In 1992, the Government of Mexico initiated a new national water law which decentralised water resources management and allowed the market transfer of water-use concessions between individual irrigators. These reforms were expected to improve water resources management through greater user participation in irrigation management, as well as to increase irrigators’ incentives to improve water-use efficiency. At the time of its proposal the 1992 Federal Water Law was considered to be the first step in the establishment of limited water markets. This paper addresses the opportunities and constraints to improved water resource use and allocation through the market incentives that result from transferable water-use permits. The paper reviews water allocation institutions in Mexico and provides case studies of water allocation and decision-making.

The private sector is an increasingly dominant player in the production of wood, and the market is the main way in which wood products are distributed. Yet, for other forest goods and services such as non-timber forest products, biodiversity, and carbon storage, markets are often not effective. Worse, government and policy failures mean that the private sector's wood production activities often degrade the production base for these non-wood benefits. ~This paper reviews varied experiences of privatisation processes, and recent lessons of regulatory, civil society and market-based instruments that affect the private sector from both supply-side and demand-side angles. It provides an overview of the main mechanisms and instruments for improving the sustainability of private sector forest management, and sets out an agenda for research and discussion.

This report, commissioned by the UN for the five year review of the Earth Summit in 1997, presents 10 case studies of producers in developing countries who had benefited from moves towards sustainable consumption in their export markets. Examples are drawn from the agriculture, forestry, manufacturing and tourism sectors from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.

1. Assessing pollution from tannery effluents in a South Indian village - K. Anbalagan, G. Karthikeyan and N. Narayanasamy. ~2. Participatory action research for a small industries promotion programme - Torsten Striepke. ~3. Participatory concept mapping to understand perceptions of urban malnutrition - Dan Maxwell, Margaret Armar-Klemesu, Lucy Brakohiapa and James Annorbah-Sarpeil. ~4. Visualisation as a platform for entry into dialogue with farmers - Ueli Scheuermeier and Elias T. Ayuk. ~5. Using participatory appraisal methods to review a sanitation and hygiene programme in Southern Niger - Christine van Wijk. ~ Special Issue: Participation and fishing communities: ~6. Addressing the challenges of fisheries development - Marie-Thérèse Sarch. ~7. Mapping change in time and space: floodplain fishing communities in Nigeria - David Thomas and Mamuda Musa Danjaji. ~8. Participatory methods for community-based coastal resource management - Gregory C. Ira. ~9. Customary marine tenure in the South Pacific: the uses and challenges of mapping - Philip Townsley, James Anderson and Chris Mees. ~10. Investigating systems of fisheries access along the River Benue in Nigeria - Marie-Thérèse Sarch, S.P.Madakan and B.L. Ladu. ~11. Local voices to the surface - Andy Inglis, Hugh Govan and Susan Guy. ~12. Participatory student research increases awareness of sustainable fisheries management - Ian G. Baird, Phongsavaht Kisouvannalat, Visay Inthaphaysi and Bounpheng Phvlaivanh. ~13. Getting fisherfolk off the hook: an exploratory PRA in Southern India - R. Ramesh, N. Narayanasamy and M. P. Boraian. ~14. Participatory group planning of a fish preservation project - Nembo Nkwentie. ~15. From invisible work to collective action: research and participation with women from the fishing communities of the Amazonian coast - Maria-Luzia Alvares and Maria-Cristina Maneschy. ~16. Participatory and integrated policy processes in small-scale fisheries - Jock Campbell and Philip Townsley. ~17. The lasting elements of PRA port profiles in Conakry, Guinea: lessons for sustainability - Jan Peter Johnson and Seny Camara. ~18. Feedback: Developing participation - Anil C. Shah with a response from Kudakwashe Murwira. ~19. Extracts: Getting your head above the water - S.T.S. Lepcha and K. J. Virgo. ~20. A brief guide to using exercises and games to enhance group dynamics. ~21. Tips for trainers.