Can the twin developmental goals of administrative decentralisation and improving services for the urban poor be meshed? How can urban authorities and local politicians learn to listen to service users, particularly women? What services should be run by municipalities and what could be managed by neighbourhood or private management?

The Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM) company controls a 1,600 square kilometre mining concession in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Tenke Fungurume deposits make up one of the most important reserves of copper and cobalt in the world with abundant quantities of high assay ore.

This report looks at a consultation with a wide range of officials, members of institutions, groups and organisations, and other interested individuals living in the concession area about the impact of the TFM mine on their lives and livelihoods.

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.

Based on travel to diamond fields in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Angola and the DRC, the study examines the reality on the ground.

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 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.

This paper makes a case for increased policy attention to pastoralists in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The paper presents:estimates of the numbers of agro-/pastoral populations globallytheir livestock and their contribution to national economiesthe incidence of poverty among agro-/pastoral populations.The author examines the causes and dynamics of poverty among pastoral populations in Africa drawing on the sustainable livelihoods framework and focusing on vulnerability to shocks.

In the literature about macroeconomics and deforestation, it is often supposed that strong foreign exchange outflows (e.g. debt service) increase deforestation, as higher poverty augments frontier migration and natural resources are squeezed to generate export revenues. This paper analyses the opposite phenomenon, i.e. the deforestation impact of substantial foreign exchange inflows, which is analysed in the "Dutch Disease" macroeconomics literature.

Paper addresses the migration process in the Zambia's Southern Province. Until recently when droughts and cattle diseases have begun to plague the area, Southern Province was known for its ideal farming conditions. Monze district has been home to vast expanses of commercial farming, as well as smaller "emergent farms" and subsistence farmers, all of whom have benefitted from good soils and climate, and easy access to markets on the line of rail. The Gwembe Valley, which lies south east and 2000 feet below Monze district, is also part of Southern Province.

This discussion paper seeks to explore alternative investment options with the aim of enhancing resilience in the Horn of Africa. Climate change, conflict, drought and increasing populations are leading many to pessimistic conclusions regarding the future viability of pastoral farming, arguing that these livelihoods should be sedentarised and diversified. Simultaneously, others argue for their wholesale protection.

Full text of the Convention to Combat Desertification, which was elaborated by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INCD) and signed in June 1994.Also available from the CCD WWW site in French and English

This report reviews the experience and outcomes of the funding by International Financial Institutions (IFIs) of projects in the extractive industries. It presents short case studies of experiences in the Philippines, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Romania, Colombia, Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, which then uses to make recommendations.