An integrated approach to climate change adaptation
It is now apparent that dealing with climate change is unavoidable. Nepal
LEISA
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Cultivating resilience: Lessons from the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka
Coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to climate change. They are affected by changes in sea-level and wave height, as well as changes in weather patterns. Some families with home gardens were better able to recover from the tsunami in Sri Lanka than others. Such resilience often depended on how well the home gardens were protected by trees.
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Adaptive agriculture in flood affected areas
Eastern Uttar Pradesh, in the foothills of the Nepal Himalayas, has been prone to floods for centuries. In the last 60 years, however, their frequency has increased dramatically. People living in the region have slowly developed ways to cope with the floods. These adaptive measures had not been documented until now.
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Villages join hands to combat land degradation
New legislation in India allows communities to take charge of degraded forest areas. One village claimed to have legal rights over a particular forest area. But users from neighbouring villages protested. An external NGO helped the communities to accept each other as legitimate forest users. Jointly, the villages are rehabilitating the area.
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Subsidised fertilizer: two views
In Malawi, the fifth poorest country in the world, the government introduced a voucher programme for small scale farmers, providing them access to subsidised fertilizer and seed. The country suddenly saw bumper harvests in both 2006 and 2007. Are fertilizer subsidies the way out of poverty for small scale farmers in Africa?
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Targeting women pays when promoting food security
In Nebbi district, Uganda, women and girls eat after men have filled their stomachs. A local NGO targets women to discuss nutritional values and cultural norms. Surprisingly, when approached with respect, both men and women are willing to review traditional practices and make sure all get enough food.
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Home gardens are within reach of marginalised people
In Nepal, development projects often focus on policy issues such as rights-based approaches, with less emphasis on livelihoods. The impact on the poor of such an approach is often not immediately visible. This article describes how an NGO helps rural households to start home gardening, independent from local landlords or far-away markets.
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Termites and mulch work together to rehabilitate soils
In semi arid areas such as the Sahelian zone of Africa, many oils have become severely degraded. One extreme form is the bare and crusted soil, which is virtually productively "dead". In Burkina Faso, farmers have responded by applying mulch to attract termites that then help to rehabilitate the soil. A research project shows the importance of termites in breaking up hardened soil and increasing water infiltration. The land became productive enough to farm within months.
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Traditional night-soil composting continues to bring benefits
Night-soil (human waste) has been considered a valuable agricultural resource since ancient times. When handled safely, its use can contribute to reducing soil degradation and water scarcity in the areas like the Lahaul valley. Despite such known benefits its use is now decreasing with modernisation. Recognising this, the G.B. Pant Institute in India has been taking steps to promote the use of night-soil as one of the organic farming practices promoted in the region.
