This book provides a unique set of case studies summarising recent developing country experiences of developing and implementing national sustainable development strategies (NSDSs). These are based directly on the work of country teams that facilitated multi-stakeholder dialogues on NSDSs.

Burkina Faso’s economy is based on agriculture, livestock, and forestry. Land is the mainstay of economic activity, particularly in rural areas, and it is a determining factor in the cohesion of rural communities and vital to the country’s development. Assured access to land is the first condition for encouraging increased productivity and investment in rural activities, which is why security of tenure has been one of the main concerns of those involved in development work over the last two decades. Adverse climatic conditions and increased human activity have reduced the cultivable land area, so pressure on land has become increasingly acute in many parts of the country. This paper looks at how to integrate land tenure issues into development policy and strategy by looking at the problems raised by changing approaches to development and examining the land tenure issues which may hinder more sustainable production.

Durban's Local Agenda 21 programme has been at the forefront of the Local Agenda 21 movement in Southern Africa since the mid-1990s. This paper describes the first four phases of the programme, 1994-2001 and the difficulties faced in localising the sustainable development concept in Durban, in particular the initiation and development of the programme during a period of local government transformation and restructuring.

This paper examines the organisation and functioning of state-sponsored fruit and vegetables farmers’ markets in selected urban centres of Tamil Nadu. The study assessed actual and potential contributions to more viable livelihoods for small and marginal farmers, and to increased food security for low-income urban groups.

This includes case studies of how globalization is affecting Karachi, Luanda, Buenos Aires, Windhoek and cities in Pacific Asia and influencing social exclusion in Johannesburg and Faisalabad. It also has papers on the evasion of corporate responsibility in Bhopal and on the role of cities and city-networks in globalization.

This Working Paper examines the processes, challenges and lessons that can be learnt from the Local Agenda 21 programme in Nakuru, Kenya, where rapid population growth and falling standards of service provision have prompted the local authority to adopt LA21 as a new approach to urban planning and management.