resources have been combined to overcome the key bottlenecks which might otherwise have undermined the provision of the key services which contribute to good maternal health outcomes. Initial analysis indicates that the coherence of the policy environent has been a key element. In addition to aiding in the clear definition oflines of responsibility, it has facilitated the avoidance of the sorts of overlapping mandates which usually encourage actors to pass the buck for service delivery failures. Laxity in professional standards and related problems ensuing from lack of motivation have been overcome by accountability mechanisms which serve as strong deterrents against misconduct by all actors responsible forservice provision.
  
  Accompanying performance pressures based on consistent incentives comprising rewards and punishment ensure that all actors work toward the same objective of providing high-quality services. A crucial element in all this has been the facilitation of collaboration through which different actors, including users, can work together to overcome key bottlenecks.

   

   

  

• Enhanced Knowledge Management: knowledge centers for extension communication and agriculture development in Ethiopia

  Posted: 21 May 2013 12:55:54 GMT

  There is increasing evidence on the benefits of knowledge management (KM) to enable organisations to be more competitive, achieve higher efficiency and increase output. The Ethiopian government has embarked on a major initiative for use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to improve the efficiency and impact of its sector programmes.
  
  The use of knowledge centers or tele-centers is been recognised as having an important role in extension communication and agricultural development. This paper looks at the establishment of Woreda Knowledge Centers (WKC), set-up and used in ten districts in Ethiopia. WKC is used to gather, share, classify, access, and use knowledge at district (woreda) level.
  
  This case study concludes:

  • at district level, knowledge management was enhanced as WKC was used to improve the process of accessing, sharing, transferring and using knowledge. The establishment of WKC laid basic infrastructure for KM technology use at district level
  • the use of  WKC increased staff capacity to identify, access, assemble, document, share and use knowledge
    contributing to an improved extension communication and agriculture development reaching farmers and pastoralist at grass root level.
  • analysis showed WKC improved culture of knowledge sharing as formal educational sessions were organised as seminars, video sessions, expert consultation, meetings and trainings
  • on the bases of lessons gained, this study recommends that WKC be established in all districts through the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture and its partners  

  This article is chapter 10 in the publication "E-Agriculture and rural development: global innovations and future prospects".

  

• Decision support tool: Integrated REDD+ accounting frameworks: nested national approaches

  Posted: 21 May 2013 09:02:25 GMT

  Carbon accounting and incentive allocation frameworks are a central component of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) and in structuring these frameworks, decisions need to be made over how to reach REDD+ objectives in a timely, economically efficient and socially and environmentally sustainable manner. The process of unification or integration of REDD+ projects and subnational efforts into the national system is commonly referred to as 'nesting' or following a 'nested approach'. The strategic importance of the nested approach lies in its utility of coherently integrating various levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and incentive allocation into the national system while maintaining accounting and environmental integrity. This decision support tool provides overall guidance on establishing national-level REDD+ accounting frameworks within which project or subnational approaches are integrated.

• Mitigating disasters — a promising start

  Posted: 21 May 2013 09:02:20 GMT

  A ten-year United Nations plan to make the world safer from natural disasters went into effect in 2005. With 2015 nearing, countries are now assessing how well it has worked. The Hyogo Framework for Action spelled out what all countries had to do over the following ten years to make disasters less disastrous. This review finds that signing on to the Hyogo process is one thing, but there is not much evidence of the framework making the world a safer place. Since the advent of the framework some of the most devastating disasters have occurred and disasters have become more frequent, hovering now at around 1000 a year. The paper argues that although the reason for this is not clear, climate change is often blamed. Disasters are also becoming more catastrophic, as population growth makes increasing numbers of people vulnerable to the impact of disasters. The paper concludes that the future of the Hyogo framework is not clear, but it will be on the agenda of upcoming discussions.

• Agrarian Labour Relations in Zimbabwe after Over a Decade of Land and Agrarian Reform

  Posted: 18 May 2013 09:03:48 GMT

  Walter Chambati
  April 2013

  This paper begins highlights some key features that shape agrarian labour relations in Zimbabwe, illustrated through the setting of Goromonzi district. The new agrarian structure that forms the basis of the reconfigured agricultural production systems and labour relations is then analysed. This allows for the examination of the labour mobilisation patterns among the different classes of producers resulting from agrarian restructuring. The assessment of the material conditions that farm labourers derive from selling labour in various ways and their responses to the challenges they face precede the conclusions.

  The new agrarian labour relations are explored using empirical research in Goromonzi district. Research undertaken by the African Institute for Agrarian Studies (AIAS) since 2002, including a baseline survey in 2006 of 695 landholders and 173 farm workers in Goromonzi is used to illustrate the outcomes prior to economic stabilisation in 2009.iii The analysis draws from the results of the survey reported in Moyo et al. (2009) and the data referenced as AIAS (2007). Qualitative surveys in Goromonzi in 2012 are used to trace the dynamic changes to agrarian labour relations as further land redistribution occurred and the macro-economic context and agrarian policies shifted. Data was collected through interviews and observations from farm labourers, landholders, farm compounds, traditional authorities and state officials.

  

• Global assessment report on disaster risk reduction 2013 - From shared risk to shared value: the business case for disaster risk reduction

  Posted: 18 May 2013 09:02:31 GMT

  The GAR13 highlights how the transformation of the global economy over the last 40 years has led to rapid increases in disaster risk in low, medium and high income countries. A new global risk model shows that annual average losses from just earthquakes and cyclonic winds can be expected to be in the range of US $180 billion this century. The report makes a strong case that globalisation, the search for lower costs, higher productivity, and just-in-time delivery are driving business into hazard-prone locations with little or no consideration of the consequences on global supply chains. GAR13 analyses three key global investment sectors – urban development, agribusiness, and coastal tourism – and reveals that prevailing business models in each sector continue to drive disaster risk. It concludes that disaster risk reduction needs to be explicitly included into the post-2015 framework to provide a critical incentive for constructive engagement with the business sector.

• Green economy and trade: trends, challenges and opportunities

  Posted: 18 May 2013 09:02:28 GMT

  An increase in trade in environmental goods and services and certified products can stimulate the transition to a green economy, according to this report, simultaneously creating further opportunities for increased trade in such products and services. The report analyses challenges to such a transition, in particular for developing countries and provides suggestions to overcome them. It begins by discussing current trends in trade flows, impacts of trade on natural resources and the environment, and the situation of the least developed countries (LDCs), in particular regarding their reliance on natural resource-based products and raw materials. It analyses emerging opportunities in six sectors: agriculture, fisheries, forestry, manufacturing, renewable energy and tourism. The report then highlights several challenges including: limitations in financial and human resources; weak regulatory frameworks; lack of enforcement mechanisms; and poor economic infrastructure.

• Indigenous peoples and climate change in Africa

  Posted: 18 May 2013 09:02:24 GMT

  This study examines the impact of climate change on indigenous people and their adaptation strategies. The objectives of the case studies undertaken in Namibia were to: document how indigenous peoples are affected by climate change through a review of existing data and literature; analyse and document in a participatory way how indigenous peoples perceive, adapt and leverage opportunities presented by climate change; and provide recommendations for strengthening indigenous peoples’ engagement and direct participation in the formulation of national and international public policies regarding climate change. In the Namibian case studies it proved problematic to separate climate change impacts from other factors impacting on indigenous peoples’ lives. The authors conclude that climate change and factors such as governance, access to land and socioeconomic status are interrelated, and therefore, they all impact on indigenous peoples’ livelihoods and adaptive strategies.

• Pioneering renewable energy options: Thailand takes up the challenge

  Posted: 18 May 2013 09:02:20 GMT

  Thailand’s support policies for renewable energy (RE) in the power sector have allowed individual small projects to add up to something substantial, attracting more investment and leading to faster growth in the sector than in most other Asian nations. Thai energy policy is complex, and the development of RE has not been without controversy. While this Inside Story by the Climate and Development Network (CDKN) provides some elements of the context, it cannot cover all aspects of Thai energy policy. Instead it focuses on identifying factors that can explain the relative success of Thai policies and highlights some lessons for future development. The brief highlights that Thailand was among the first countries in Asia to introduce incentive policies for the generation of electricity from renewable energy (RE) sources, leading to rapid growth, particularly in solar power. Civil society involvement strengthened and improved RE policies in Thailand.

• Dependence of hydropower energy generation on forests in the Amazon Basin at local and regional scales

  Posted: 18 May 2013 09:02:16 GMT

  Tropical rainforest regions have large hydropower generation potential that figures prominently in many nations’ energy growth strategies. This paper argues that feasibility studies of hydropower plants typically ignore the effect of future deforestation or assume that deforestation will have a positive effect on river discharge and energy generation resulting from declines in evapotranspiration (ET) associated with forest conversion. Forest loss can also reduce river discharge, however, by inhibiting rainfall. This study used land use, hydrological and climate models to examine the local ‘direct’ effects (through changes in ET within the watershed) and the potential regional ‘indirect’ effects (through changes in rainfall) of deforestation on river discharge and energy generation potential for the Belo Monte energy complex, one of the world’s largest hydropower plants that is currently under construction on the Xingu River in the eastern Amazon.

• From manual to mechanical harvesting: reducing environmental impacts and increasing cogeneration potential

  Posted: 17 May 2013 16:45:30 GMT

  The pre-harvest burning of sugarcane leaves is a common practice that enables manual pickers to collect the crop quickly, suffering less personal injury. The burning process, however, has negative impacts on the environment, on human health and on the potential energy value of the plant.
  
  This Brief uses the example of Brazil to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of switching from manual to mechanised sugarcane harvesting, and shares Brazil’s efforts to gradually phase-out manual harvesting and improve infrastructure to take advantage of cogeneration potential.
  
  Key Lessons:
  

  • mechanisation of sugarcane harvesting can increase productivity and income generation
  • eradicating pre-harvest burning can reduce environmental harm and increase energy cogeneration potential
  • the cogeneration of electricity from sugarcane biomass has been shown to be more efficient when using high pressure boilers

  

• Envisioning the future and learning from the past: adapting to a changing environment in northern Mali

  Posted: 17 May 2013 14:39:50 GMT

  In West Africa, rural livelihoods that dependon natural resources develop coping and adapting strategies to face climate variability or change, and economic or political changes. The former Lake Faguibine in northern Mali has experienced drastic ecological, social, and economic changes. Forests have emerged on the former lake and have become important for local livelihoods.
  
  This paper analyses the coping and adapting strategies of forest- and livestock-based livelihoods facing ecological changes. Results from field research at different levels indicate that most local strategies are based on diversification including migration within the livestock production system or in complement to it, with differences according to gender, age, and ethnicity. Political discourses, cultural identities, and past experiences influence and shape adaptation strategies at the local level. The sustainability of the observed strategies depends on the access to natural resources and the sustainable management of these resources, which in turn depends on institutions at local and national levels.
  
  Many local strategies are reactive to external events but would need strategic support from higher levels to move from coping to adapting. Examples are the development of institutions and technical actions for natural resource management, as well as development actions supporting local strategies and sustainable investments. Researchers, practitioners and development planners will need simple methods and tools for understanding and analysing local adaptation perceptions and actions to achieve an effective support of sustainable and gender-equitable local adaptation and to avoid mismatches between strategies proposed by local and by sub national and national actors.

• Final Impact Evaluation of the Saving for Change Program in Mali, 2009-2012

  Posted: 17 May 2013 11:16:26 GMT

  Saving for Change (SfC) is a community savings group programme designed and implemented by Oxfam America, Freedom from Hunger, and the Strømme Foundation. SfC operates in 13 countries in West Africa, Latin America and Asia.
  
  This research conducted in Mali by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology (BARA) at the University of Arizona examines the impacts of Saving for Change. IPA conducted a randomized control trial (RCT) with 500 villages (6000 households) as well as high frequency surveys with a subset of 600 households over a three-year period between 2009-2012.

  BARA and IPA concluded that Saving for Change is an effective programme providing real socioeconomic benefits to its intended populations:

  • the study found that 40% of women in treatment villages and 12% of women in control villages joined Saving for Change
  • while those who joined Saving for Change were on average slightly older, more socially connected and wealthier than non-members, the program reached remote and poor villages where the majority of the households were living on $1 per day
  • Saving for Change led to small, but positive and statistically significant economic effects when compared to control villages including increases in savings, loans and household livestock holdings, as well as improvements in food security and malaria knowledge, but not behavior
  • there was no measurable impact of Saving for Change on how households deal with health expenses, and small or no significant impacts on school enrollment, business development or expansion, agricultural inputs, or household and agricultural assets
  • the ethnographic research found an increase in social capital in terms of village-level solidarity and contact with other women, but the RCT did not see increases in social capital or female empowerment
  • structured replication, in which replicators participate in a three-day NGO-sponsored training, are given a pictorial manual, and receive a certificate upon completion, led to higher take up of the program and larger impacts for outcomes such as savings, food security, livestock holdings and poverty

  

• Intercultural Health Policies in Latin America

  Posted: 17 May 2013 10:23:37 GMT

  Historically, indigenous peoples’ access to health services in Latin America has been limited due to a variety of social, economic and cultural factors. The misunderstanding of indigenous peoples’ world view and their definition of health makes it more difficult to design and implement public policies that reflect their real needs. This Brief presents the progress at the regional and country level, discusses advances in the design and implementation of intercultural health policies in areas with indigenous communities.

  Key Lessons:

  • the Latin American experience shows that regional health organisations can play an important role by defining the elements of an intercultural policy and the pathway for implementing it. This provides important support and inspiration for individual countries within the region
  • constitutional acknowledgement of the right to intercultural health can be a first step to guaranteeing this right and ensuring its implementation
  • the visibility of the struggle coming from the non-recognition and implementation of an intercultural health policy that has been brought by social movements and CSOs can produce substantive changes, such as the creation of agencies

  

• Food security and nutrition: the role of forests

  Posted: 17 May 2013 09:02:14 GMT

  With a growing global population, much of the current discourse on food security is focussed on increasing agricultural production. However, studies suggest that food insecurity is not caused by lack of food production, but by inadequate distribution, a lack of purchasing power and other non-productive causes. This paper argues that forests and tree-based agricultural systems contribute directly and indirectly to the livelihoods of an estimated one billion people globally. Despite this, the role of forests in supporting human food security and nutrition remain largely under-researched and understood. Although existing evidence is limited, a considerable body of work suggests that forests support both food security and nutrition. The authors argue that there is now an urgent need for research that can provide broader perspectives and allow of cross-site comparisons of the contributions of forests and tree-based agricultural systems to food security, livelihoods and nutrition.

• Global Estimates 2012: People displaced by disasters

  Posted: 17 May 2013 09:02:09 GMT

  Over five years from 2008 to 2012, around 144 million people were forced from their homes in 125 countries. In 2012, an estimated 32.4 million people in 82 countries were newly displaced by disasters associated with natural hazards triggered by climate- and weather-related events (98 per cent of all displacement in 2012; 83 per cent over five years), with flood disasters in India and Nigeria accounting for 41 per cent of global displacement in 2012. In India, monsoon floods displaced 6.9 million and in Nigeria 6.1 million people were newly displaced. The Global Estimates report determines that while over the past five years 81 per cent of global displacement has occurred in Asia, in 2012 Africa had a record high for the region of 8.2 million people newly displaced, over four times more than in any of the previous four years. The report concludes that the systematic collection, analysis and sharing of data is critical to inform policy and measures where they are most needed.

• Islam, sexual diversity and access to health services

  Posted: 16 May 2013 15:07:22 GMT

  This discussion paper examines why Islam matters in prevention efforts for HIV, what Islam and Muslim scholars say about MSM and transgender people, as well as how this impacts on the lives of MSM and transgender people and their access to health services.

  While Islam allows for difference of opinion, and the religious leaders disagree on many social issues, most orthodox Muslim scholars are vehemently opposed to homosexuality. However there are many progressive Muslim scholars with varied positive opinions about gender and sexual orientation. This discussion paper urges human rights organisations and policy makers to create a database of progressive religious leaders and lobby for their support.
  
  The discussion paper includes 13 key recommendations for consideration of human rights organisations and defenders, gender activist and policy makers, including:

  • develop an understanding that it is necessary, when working on MSM and transgender issues in countries where there is a Muslim context, to incorporate a theological approach in their work
  • use positive religious text in media (TV, radio, blogs, publications) to oppose harsh orthodox approaches that are not respectful of human rights and choice of lifestyle
  • provide training to relevant stakeholders, including health service  providers, on how to best work with MSM and transgender people  within a Muslim context
  • develop programmes for Muslim religious leaders on HIV and MSM to influence and encourage positive messaging during Friday congregational prayers
  • develop strategies to reach those who are not openly MSM so that they can be empowered with research and Islamic information on sexual orientation and gender through training and educational programmes.
    

  

• Adolescent girls and migration in the developing world

  Posted: 16 May 2013 13:04:37 GMT

  Migration is transforming our world: by the end of this decade, most developing countries will have more people living in cities than in rural areas. Most migrants are in their early to mid-20s. Substantial numbers of adolescent girls are also on the move. Because of their age and gender, migrant girls are especially vulnerable to risks such as exploitative employment. But more evidence is needed on how to maximise migration’s benefits and minimise its risks for adolescent girls.
  
  This policy brief provides a summary of key findings and recommendations from the the Population Council report, Girls on the Move: Adolescent Girls & Migration in the Developing World, from their Girls Count series. By providing a road map for policy makers and programme planners, the report focuses on the need to increase the visibility of migrant girls, reduce their vulnerability, and realise their full potential.

  Main recommendations include:

  • prepare and equip girls before they migrate - with knowledge of their rights, life skills, IDs, and other portable assets

  • reduce the risk of trafficking and exploitation by connecting girls with safe places to stay and trusted individuals and by building support networks

  • ensure health and education services are sensitive to age, sex, and migration status

  • prepare girls for success

  • design girl-only approaches to reach domestic workers, child brides, and sexually exploited girls

  • develop qualitative and longitudinal studies to shed light on migrant girls’ experiences

  • maximise the benefits of migration by increasing adolescent girls’ visibility in policy and advocacy

   

   

  

• How best to measure pension adequacy

  Posted: 16 May 2013 11:12:41 GMT

  Though the main benchmark used to assess pension reforms continues to be the expected resulting fall in future government spending, the impact of policy changes on pension adequacy is increasingly coming to the fore. As yet, there does not seem to be a broad consensus in policymaking circles and academic literature on what constitutes the best measure of pension adequacy. While various indicators have been developed and utilised, no single measure appears to offer a clear indication of the extent to which reforms will impact on the achievement of pension system goals.

  Many indicators appear ill-suited to study the effective impact of reforms, particularly those that change the nature of the pension system from defined benefit to defined contribution.  

  Existing measures are frequently hard to interpret as they do not have an underlying benchmark which allows their current or projected value to be assessed as adequate or inadequate. Currently used pension adequacy indicators tend to be point-in-time measures which ignore the impact of benefit indexation rules. They also are unaffected by very important factors, such as changes in the pension age and in life expectancy. 
  
  This paper argues for the use of adequacy indicators based on estimates of pension wealth (i.e. the total projected flow of pension benefits through retirement) calculated using more realistic labour market assumptions. These measures are used to give a better indication of the effective impact of pension reforms enacted since the 1990s in ten major European countries. They suggest that these reforms have decreased generosity significantly, but that the poverty alleviation function remains strong in those countries where minimum pensions were improved.  However, moves to link benefits to contributions have raised clear adequacy concerns for women and for those on low incomes which policymakers should consider and tackle. 

  

• Making Sense of Gender, Climate Change and Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa

  Posted: 16 May 2013 09:03:29 GMT

  Full title: Making Sense of Gender, Climate Change and Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa: Creating Gender-Responsive Climate Adaptation Policy

  Christine Okali and Lars Otto Naess
  May 2013

  Attention to gender and climate change has increased steadily over the last decade. Much of the emerging policy-focused literature resembles to a considerable degree the gender and environment literature from the 1990s, with the nature of women’s work being used to justify placing women at the centre of climate change policy. However, in contrast with the portrayal of women in earlier literature as knowledgeable guardians of the environment, the women at the centre of gender and climate change policy are typically portrayed as vulnerable, weak, poor, and socially isolated. Arguably, this is a reflection of the politics of gender rather than the reality of the men and women who regularly experience and deal with changes of various kinds.

  We argue for a more realistic and nuanced framing of gender that is built on an acknowledgement of social complexity, and an understanding of social, including gender relations, in specific local settings. Such a framing would provide a more valuable starting point for understanding the way in which both women and men, together and separately in their different, and changing roles, shape the outcomes of external interventions. This shift does not mean that targeting vulnerable women to meet short term needs is not valuable. Rather, the intention is principally, to minimise the risks of policy failure resulting from the adoption of often erroneous but popular assumptions about the different roles that women and men play, and must continue to play, to achieve food security in the face of climate change.

  

• Learning the Lessons? Assessing the response to the 2012 food crisis in the Sahel to build resilience for the future

  Posted: 15 May 2013 11:39:27 GMT

  In 2012, the Sahel region of West and Central Africa was once again hit by a severe food crisis, affecting over 18 million people at its peak. At the start of 2012, when the crisis began to unfold, many governments, donors and aid agencies were determined not to make the same mistakes again.

  This Oxfam briefing paper considers how well they collectively performed, and the lessons that must be learned to improve future responses. The analysis reveals that, although the 2012 response was bigger and, in many respects, better than responses to previous crises, there were still significant shortcomings that need to be addressed. Technical, financial and political barriers prevented governments from effectively leading the response. Diverging messages on the likely severity of the crisis led to paralysis and unnecessary delays in mobilizing a response. Donor funding was no more timely than before. As a result, millions of people still did not get the help they needed.

  

• Understanding Wage Issues in the Tea Industry

  Posted: 15 May 2013 11:30:34 GMT

  Wage levels are an issue of concern across the globe as individuals, companies and governments wrestle with how wages paid to workers relate to costs of living, corporate and national competitiveness, profitability and broader macroeconomic trends and challenges.

  This report examines wages in the tea industry with a focus in three case study areas: Malawi, West Java (Indonesia) and Assam (India). It looks at hired labour on plantations and, in particular, tea pluckers. 

  Researchers found a number of deep rooted and complex factors keeping wages low. A key problem is that pay is set for the whole sector - there is no difference in pay from one plantation to the next - and that it is pegged to the legal minimum wage which is often well below the level needed for meet a family's basic needs. Other issues include the huge variation in the quality and take up of 'in-kind' benefits such as childcare or housing and the fact that workers, particularly women who make up the majority of the workforce, have little say in negotiations over pay. 

  

• Re-strategizing the MSM Response: Data for Action

  Posted: 15 May 2013 09:02:21 GMT

  As the epidemic rises in the Asia Pacific region, the UNAIDS Data Hub have prepared the following presentation providing an overview of the issues, commitments and areas for action. The regional profile presents data collated from published sources in the Asia-Pacific region according to the five areas: - HIV prevalence and epidemiological status - Vulnerability and HIV knowledge - Risk behaviours - Socio-economic impact of the epidemic and National response. The data sources include Epidemiological fact sheets, Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Behavioural Surveillance Survey (BSS), United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) Report, AIDS Indicator Surveys (AIS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and others.

• Global AIDS Response Progress Reporting 2013: Construction of Core Indicators for Monitoring the 2011 UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS.

  Posted: 15 May 2013 09:02:18 GMT

  The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to national AIDS programmes and partners actively involved in the country response to AIDS on use of core indicators to measure and report on the national response.

• Emerging HIV Risk in Papua New Guinea.

  Posted: 15 May 2013 09:02:15 GMT

  PNG’s HIV epidemic is predominately driven through heterosexual transmission. That said, other modes of transmission observed include vertical transmission and male-to-male sex. A few sporadic cases of HIV have been diagnosed whereby the mode of transmission has been reported as tattooing and injecting drug use. The data on those who have been diagnosed with HIV as a result of injecting drug use is sparse. It is unclear for example if such people are indeed ethnic Papua New Guineans or if in the case of expatriates the virus was contracted via injecting drug use practices outside of PNG. There have been other anecdotal, but unverified, reports of injecting drug use occurring in PNG and concern has been raised over this being a possible route of transmission that with the potential of contributing to the epidemic.

• National REDD+ Strategy Development and Implementation Process in Tanzania. Mid Term Review. Final Report

  Posted: 15 May 2013 09:02:12 GMT

  The Norwegian Government funded REDD+ project portfolio in Tanzania is creating significant positive results across Tanzania. Along with the research project on climate change and a selection of pilot projects, the REDD+ Policy Project is helping lay the foundation for Tanzania’s future REDD activities. The mid-term review was carried out during March 2013, by independent consultants, Nordeco. The findings, opinions and conclusions in the mid-term review reports are those of the consultants. Project partners have been given the opportunity to respond to the draft mid-term review report in writing.

• Funding Scientific Innovation: Global Investments in HIV Treatment Research and Development in 2010 and 2011

  Posted: 14 May 2013 09:03:10 GMT

  Development of new, simpler, more effective and affordable compounds will continue to be essential for attaining the goal of putting at least 15 million people on ART by 2015, as set forth in the 2011 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS. To this end, pharmaceutical industry leaders moved seven compounds into phase III studies in 2010 and 2011, and seven compounds into phase II. The focus of development is on compounds that can be taken as a single pill once daily, thus simplifying treatment, improving adherence, and reducing the risk of stockout-induced resistance to individual drugs.

• Investing In Communities Achieves Results: Findings from an Evaluation of Community Responses to HIV and AIDS

  Posted: 14 May 2013 09:03:03 GMT

  Before the scale-up of the international response to the AIDS pandemic, community responses in developing countries played a crucial role in providing services and care for those affected. This study is the first comprehensive, mixed-method evaluation of the impact of that response. The evaluation finds that community response can be effective at increasing knowledge of HIV, promoting social empowerment, increasing access to and use of HIV services, and even decreasing HIV incidence, all through the effective mobilization of limited resources. By effectively engaging with this powerful community structure, future HIV and AIDS programs can ensure that communities continue to contribute to the global response to HIV and AIDS.

• Doing good by doing well? Statoil in Sub-Saharan Africa

  Posted: 14 May 2013 09:02:53 GMT

  This report, commissioned by Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), examines Statoil’s exploration and production activities in Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular how Statoil understands and acts in order to develop its social license to operate. This is assessed along three main avenues: (1) how Statoil understands its wider role and impact in the societies where it operates; (2) how Statoil develops this by means of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices; and (3) how much revenues Statoil generates to the benefit of the countries in question. The focus is on three countries where Statoil is an important actor, or is positioning itself to become one: Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania. What is Statoil’s footprint in these countries?

• 'Mucupuki' Revisited: Assessing the Implications of PARP/A in Central Mozambique 2008-2011

  Posted: 14 May 2013 09:02:50 GMT

  This is the final report in a series of six studies to monitor and evaluate Mozambique’s Poverty Reduction Strategies PARP/A (2006-2012). The series focuses on three different areas in the country, including the District of Buzi in the central province of Sofala. Despite severe structural political and economic constraints, people in Buzi have seen small improvements in their socio-economic conditions between 2008 and 2011. In addition to their own hard work, the proximity to the city of Beira is a major reason for the advances made. Rather than counting on economic growth to ‘trickle down’, the government should remove constraints related to agriculture and income and facilitate rural-urban interaction.

• Assessing the Implications of PARPA II in Maputo 2007-2010

  Posted: 14 May 2013 09:02:47 GMT

  This brief presents the main conclusions from the fifth in a series of six studies monitoring and evaluating Mozambique’s poverty reduction strategy PARPA II, using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data. It analyses the constitution and dynamics of poverty and well-being in four bairros in the capital city Maputo, by revisiting the same communities and households three years after a first baseline-study conducted in 2007. - The study finds that improvements having taken place in Maputo between 2007-2010 in the areas of poverty reduction, education, health, water, electricity, sanitation etc. seem – ironically – to have brought further challenges to central and municipal government in the form of increasing demands for employment, income, social security and political accountability.

• Assessing the Implications of PARP/A in Central Mozambique 2008-2011

  Posted: 14 May 2013 09:02:45 GMT

  In a series of six studies, the local implications of Mozambique’s Poverty Reduction Strategies PARP/A (2006-2014) have been monitored and evaluated by focusing on the district of Murrupula, the city of Maputo and the district of Buzi. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, each site has been visited twice with a three-year interval. This brief sums up the main findings from the revisit to the district of Buzi in 2011. - Despite severe structural political and economic constraints, people in the District of Buzi in central Mozambique have seen small but important improvements in their socio-economic conditions between 2008 and 2011. In addition to their own hard work, the proximity to the city of Beira is a major reason for the advances made. Rather than counting on economic growth to ‘trickle down’, the government should remove constraints related to agriculture and income and facilitate rural-urban interaction.

• Assessing Mozambique’s PARP/A 2006-2011: Local perspectives

  Posted: 14 May 2013 09:02:42 GMT

  Six years of impressive economic growth and classical poverty reduction policies in Mozambique have demonstrated the limited extent to which this has ‘trickled down’ to the local level – with the country falling on the Human Development Index and poverty reduction having come to a complete halt. Important progress has been made in public administration, physical infrastructure, education and health, but deep structural changes will be necessary in order to generate employment and income and reach the 55 percent of all Mozambicans who remain poor.

• Providing development aid to Africa : comparing South Africa with China, India and Brazil

  Posted: 14 May 2013 09:02:38 GMT

  South Africa’s planned development aid agency, South African Development Partnership Agency, is expected to be established in 2013. This provides a good opportunity to assess South Africas current role as provider of development aid to other African countries. This will be assessed against traditional development aid from the north (the OECD countries), but primarily South Africa’s evolving aid policies and practices will be compared to those of the other main South powers – China, India and Brazil. They have all in recent years rapidly expanded their development aid projects in Africa.

• Evaluation of Norway’s Bilateral Agricultural Support to Food Security

  Posted: 14 May 2013 09:02:34 GMT

  The purpose of this evaluation was “to assess to what extent Norwegian funds for agriculture have contributed to food security, with a view to get recommendations for future support”. The period under evaluation was 2005-2011. The evaluation focused on four aspects (clusters): 1. Contribution to food security. 2. Monitoring, evaluation and documentation. 3. Sustainability and scaling-up. 4. Financial analysis. The programmes under review were chosen in accordance with the selection criteria outlined in the terms of reference (ToR), reflecting the project size, as well as the size of the agreement partner implementing projects classified as OECD/DAC 311 (agriculture) and DAC 410 (general environmental protection).

• Evaluation of NDF's progress under the climate mandate

  Posted: 14 May 2013 09:02:29 GMT

  Background: In 2009 the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) was given a new mandate to provide financing to projects addressing the challenges posed by climate change. At the same time, NDF was given grants as a new financing instrument. Based on an assessment carried out by the NDF staff in early 2011, NDF’s Board decided to undertake an independent evaluation of NDF’s work under the climate mandate. The main objective for this evaluation should be to provide NDF with an independent assessment of the Fund’s activities during the first two years of operation under the climate and development mandate. The evaluation should focus on reviewing, assessing and validating the progress so far in achieving the objectives set out in the May 2009 Board paper “Future NDF Operations: An Outline for 2009-2011”, and identifying any other strategic choices that NDF should address in view of the changes in the international development co-operation and climate change agenda.

• Effect of climate change on the health of rural farmers in Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria

  Posted: 11 May 2013 09:02:19 GMT

  This study examines the effect of climate change on the health of rural farmers in Nigeria. It is based on structured interviews with 98 respondents and the collected data were analysed through the use of frequency count, simple percentages and Pearson product moment correlation (PPMC). The study reveals a significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and how they perceived the effect of climate change on their health. The majority of the respondents received climate change information through radio or television; only a few had received climate information from a research institute. The study concludes that malaria is the most common and severe disease affecting the respondents. The authors recommend that the Nigerian government should educate farmers through the mass media to combat climate change. Moreover, climate change adaptation policies and strategies need to be considered as integral components of Nigeria's economic growth strategy.

• Accessing the glocality of climate change: a cognitive fallacy

  Posted: 11 May 2013 09:02:16 GMT

  This paper addresses some methodological biases present in the mode of understanding climate change through scientific research. These overlapping biases are referred to as glocality. The paper argues that as a device of the cognitive globalisation around environmental issues, glocality operates in science as a cognitive form of ubiquity deriving from an attempt to compress the spatiotemporal dimension of the changing weather within the time and space of the mind. In the case of climate change, it refers to three focal points summarised as problems of climate change’s phenomena problem of the ontologies of climate change’s phenomena and problem of the logics of climate change’s phenomena. The paper illustrates the inherent relationship between scientific knowledge and political power, a relationship, which according to the author, we cannot override but only understand and monitor.

• What next for the BRICS Bank?

  Posted: 10 May 2013 12:44:48 GMT

  A new development bank to be created by the ‘Rising Powers’ of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) is intended to promote greater cooperation between developing countries, and address what is seen by many as a history of misguidance and underinvestment by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
  
  However, several questions remain about the establishment of the BRICS bank and its potential impact on future development cooperation. The timeframe for its creation is still uncertain and economic and political links between the BRICS countries need to be strengthened in order for them to agree a clear development agenda to underpin the new institution.
  
  This Rapid Response Briefing makes a number of recommendations to enable conditions for the BRICS countries to make progress in achieving the goals they have set themselves with the BRICS Bank, including:
  

  • a continued focus on domestic growth and stability in the BRICS. Creating skilled jobs, promoting infrastructure investment, rationalising regulation and attracting foreign direct investment remain essential to the continued improvement of the wellbeing of citizens still emerging from poverty and to the political legitimacy of international development engagements by these countries
  • deeper engagement of the BRICS in multilateral forums and regional trade forums such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), and advocacy for qualified leadership candidates from the BRICS
  • pressure to align the policies of the new bank with sustainable development and other global public goods debates. The BRICS Business Council has the potential to be a useful ally in some of these debates, particularly in the areas of energy security and water conservation
  • promotion of transparent and democratic bank governance. This includes providing better quality trade and investment data with respect to the size and terms of financing flows, as well as the structure and conditions of deals, and concessions for natural resources. Demands for human rights, social impact and environmental sustainability criteria to be considered in investment decisions, and for engagement with the new bank by local populations and civil society, also need to be addressed

  

• Water security and climate resilient development

  Posted: 10 May 2013 09:02:30 GMT

  This paper argues that the sustainability of Africa’s economic growth and development will depend on what happens to the continent’s water resources. Water is a key input to economic growth sectors and contributes to employment, job creation and gross domestic product. Climate change threatens Africa’s water resources, and therefore decision-makers need to make investment decisions that promote water security and climate resilient growth and development. This paper presents the African Union’s (AU) Strategic Framework for Water Security and Climate Resilient Development. The Framework is a tool to help users to identify and develop ‘no/low regrets’ investment strategies, to integrate these into planning processes, and to adapt future development planning activities to make them more resilient to climate change and variability. This document supports the Framework by providing further detail on the concepts, methods and approaches that underpin the actions and steps identified in it.

• Assessing the climate impacts of cookstove projects: issues in emissions accounting

  Posted: 10 May 2013 09:02:27 GMT

  This paper examines methodological challenges in gauging the emissions reductions associated with cookstove projects. An estimated 2.6 billion people rely on traditional biomass for home cooking and heating, so improving the efficiency of household cookstoves could provide significant environmental, social and economic benefits. According to the paper, carbon finance offers a policy mechanism for realising some of this potential and could also bring improved monitoring to cookstove projects. However, there are formidable methodological challenges in estimating emission reductions. This paper evaluates the quantification approaches to three key variables in calculating emission impacts: biomass fuel consumption, fraction of non-renewable biomass and emission factors for fuel consumption. The analysis draws on a literature review as well as on interviews with technical experts and market actors, and identifies lessons learned and knowledge gaps.

• The design and implementation of public pension systems in developing countries: Issues and options

  Posted: 10 May 2013 09:02:24 GMT

  Developing countries are increasingly aware of the need to design and implement improvements in public systems for providing pensions to the elderly. Such systems may aim to smooth consumption and thus provide reliable income to older people, reduce poverty among the elderly, insure those no longer working against the risk of running out of funds, and promote equal treatment of men and women in retirement security even when lifetime earnings and projected average life expectancy may differ greatly. The increasing share of the elderly in the population of all countries makes implementation of sustainable pension systems both more urgent and more difficult. Planners must consider numerous options in pension system design and choose the combination of policies that will optimise coverage, benefits, and financing given a country’s demographics, history, practices regarding family support of the elderly, political system, extent of informal labour, and fiscal situation.

• Forests and trees for social adaptation to climate variability and change

  Posted: 10 May 2013 09:02:21 GMT

  Ecosystems provide important services that can help people adapt to climate variability and change. This paper reviews the scientific literature related to ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) with forests and trees and highlights five cases in which forests and trees can support adaptation: (1) forests and trees providing goods to local communities facing climatic threats; (2) trees in agricultural fields regulating water, soil and microclimate for more resilient production; (3) forested watersheds regulating water and protecting soils for reduced climate impacts; (4) forests protecting coastal areas from climate-related threats; and (5) urban forests and trees regulating temperature and water for resilient cities. The literature provides evidence that EBA can reduce social vulnerability to climate hazards; however, uncertainties and knowledge gaps remain, particularly for regulating services in watersheds and coastal areas.

• Setting the scene: assessing and planning with harm reduction partners

  Posted: 09 May 2013 16:24:40 GMT

  Community Action on Harm Reduction (CAHR) is an project spanning China, India, Indonesia, Kenya and Malaysia that aims to expand coverage to more than 230,000 people who inject drugs, their partners and children, with a wide range of services (HIV prevention, treatment and care, sexual and reproductive health and other services) by 2014.
  
  This report summarises the results of site assessments on HIV and drug use in China, India, Indonesia, Kenya and Malaysia, and describes the assessment and planning tools that were used. The assessments were that were conducted by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and their teams of experts in four technical areas: HIV prevention services for people who inject drugs; HIV and drug-related policy and environment; organisational development issues; and monitoring and evaluation of interventions.
  
  The report concludes that the CAHR project implementation benefited considerably from the assessment process and the success of using the tool also created potential for its further use in other contexts. The assessment team was able to capture unique and insightful information, much of which was rapidly translated into action points and implementation plans within CAHR, as well as broader strategic recommendations. Furthermore, conducting the assessment exercise allowed the teams to develop a technical support plan spanning the CAHR project timeframe and focusing on the most challenging areas identified during the assessment.

• The conflict management system in Karamoja: An assessment of strengths and weaknesses

  Posted: 09 May 2013 09:02:25 GMT

  This report explores the effectiveness of the conflict management system in northern Uganda’s remote Karamoja region. The authors identify formal government and customary actors responsible for managing conflict in Karamoja and the strengths and weakness in the way in which these actors work together to prevent, resolve, and respond to conflict. Amongst other findings, the assessment found that: conflict management is more effective where traditional leaders are engaged and where formal and customary authorities collaborate however, this collaboration is frequently undermined by poor communication between conflict management actors, lack of knowledge of the roles that different actors play in managing conflict, and lack of respect for the value added by elders. The report concludes with specific recommendations to remedy these weaknesses.

• Shared societies and armed conflicts: costs, inequality and the benefits of peace

  Posted: 09 May 2013 09:02:20 GMT

  This chapter examines how the relationship between economic exclusion, inequality, conflict and violence shape the goal of establishing shared societies. It discusses how this impact is largely determined by the emergence and organisation of social and political institutions in areas of violent conflict. Two areas of institutional change are central to understanding the relationship between armed conflict and shared societies. The first is the change caused by armed conflict on social interactions and norms of trust and cooperation. The second is the influence exercised by informal mediators, informal service providers and informal systems of governance that emerge from processes of violence and are prevalent in areas of armed conflict. These forms of institutional transformation are central to understanding how societies may be able to restrict the use of violence as a strategic way of resolving social conflicts and how to transition from violence-ridden to shared societies.

• China’s state-owned enterprises as climate policy actors: the power and steel sectors

  Posted: 08 May 2013 09:02:22 GMT

  A significant share of China’s greenhouse gas emitting activities is operated by state owned enterprises (SOEs) in power generation and steel production. The report demonstrates that SOEs have played a significant role in mitigation actions in these two sectors. As a wider mitigation-relevant task, the state-owned enterprises have led the modernisation of the steel industry to enable better-quality products aiming at supporting the development of new high-tech sectors, like renewable energy. As for China's international climate position, state-owned enterprises should be recognised as important domestic stakeholders. They implement a range of policies and measures, which are in turn needed to enable targets and pledges. Even though China's international climate position depends on the political choices of the central bureaucracy, state-owned enterprises are important also beyond their facilitating role, due to their influential position in domestic policy choices.

• Developing financeable NAMAs: a practitioner’s guide

  Posted: 08 May 2013 09:02:18 GMT

  Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) are fast becoming the climate finance vehicle of choice to help developing countries transition to low carbon, climate resilient futures. Developing countries, their development partners and other actors in and around the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are working to operationalise the concept to leverage domestic climate finance with bilateral and multilateral support, and through carbon markets. The guidebook provides easy-to-follow instructions to help practitioners successfully identify and prioritise financeable NAMAs based on real experience and a proven track record of success. The step-by-step guide is based on technical expertise and lessons learned gathered from the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s work in Kenya, Bangladesh, Trinidad and Tobago, and Congo Basin countries including Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

• The benefits of gender balance in climate change mitigation investments and sustainable energy initiatives

  Posted: 08 May 2013 09:02:15 GMT

  Cleaner fuels, improved efficiency and adoption of renewable energy technologies offer important possibilities for low carbon economic development and reductions in overall greenhouse gas emissions. This paper highlights that these possibilities are especially important for women in developing countries who currently play critical roles in supplying and managing traditional biomass fuels. Moreover, climate-related financing holds significant promise for promoting greater access to energy in under -served areas in developing countries, thereby also supporting economic and social empowerment of women. This paper outlines practical information about gender-aware policies, procedures and tools that can make energy and climate change mitigation activities and investments more successful and effective, as well as provide greater benefits for both men and women. It also presents brief descriptions of successful gender mainstreaming activities in the energy sector.

• China’s pension system: a vision

  Posted: 07 May 2013 15:09:08 GMT

  China is facing a dramatic ageing process and demographic transition as a result of declines in fertility combined with significant increases in longevity. Old-age dependency ratios are therefore projected to almost triple over three decades. Policy makers widely believe that the approach to pension provision and reform efforts piloted over the last 10-15 years is insufficient to enable China's economy and population to realise its development objectives in the years ahead.
  
  This volume proposes a national pension system that no longer distinguishes along urban and rural locational or hukou (household registration)  lines yet takes account of the diverse nature of employment relations and capacity of individuals to make contributions. The document outlines this vision, and summarises the key features of a proposed long-term pension system. It examines key trends motivating the need for reform then outlines the proposed three-pillar design and the rationale behind the design choices, examines financing options, and discusses institutional reform issues.
  
  It concludes by saying that the pension system design can play an important role in supporting or constraining such economic and demographic transitions, highlighting that:
  

  • fragmentation and lack of portability of rights hinder labor market efficiency and contribute to coverage gaps
  • multiple schemes for salaried workers, civil servants, and, in some areas, migrants similarly impact labor markets
  • legacy costs that are largely financed through current pension contributions weaken incentives for compliance and accurate wage reporting
  • very limited risk pooling and interurban resource transfers limit the insurance function of the urban pension system and create spatial disparities in old-age income protection
  • low retirement ages affect incentives and benefits and undermine fiscal sustainability
  • relatively low returns on individual accounts result in replacement rates significantly less than anticipated while at the macro level, are likely to inhibit wider efforts to stimulate higher domestic consumption

  
  

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