This shadow report, produced by NEWA and EWLA, offers a critique of the Ethiopian government's CEDAW report by looking at three broad areas: economic and socio-cultural status of women, equality in marriage and family relations and violence against women. The report acknowledges the considerable efforts made by the Ethiopian government to address its CEDAW obligations, but cites weak enforcement, poor policy guidelines and a lack of institutional commitment as ongoing problems.

This economic literacy pack, the third in this series, is a tool for educating local women's constituencies on trade rules and negotiations. It explores four main themes, firstly 'How the WTO Treats National Health Emergencies in the Rubric of Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)'. This section demonstrates how the agreement protects the patent interests of private pharmaceutical firms based in developed countries, while jeopardizing the public health of the poor in developing countries.

How can gender be mainstreamed into programmes concerned with the sustainable use and management of biodiversity? The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has produced guidelines on how to integrate gender analysis into biodiversity research. The central role played by women in the maintenance of rural lands, and changing gender roles and relations resulting from cost of living rises and increased migration, are highlighted.

Mainland Southeast Asia (MSA) has seen sweeping upland land use changes in the past decades, with transition from primarily subsistence shifting cultivation to annual commodity cropping. This transition holds implications for local upland communities and ecosystems. Due to its particular political regime, Myanmar is at the tail of this development.

This is the first issue of the Journal of Law and Rural Development, published by IFAD. IFAD’s mandate to address rural poverty and promote rural development is unique among international organizations. For many years IFAD limited its activities to financing projects and programmes implemented by its Member States, but over the last decade it has begun to transform itself into a knowledge centre and a key participant in the international policy dialogue around rural development issues. The launch of this journal is another step forward in this transformation.

In Sierra Leone, the well-being and livelihoods of many people, particularly the rural poor, are based on secure and equitable access to land, fisheries and forests. Increasing pressure on these resources in recent years has led to an escalation of conflict over access to natural resources.

Growing numbers of policies and programmes aim to integrate small-scale rural producers into agricultural value chains. But significant questions remain over how best to: recognise the possibly divergent visions, interests and constraints of various actors; address often substantial power imbalances; and ultimately promote agency among rural producers and their communities – that is, their ability to choose, act and influence realities around them.

De centrale doelstelling voor Midden-Delfland is het behouden en versterken van het agrarisch cultuurlandschap met behoud van koeien in de weide. De grondgebonden melkveehouderij is de drager van het kwalitatief hoogwaardige landschap in de regio. Om de rol van drager van het gebied goed te kunnen blijven vervullen, is het van belang dat deze sector economisch vitaal blijft. Een aandachtspunt daarbij is verbreding van de landbouw.

This thesis deals with the politicized struggles for land in South Africa’s Limpopo Province. With land having been an essential part of colonial and apartheid segregation policies and practice – with 87% of land appropriated by whites –, a land reform programme was imperative after the African National Congress came to power in 1994. One of the three branches of the land reform programme, land restitution, is a key focus of this thesis.

Bieden agroparken in Drenthe een haalbaar perspectief dat nadere uitwerking verdient? Conclusie is dat de perspectieven voor de ontwikkeling van agroparken in Drenthe zeer goed zijn. De ontwikkeling van agroparken past in de doelstellingen van de provincie (ontwikkeling van natuur, landschap en recreatie enerzijds, innovatie van de landbouw anderzijds). Cruciaal is het organiseren van een open innovatieproces met aandacht voor communicatie en betrokkenheid van verschillende belanghebbende partijen. De provincie is de aangewezen partij om het initiatief te nemen in dezen.

This thesis argues that incorporating pastoral land rights into the formal

system requires identifying and securing pastoralists’ rights on migration

corridors and dry season pastures in a manner that, first, reflects their

customary practices about ‘where’ and ‘when’ they require access to the

land, and second, aligning both the ‘when’ and the ‘where’ within the

legal framework for property rights and land administration. This

approach may facilitate the legal recognition of pastoralists’ seasonal

In 2007 is het onderzoek van het cluster VLG ondergebracht in zeven onderzoeksthema’s: Bodem, Water, Klimaat, Stad & Platteland, Landschap, Europees Plattelandsbeleid en Investeringsbudget Landelijk Gebied (ILG). Wat is het effect van de onderzoeksresultaten voor het beleid? Hoe komen we tot goede kennisvragen? Hoe kan het beste verbinding maken tussen het wetenschappelijk onderzoek, beleid en de praktijk? Deze veelgestelde vragen zetten kennisdoorstroming en kennisbenutting hoog op de agenda.