This discussion paper presents the results of a study on pastoral institution building and resource management in the West Africa Sahel. The study was part of a program of research into the future directions of livestock production, agricultural development, and resource management in sub-Saharan Africa. The study describes the experiences and lessons that have emerged from the implementation of on-going projects assisted by the World Bank, designed to develop pastoral associations in Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. The findings indicate that the formation and operation of pastoral associations must still be regarded as a pilot development activity, although valuable lessons and recommendations can be deduced, even at this early stage. The challenge is now to incorporate these lessons and recommendations in the design of future projects that aim to establish viable sustainable pastoral institutions and resource management activities.

Through a number of case studies from the West African Sahel, this book links and explores natural resources management from the perspectives of politics, property and production.

Within the field of management of natural resources, this book focuses on the various approaches of policy formulation and implementation. The question central to this book is how to co-operate with people, the various categories of residents as well as non-residents, in the rural areas: in a top-down, a participatory or a contractual (co-management) way. On the basis of a comparative analysis of 12 case studies in the book, these three approaches are thoroughly discussed and their internal and external constraints examined. The book starts with an editorial chapter, discussing the recent administrative and political developments in Africa as well as the new opportunities, which they offer for policies in the field of environment, and development. The question is brought up whether the recent processes of decentralization, democratization, and empowerment of local organizations have indeed created new opportunities or that they have only superficially changed the political culture of the countries concerned. In the concluding chapter of the book, the approaches are contrasted to each other as logical models, each with its own potentiality and limitations. Conclusions are formulated why the top down approach must result in improvization to escape from failure, and why the participatory approach risks to end up into a mixed balance. Special attention is given to the conditions and the prospects for the contractual or co-management approach, which has been introduced into Africa only recently. Under certain conditions, this approach seems rather promising.

This study describes a strategy to reduce poverty by boosting labor productivity and economic growth. It focuses on Uganda's two key sectors, agriculture and industry. The strategy seeks to make Uganda a self-sufficient food producer and a major crop exporter. It also advocates policies that would make the nation less dependent on imports and better at marketing its own products. Some suggestions include ways to improve labor markets, raise agricultural output, and broaden the tax base. Other recommendationsdiscuss ways to develop the financial sector and spur savings and investment. Also examined are the government's economic adjustment policies and their effects on the poor. Analysts point out the different ways that poverty affects men and women. The study also discusses how to increase public funds for social services that would improve the labor force. It recommends policies that will help women become full partners in Uganda's development. Tables and other illustrations throughout the text provide detailed statistics on Uganda's economic status. Topics include crop yields, poverty indicators, gross domestic product, and public sector expenses.

China has done much to reform its price system, achieve macroeconomic stability, and restore growth. Nevertheless, price distortions remain in three key areas. This study suggests further price reforms for the energy, grain, and transport sectors. It explains why energy price adjustments should have only a modest effect on consumer prices, but a highly positive effect on the economy. It discusses why China may have to reduce consumer subsidies to achieve the necessary reforms for grain prices. The study describes what the government must do to strengthen commodity markets, generate competition, and make allowances for seasonal price variations. China's transport sector has been a critical development bottleneck. The paper reviews tariff adjustments and other reforms that would modernize the transport system and help it meet growing demand. These reforms also would encourage energy conservation and help integrate the national economy.

Development experts make misjudgments or are adversely pressured by funding concerns. Programs are unevaluated and unaccountable to donors, perpetuating themselves long after they're proved ineffective or inefficient. And throughout the book, Reusse demonstrates the principal systemic flaw: unrealistic interventionist paradigms - that is, Western notions of Third World realities that misidentify needs for intervention - at the root of most inappropriate development policies. The problems continue to this day."

This is the first collection of its kind. It presents a critical political economy of the agrarian question in post-apartheid South Africa, informed by the results of research undertaken since the transition from apartheid started in 1990. The articles, by well-known South African, British and American scholars, cover a variety of topical theoretical, empirical and policy issues, firmly rooted in an historical perspective.

Environmentally Sustainable Development Proceedings Series No. 10. Presents the proceedings of the World Bank's Third Annual Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Development, held in October 1995. The conference included roundtable discussions, a variety of speakers, and associated conferences and events co-sponsored by nongovernmental organizations and other institutions.

For 25 years, population growth has outpaced increases in agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa. The lack of food and the degradation of agricultural land have forced policymakers to reassess agricultural strategies for the region. This paper provides such a reassessment by identifying policies and investments that have worked and those that have not. The author sets out the common elements required for agricultural and rural development throughout the region. The strategy presented in this paper comprises elements from several development sectors, including transport, water supply, education, finance, and the environment. The author makes five broad recommendations to promote Region: adoption of policies to promote private sector farming and agricultural marketing, processing, and credit development and distribution of new technologies inclusion of farmers in decisions affecting their livelihood development of infrastructure and social programs in support of agriculture improved management of natural resources Projections of the likely effects of the proposed policies and investments are included. Tables throughout the text present statistics on agricultural growth rates, commodity prices, and deforestation in the region. An annex contains more general tables, with information on population growth and fertility rates, land use, agricultural exports, and droughts. The strategies suggested in this paper will be of interest to policymakers, academics, and to development practitioners involved in African agriculture.