Resources

Few studies of local knowledge focus on processing and marketing of farm produce which constitute an important source of income for rural households, and especially women. The author presents a case study of milk processing and marketing by Fulani women, in which their considerable knowledge of local market conditions and innovations as well as their limited knowledge of the linkages between the local and wider national economies are highlighted. The differences between æextractiveÆ and æenrichingÆ research are drawn on to explain why the study did not lead to institutional development in dairy planning, and to discuss the ethics
of wider dissemination of research results.

Introductory article to special edition of PLA notes focusing on methods that can be used to understand market opportunities.

By the end of the 1990s good governance (GG) was the new catch phrase in development and public policy circles. Good governance is increasingly viewed as a panacea to persisting problems of development and government. Donors, governments (central and local), academe, NGOs and other civil society groups are calling for GG as a requisite for making development programmes and interventions successful. This review examines indicators of local GG. It gives a historical background to GG and overviews the GG agenda. Emerging concepts of good governance are presented with specific references to different literature; and the way forwards towards a framework for defining GG is discussed, with focus on means toward good governance and decentralisation. Key measures of good governance are examined such as participation; new styles of leadership; accountability and transparency; capable public management in economic management, service delivery, sustainable natural resource management and fiscal administration; and respect for law and human rights. The author goes on to propose a manner of constructing a data base of indicators of GG: describing methodology and how to classify the indicators. This is followed by a discussion on who develops and who uses indicators of GG, and emerging issues in defining good local governance. The paper is concluded with some final remarks on the processes of measuring and defining GG.

This book explores the potential contribution of a human rights perspective to the development of policies and programmes that strengthen the sustainability of poor people's assets and livelihood security. A review of key elements in human rights, livelihoods and sustainable development debates identifies areas of common concern. This shows that concepts of livelihoods and sustainable development both require a stronger analysis of power relations, institutions and politics. A human rights framework provides an entry point for the analysis of asymmetries in power and the institutions which reinforce these unequal relations. A conceptual framework for the analysis of human rights dimensions of livelihoods is developed, supported by case study material. This operates at three levels - the normative, analytical and operational and includes such tools as a human rights and livelihoods matrix, a rights regime analysis, channels of contestation matrix and an entry point checklist. The authors argue that a rights and livelihoods perspective provides a more concrete understanding of social sustainability and sustainable development. The book concludes with two propositions for analysing social sustainability from a rights and livelihoods perspective.

The main objective of this paper is to assess existing and emerging economic tools in terms of their potential and limitations for assessing stakeholder incentives in Participatory forest management (PFM). It explores the debate between two schools of opinion as regards the application of economics to community-level forestry. On the one hand there are those who think economic analysis is inappropriate or tends to result in æspurious precisionÆ, and who feel that a more qualitative analysis is more appropriate and useful. And on the other hand are those who think that lack of more quantitative analysis and a failure to place realistic numbers on costs and benefits has proved a serious limitation on the design of effective PFM interventions. This paper also aims to explain economic concepts and jargon as clearly as possible for the non-economist reader.