Demand for palm oil is growing fast. Global production has doubled over the past ten years and is expected to double again in the next decade. This report provides a systematic overview of the main types of arrangements for smallholder palm oil production, and identies the most promising current options for improving practice, particularly in arrangements of smallholders with plantation companies and government agencies.

This paper shows that the stereotyped image of family farming as archaic and hide-bound is fase through presenting three family farms, in Ghana, Senegal and Mali. Like the case studies presented, throughout West Africa there are many examples of small-scale producers who have established economically viable farms And who are contributing to the sustainable management of local natural resources. This paper is part of IIEDs programme on the transformations in West African agriculture and the future of family farms.

In recent years, the "Botswana model" of rangeland policy has been heralded by many as a successful example of government intervention to improve the performance of the livestock sector. The simplicity of the theoretical assumptions underpinning the "model" (the so-called "tragedy of the commons" theory) and of the policy implications that it entails (privatisation of common rangelands), make Botswana’s experience an appealing example for policy makers and donor agencies alike across Africa.

The new edition of this classic student text provides an up-to-date and comprehensive view of the major environmental issues facing the world today, and is an essential introduction to the past, present and future impact of humans on Earth.

Are natural resources in the Sahel under threat? There is widespread concern that current management practices, conflict and competition jeopardise the future of natural resources. But this case study shows how growing awareness of pressure on grazing and farming land and how increasing conflicts between different user groups drove local actors to take steps to regulate access and use of these resources.

This book is designed to support professionals and people at large who both wish to understand collaborative management processes better and develop and enhance them in practice.  

This paper considers the position of women in the social dynamics regulating access to farmland by different members of Hausa households. How does Hausa society manage land ownership within households when changing dynamics and constant challenges from a range of factors require new mechanisms for land redistribution, which are subsequently accepted and recognised by everyone? Are the prevailing social rules influenced by population growth, the reduction in farmland caused by unfavourable ecological factors, and social and economic factors arising from the allocation of land for other priorities? Do these rules guarantee any kind of equity? Is there a point at which pressure on land is such that concerns about equity disappear and land is simply monopolized by the strongest group?