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101. Enhancing Access to Justice in Uganda's Forestry Sector: A Comparative Study of Uganda and Tanzania

Author:
Ronald Naluwairo and Anna Amumpiire
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Abstract:
This is a comparative analysis of access to justice in the forestry sector in Uganda and Tanzania. Although the concept of access to justice is broad and encompasses many aspects, this study focused on only four aspects namely: (i) tenure rights of forestadjacent communities; (ii) access to forestry information; (iii) liability for forestry harm; and (iv) courts as forest dispute settlement mechanisms. The analysis reveals that although Uganda is strong in some areas, it is generally weak with respect to many issues of access to justice that were examined. Although Tanzania was also found to be generally weak on issues of access to justice as examined, it offers some lessons for improving access to justice in Uganda’s forestry sector.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Justice, and Forestry
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, and Tanzania

102. Africa Climate Change Resilience Alliance: Phase 2 Synthesis Evaluation

Author:
Aristides Baloi, John Colvin, and Mutizwa Mukute
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
ACCRA, which began implementing its programme in Mozambique, Uganda and Ethiopia in 2009, works with national and local governments and civil society groups in the countries where its programmes are implemented to tackle complex climate change issues and work towards increasing community adaptive capacities, transforming governance systems and achieving climate justice. This evaluation of phase 2 of the programme used a participatory, reflexive and theory-informed methodology to assess the extent to which the programme objectives were met. Also available are case studies on Mozambique and Uganda; see downloads on this page.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Environment, and Governance
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, Mozambique, and Ethiopia

103. Water Management in the Nile Basin: A Fragmented but Effective Cooperative Regime

Author:
Bart Hilhorst
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS), Georgetown University in Qatar
Abstract:
Ongoing expansions of hydro-infrastructure in the Nile basin, combined with infrastructure completed in the past decade, are increasing the capacity to regulate the Nile as well as the benefits accrued to the Nile waters. No longer reliant on funding from the World Bank and Western donors alone, Nile water development is accelerating in a number of upstream riparian states. Hence, the river Nile upstream of the Aswan High Dam is gradually being transformed from a natural to a regulated river. Hydro-infrastructure projects represent a strong driver for issue-based cooperation among the most affected riparians, but it is noted that the basin- wide perspective is not considered in these ad hoc arrangements. This paper describes the emerging cooperative regime in the Nile basin and analyzes its effectiveness. It presents an inventory of where cooperation among Nile riparians is needed, and discusses the required level of cooperation. It looks at the benefits of cooperation that are not related to a specific geographic area. The paper then identifies four distinct sub-basins that have substantial autonomy in managing their water resources. It concludes that the emerging cooperative setup is logical and for now quite effective, and does not lock in arrangements that may prove inconsistent—at a later point in time—with the overall objective of reasonable and equitable use of the Nile waters by each riparian state. Hence, the emerging cooperative regime arguably represents a positive step in the evolution from a basin without cooperation to a basin managed to optimize the use of the Nile waters for the benefit of its people.
Topic:
Environment and Climate Finance
Political Geography:
Africa and Egypt

104. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE AS WE ENTER THE ANTHROPOCENE

Author:
David Hunter
Publication Date:
02-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternative Politics
Institution:
Department of International Relations, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
Abstract:
This paper presents an overview of the current state of global environmental governance with an eye toward highlighting the challenges that are presented by the scale and speed of environmental change that we are now witnessing. The scale of anthropogenic environmental change has led to what many now dub the Anthropocene - reflecting that humanity is changing our natural planetary systems in ways that have fundamental implications on a geologic scale. It also harkens in an era when humanity will be called on to consciously manage on a planetary level massive environmental change and the economic and social impacts that arise from this change.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, International Cooperation, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and North America

105. Socio-Economic Effects of Chinese Agricultural Investments on the Environment and Local Livelihoods in Uganda

Author:
Ramathan Ggoobi and Julian Barungi
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Abstract:
7he nature and signifcance of &hinaȺs engagePents with $frican agriculture continues to be hotly debated in the media, academia and policy circles around the world. Although China has been engaged in Uganda’s agriculture for more than 40 years, the recent jostle for agricultural land by private Chinese investors is Pystifying and Mustifes the need to conduct a scientifc study to provide clear evidence before the issue gets bundled into the messy anecdotal media inquiry. 7he priPary oEMective of this study was to profle &hinese investPents in Uganda’s agriculture sector and establish their socio-economic effects on the environment and local livelihoods. The analysis was done on the basis of the 6ustainaEle 5ural /ivelihood $pproach 6858/$ which uses fve key criteria for the analysis of sustainable livelihoods i.e. gainful employment; poverty reduction; well-being and capabilities; livelihood adaptation, vulnerability and resilience; and natural resource base sustainability.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Environment, Investment, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, China, and Asia

106. Let Them Eat Coal: Why the G7 must stop burning coal to tackle climate change and fight hunger

Author:
Kiri Hanks and Julie-Anne Richards
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Climate change is already the biggest threat to winning the fight against hunger. Coal is the biggest single cause of climate change, yet the G7 countries are still burning huge amounts, despite efficient, affordable, renewable alternatives being available. G7 coal power stations emit twice as much fossil fuel CO2 as the whole of Africa, and their contribution to global warming will cost Africa alone more than $43bn per year by the 2080s and $84bn by 2100, and lead to several million tonnes of staple crops lost worldwide. This year will see crucial new UN climate talks in Paris. To set the tone for a successful climate agreement at the UN talks in December, the G7 must lead the world in setting out clear plans for a just transition away from coal. This Oxfam briefing paper shows how with the right mix of regulatory and policy measures, some countries can move to coal-free electricity grids within the next decade. Oxfam commissioned the think-tank E3G to review the current coal situation in all G7 countries.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, United Nations, Hunger, and Coal
Political Geography:
Africa

107. David Martin Jones, Nicholas Khoo and MLR Smith, Asian Security and the Rise of China: International Relations in an Age of Volatility

Author:
Dylan Kissane
Publication Date:
02-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
If there is one issue in contemporary international relations that continues to provoke interest in academic and policy making circles alike it is how states, regions and the world should react to a rising China. While the influence of the People's Republic is being felt from Africa and the Global South through to the developed economies of North America and Europe, it is in East Asia where a re-emerging China has most focused the minds of diplomats and strategists, leaders and scholars and, indeed, the military men and women who must navigate this increasingly precarious great power polity. Within this East Asian context this new volume by David Martin Jones, Nicholas Khoo and MLR Smith delivers thoughtful and attentive analysis to the problem of responding to China's rise. The book is neither a historical account of the rise of China, though it does offer sufficient historical contextualisation for the reader, or another collection of prescriptive policy suggestions, though there are clear conclusions made about which regional and state strategies have best dealt with the rise of the Sinic superpower. Instead, this book is a theoretically informed, consistently argued and well written account of how states in a broadly defined East Asia have and continue to react to the changing security environment that confronts them in the first decades of the twenty-first century.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Economics, and Environment
Political Geography:
Africa, China, America, and Asia

108. Curbing Violence in Nigeria (III): Revisiting the Niger Delta

Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Violence in the Niger Delta may soon increase unless the Nigerian government acts quickly and decisively to address long-simmering grievances. With the costly Presidential Amnesty Program for ex-insurgents due to end in a few months, there are increasingly bitter complaints in the region that chronic poverty and catastrophic oil pollution, which fuelled the earlier rebellion, remain largely unaddressed. Since Goodluck Jonathan, the first president from the Delta, lost re-election in March, some activists have resumed agitation for greater resource control and self-determination, and a number of ex-militant leaders are threatening to resume fighting (“return to the creeks”). While the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East is the paramount security challenge, President Muhammadu Buhari rightly identifies the Delta as a priority. He needs to act firmly but carefully to wind down the amnesty program gradually, revamp development and environmental programs, facilitate passage of the long-stalled Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and improve security and rule of law across the region.
Topic:
Security, Political Violence, Development, Environment, Oil, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

109. A Sign of Things to Come? Examining four major climate-related disasters, 2010–2013, and their impacts on food security

Author:
Coghlan Christopher, Muzammil Maliha, Ingram John, Vervoort Joost, Otto Friederike, and James Rachel
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
From 2010 to 2013 the world experienced a number of extreme weather events, several of which were notable for their intensity, duration, and impacts on livelihoods and food security. This report focuses on four case studies – a heat wave in Russia, flooding in Pakistan, drought in East Africa, and a typhoon in the Philippines – that represent a range of extreme weather. It analyses the impact of these extreme weather events on food security, by considering when and why threats emerge. This involves characterization of the weather events, examination of the vulnerable groups affected, and analysis of livelihoods and the role of governance and capital.
Topic:
Security, Climate Change, Environment, and Food
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Africa, Russia, and Philippines

110. Why Maintaining Tropical Forests Is Essential and Urgent for a Stable Climate

Author:
Rosa C. Goodman and Martin Herold
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
Tropical forests have the highest carbon density and cover more land area than forests in any other biome. They also serve a vital role as a natural buffer to climate change ―capturing 2.2–2.7 Gt of carbon per year. Unfortunately, tropical forests, mangroves, and peatlands are also subjected to the highest levels of deforestation and account for nearly all net emissions from Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) (1.1–1.4 Gt C / year). Net emissions from FOLU accounted for only 11% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions or 14% of total carbon emissions in 2010, though these figures are somewhat misleading and do not reflect the full potential of tropical forests to mitigate climate change. First, net FOLU emissions have reduced only slightly while emissions from all other sectors have skyrocketed. Secondly, the FOLU net flux is made up of two larger fluxes —deforestation emissions (2.6–2.8 Gt C / year) minus sequestration from forest regrowth (1.2–1.7 Gt C / year). Additionally, intact tropical forests also appear to be capturing at least 1.0 Gt C/ year. Gross deforestation, therefore, accounts for over a quarter of all carbon emissions, and tropical forests have removed 22–26% of all anthropogenic carbon emissions in the 2000s. If deforestation were halted entirely, forests were allowed to regrow, and mature forests were left undisturbed, tropical forests alone could have captured 25–35% of all other anthropogenic carbon emissions. On the other hand, if climate change continues unabated, forests could turn from net sinks to net sources of carbon. Forestrelated activities are among the most economically feasible and cost-effective mitigation strategies, which are important for both short- and long-term mitigation strategies. Action is needed immediately to utilize these natural mitigation solutions, and we need coordinated and comprehensive forest-related policies for mitigation. An international mechanism such as REDD+ is essential to realize the great natural potential for tropical forests to stabilize the climate.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, and Reform
Political Geography:
Africa, South Asia, and Latin America