One of the biggest challenges predicted to affect food security in Africa is climate change. Due to the fact that 95 percent of Africa’s agriculture is rainfed, the already fragile agricultural sector is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Highertemperatures and an increased frequency of extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, eventually lead to a decline in agricultural output.
This publication gives a look at the status quo of public climate change finance. Then it proposes the use of existing core principles and tools of international environmental law and human rights as the fundamental conceptual guide and compass for charting policy responses to climate change that are rooted in the concept of justice and fairness.
The 2009 Annual Conference titled, “Somaliland Facing Challenges of free and Fair Elections”, provided a useful forum to take stock of developments around Somaliland democracy within the previous year. It allowed discussions for Somaliland’s democratization process, the challenges of free and fair elections, and newly emerging issues.
East Africa prepares to adapt to climate change. Three studies - on Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda - provide information on policies, institutions and actors addressing adaptation issues and identify governance challenges in climate change adaptation in the region.
This issue of Perspectives sheds light on successes and challenges of various multi-stakeholder initiatives aimed at improving resource governance in Africa - namely the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme in Zimbabwe, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Initiative, and the Publish What You Pay Coalition in Tanzania.
As the six-year transitional period defined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement draws to a close, Sudan is sliding into another crisis. The Heinrich Böll Foundation, which has been working both with civil society partners in Sudan and on Sudan-related issues in the German context for several years, has put together this publication in order to reflect on such scenarios.
The large-scale violence that erupted in Kenya after the controversial 27th December 2007 general elections was no single major explosion. Different parts of the country were affected in very different ways. While many parts of Kenya were burning, the Coast Province remained relatively calm, despite the longstanding history of socio-political tension and even violent conflict in this part of the country.
The destruction of tropical forests contributes 15-20% to the greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activity. Initiatives to reduce deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) are widely considered vital to mitigate climate change. However, they carry considerable risks, if not designed properly.
