El manejo de los recursos naturales es rutinario para muchas personas, pero la mayoría de ellas no tiene la oportunidad de contribuir con las políticas e instituciones que rigen su uso. La iniciativa de las Herramientas de Poder apunta a eliminar este vacío. Coordinada por el IIED en asociación con ONGs e investigadores de políticas de África, Latinoamérica y Asia, la iniciativa desarrolla y comparte herramientas, tácticas y enfoques para asegurar una influencia en las políticas que lleve a cambios. La Caja de Recursos contiene Herramientas de Poder: manual para herramientas y recursos que influencien las políticas en el manejo de los recursos naturales y 26 tarjetas resumidas.

Land Registration in Western and Eastern Regions, Ghana assesses the process of rural land registration in Ghana and its outcomes for poor and marginalised groups. In Ghana, deeds registration has been in place since colonial times, and enables right holders to record their land transactions. However, very little rural land has actually been affected by this registration process. The research shows a general lack of awareness of the registration process among the majority of cash and food crop farmers. High monetary and transaction costs and a long and cumbersome process also constrain use of deeds registration. As a result, while farmers in both Western and Eastern Regions increasingly make use of written documents to secure their transactions, very few bother to register those documents with the deeds registry. On the other hand, deeds registration is commonly used by agribusiness, and by mining and timber companies acquiring interests in land. In other words, while the deeds registration system seems to cater for the needs of medium to large-scale enterprises, it does not respond to the needs of small holders. The ongoing land administration reform programme needs to address these issues in order to establish institutions and processes that secure the land rights of poorer and more vulnerable groups.

La gestion des ressources naturelles est une affaire de tous les jours pour bon nombre de gens mais la majorité d'entre eux n'ont pas l'occasion de contribuer aux politiques et aux institutions qui régissent leur usage. L'initiative des outils moteurs vise à combler cette lacune. Coordonnée par l'IIED en partenariat avec des ONG et des chercheurs en politiques d'Afrique, d'Amérique latine et d'Asie, l'initiative élabore et partage des outils, des tactiques et des approches permettant d'influer sur les politiques en faveur du changement. Le coffret-ressource contient le livret Outils Moteurs : Guide des outils et ressources pour influencer les politiques de gestion des ressources naturelles et 26 fiches récapitulatives.

Participatory Learning and Action 52 is a general issue. It includes a wide selection of articles, extracts and training tips from participatory practitioners around the world.

This special issue contains articles reflecting on experience, providing critical analysis, and suggesting ways forward - on the adaptation and application of tools in participatory action and learning in situations where participants must deal with more powerful institutions and individuals. These tools aim to help less powerful people achieve positive change in natural resource policy - through understanding, organisation, engagement, resistance and persistence.

The management of natural resources is routine for many people, but the majority do not have the opportunity to contribute to the policies and institutions that govern their use. The Power Tools initiative aims to close this gap. Coordinated by IIED in partnership with NGOs and policy researchers in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, the initiative develops and shares tools, tactics and approaches to ensure policy influence for change. The Resource Box contains the Power Tools: Handbook to a set of tools and resources to counter marginalisation in natural resource management and 26 reference cards. The Resource Box will be released in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish in late April 2005.

The focus of the workshop - and of this report - is on the policy and legislative challenges raised by the commons in an era where many vocal actors see privatisation as the only way forward. Such challenges are examined at different levels - local (e.g. local agreements for the shared management of natural resources), national (government policies, legislation), regional (protocols for the management of transboundary resources; treaties on cross-border transhumance) and international (e.g. the Convention on Bio-Diversity). Can policy and legal frameworks help secure the commons against resource grabbing by elites? If so, how can they best do it? How can they ensure equitable participation in benefits by and within local communities? What are the linkages between policy/legislative frameworks and local practice? The report covers the commons in both Africa and Europe.

In Bolivia, small farmers economic organisations (organizaviones ecόnomicas campesinas – OECs) are increasingly being talked about as actors that could play a key role in channelling proposals and programmes for sustainable agriculture, in the context of market liberalisation and globalisation.

This paper explores the nature and role of non-farm employment, access to urban markets and migration in the livelihoods of the residents of two villages in Vietnam’s Red River delta. The case study province, Ha Nam, presents many of the challenges that the region and the nation will need to address in the near future. With growing population density and land scarcity, poverty reduction and local economic growth will increasingly depend on the development of non-farm employment in the micro-enterprise sector and on increased productivity and access to markets for agriculture. At the same time, migration (especially temporary movement) and remittances will continue to play a key role in the province’s economic, social and cultural transformations.

In this edition, articles include:City-wide upgrading in Thailand; Finance for low-income housing in Central America; The framework for slum upgrading in Mumbai, India; Housing and citizenship in Sao Paulo, Brazil; A Church’s contribution to land redistribution in South Africa; The growing problem of forced evictions worldwide; A twin-track approach to improving the lives of slum dwellers; State and civil society in a Havana barrio, Cuba; Environmental management in Chiang Mai, Thailand; Water and sanitation in Moreno, Buenos Aires; Pro-poor governance in Bangalore’s public water sector.