Governance and policy blog posts | Page 7 | Water, Land and Ecosystems

Blog Post
Blog Post
November 16, 2015
Has capitalism captured conservation?
United Nations climate negotiations will be critical for the future of the planet, right? There is no time to lose. We need less politics, and more action. Well, not so fast, maybe
- Fred Pearce
2 comments
Big Question
November 16, 2015
What would it take to strengthen women's land rights?
The evidence base is growing: strengthening women’s land rights contributes to women’s empowerment and household welfare. But it isn’t that simple - there are always vested interests to protect the status quo along with the additional issues of navigating gender norms. How can we improve women's land tenure? Join the discussion
- Ruth Meinzen-Dick
8 responses
Blog Post
Blog Post
October 19, 2015
Common land: the fightback starts here
For most Westerners, the idea of common lands conjures up images of English village greens or abandoned wasteland. But in much of the developing world, they are the lifeblood of hundreds of millions of people, sources of sustenance and spirituality, of wealth and welfare.
- Fred Pearce
Blog Post
Blog Post
October 15, 2015
Setting the record straight: Matrilineal does not equal matriarchal
Matrilineal societies are often mistakenly connected with female empowerment. But in light of Rural Women’s Day (October 15), as an anthropologist, I feel the need to raise a red flag.
- Liza Debevec
World Food Day and International Day of Rural Women
2 comments
Blog Post
Blog Post
September 21, 2015
Water flows through the SDGs
Just over a year ago, delegates from the United Nations produced the first agreed set of Sustainable Development Goals for the world. Among the SDGs, which are meant to end poverty and sustainably steward the earth's natural resources, the critical role of water has repeatedly emerged during the negotiations.
- Peter McCornick
2 comments
Blog Post
Blog Post
September 17, 2015
Spelling out soil for the SDGs
Soil, and what it means for human survival, hasn’t gotten this much attention since the 1970s and 1980s. But as soils return to the high tables of policymaker, who will be the winners? Fertiliser companies or smallholders? Land grabbers or the hungry?
- Fred Pearce
Blog Post
Blog Post
September 14, 2015
What can WLE learn from the Pope’s Encyclical?
Pope Francis' 'Laudato Si' encyclical has gained a considerable amount of attention over the past few weeks. Not a single international conference on climate change or development has gone without referencing the Pope’s landmark piece
- Alain Vidal
Podcast
Blog Post
September 07, 2015
Working together for a better Kachin landscape
Today we head to Northern Myanmar where filmmaker Douglas Varchol reports from the field. Varchol joins a research team from the project on "Working together for a better Kachin landscape.”
- Douglas Varchol
1 comment
Blog Post
Blog Post
August 30, 2015
Key to transboundary water management: Treat basins like communities
Managing transboundary river basins is a huge challenge. Even if there are no overt tensions between countries, local communities and national governments tend to act out of self-interest.
- Mia Signs
Stockholm World Water Week 2015: Water for Development
Blog Post
Blog Post
July 19, 2015
Irrigation needs forgotten at #Fin4Dev
The draft outcome document from the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa rightly mentions that efforts to end hunger and malnutrition need to be scaled up and that ecosystems need to be protected for the benefit of all. Irrigation, however, is not mentioned at all.
- Claudia Ringler
1 comment
Blog Post
Blog Post
July 09, 2015
Researchers propose better way to invest in the SDGs
What information is needed to make better development decisions? Which set of interventions will maximize a nation’s capacity to meet the new Sustainable Development Goals and how will we measure progress?
- Abby Waldorf
Blog Post
Blog Post
July 07, 2015
Progress to Paris: climate change or climate coverage?
How will the world’s poor farmers be helped to adapt to oncoming climate change? What will prevent the rural inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa from starving as their crops shrivel in the predicted mega-droughts? The answer, apparently, is insurance.
- Fred Pearce