Subject: FAO Sustainable Development Dimensions update

'Sustainable Development Dimensions', the Internet service of the=20
Sustainable Development Department, Food and Agriculture Organization (FA=
O),=20
has been updated. Our URL is:=20
http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/sustdev/welcome_.htm

New information added as of June 1997 is as follows:

EARTH SUMMIT+5
   The UN General Assembly meets in a Special Session from 23 to 27 June =
to=20
assess progress in implementation of Agenda 21, the programme adopted by =
the=20
1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Last month we published Earth Summit=
+5:=20
Progress on the road from Rio, a series of eight FAO progress reports=20
describing the challenges addressed by Agenda 21, progress since the Eart=
h=20
Summit, key issues to be resolved and future directions. This month, we p=
ost=20
the French and Spanish versions: Sommet Plan=E8te Terre+5 and Cumbre del=20
Planeta Tierra+5

DIMENSION: PEOPLE
   In 'Women and Population' this month, Alain Marcoux questions the=20
'oft-repeated statement' that 70 percent of the world's poor are women. F=
rom=20
a review of recent statistics, Marcoux concludes that 'there is no feasib=
le=20
scenario to support the claim. However, that gender bias in poverty does =
not=20
reach the very high levels sometimes attributed to it does not mean that =
it=20
is not real or growing. The first need appears to be to document its=20
magnitude and trends in a larger number of settings.' See 'The feminizati=
on=20
of poverty: facts, hypotheses and the art of advocacy'. In Resources, we=20
publish the Final report of the joint FAO/IPGRI Workshop on incorporating=
=20
gender-sensitive approaches into plant genetic resources conservation, an=
d=20
details of a new Project on gender, biodiversity and local knowledge syst=
ems=20
in Southern Africa. Also in Resources: details of a 'Global workshop: fro=
m=20
farmer to planner and back' to be held in December 1997, a Summary of FAO=
=20
activities for women in development in Asia/Pacific, and News archives fo=
r=20
1997 and 1996.
    'People's Participation' features one of the papers presented at a=20
recent  FAO roundtable on the integration of disabled people in agricultu=
re=20
and agro-industry. In 'Motor disabled people in the agricultural and rura=
l=20
sector', Cambodia, Marc Bonnet reports on the marginalization of the=20
country's rural disabled, particularly the estimated 40,000 amputees (up =
to=20
200 people lose limbs to landmines each month). We plan to publish severa=
l=20
of the workshop papers as a Special here in mid-July - in the meantime, w=
e=20
post the summaries of 10 papers. Elsewhere, John Rouse describes strategi=
es=20
developed by the FAO People's Participation Programme for 'Financing smal=
l=20
farmer groups'. SD hopes to enrich that experience through a proposed=20
cross-cultural review in Africa and Asia of Saving forms of the rural poo=
r.=20
In Resources, we also publish a detailed report by Angelo Bonfiglioli on=20
'Participation and grass-roots organizations' in integrated range and=20
livestock development in Balochistan, Pakistan, and News archives for 199=
7=20
and 1996.

DIMENSION: INSTITUTIONS
   Lots happening in 'Land Tenure' lately. As part of its ongoing analysi=
s=20
of land markets in Latin America and Eastern Europe, SD's Land Tenure=20
Service commissioned a paper on the subject from Carolina Trivelli, a=20
researcher at the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos in Lima. We publish=20
highlights from her paper in 'Agricultural land prices'. (Next month, we'=
ll=20
publish Trivelli's analysis of land markets and prices in the Central=20
European Free Trade Agreement countries). In 'Land credit for the rural=20
poor', Javier Molina questions whether 'policies aimed at clearing=20
transaction costs and distortions from land markets - and removing tenure=
=20
security constraints - are sufficient to secure or enhance the poor's acc=
ess=20
to land". In our 'Land Tenure Forum', we post the Intermediate report of =
the=20
recent FAO Seminar on private and public sector cooperation in national l=
and=20
tenure development in Eastern and Central Europe - there's also a newly=20
posted workshop paper on 'Land ownership and land utilization in Hungary'=
.=20
In Resources, Melina Archer reports on Development of the FAO land confli=
ct=20
map/data base. You'll also find there Land Tenure News archives for 1997 =
and=20
1996.
    In the domain 'Rural Administration and Cooperatives' this month, we=20
 publish extracts from a new report on poverty, land abandonment and rura=
l=20
institutions in China. Produced by the Ministry of Agriculture in=20
collaboration with FAO's Rural Development Division, the report examines=20
'Options for further reform in China's farmland system', concluding that=20
'clearly defining collective ownership and strengthening the farmers'=20
land-managing rights are both indispensable for establishing a sound land=
=20
system'. In Resources, we post details of a major Technical consultation =
on=20
decentralization sponsored by FAO, IFAD and World Bank. Scheduled for=20
December, the consultation will bring together policy-makers, practitione=
rs=20
and academics from the developed and developing world to review the impac=
t=20
of decentralization on various dimensions of rural development, including=
=20
food security, poverty reduction and natural resources management. Also i=
n=20
Resources: News archives for 1997 and 1996.

DIMENSION: KNOWLEDGE
   This month 'Research and Technology Development' launches a major new =
FAO=20
training manual for management of agricultural research institutes in=20
developing countries. An extract, 'Toward a worldwide agricultural resear=
ch=20
management programme' describes the dimensions of the challenge: 'There w=
ere=20
about 115,000 agricultural scientists in developing economies in 1990 and=
=20
all of them would benefit from an introduction to agricultural research=20
project management. Clearly, the only feasible option under the=20
circumstances is to train the trainers'. For an outline of the new=20
publication, see Resources: 'Management of agricultural research - traini=
ng=20
manual'. Also in Resources: details of an FAO/SPAAR project: impact of=20
foreign assistance on agricultural research (also in French), a report on=
=20
'Universities and national agricultural research in Egypt, Jordan, Morocc=
o,=20
Sudan and Tunisia' drawn from a recent FAO study (see introduction and ta=
ble=20
of contents), plus News archives for 1997 and 1996.
    'Extension and Education' carries details of a Workshop series on=20
privatization of agriculture in the Czech Republic. University teaching=20
staff and students from Central and Eastern Europe, Western Europe and No=
rth=20
America will meet to discuss how agricultural economics is being taught a=
t=20
university level and identify changes needed as countries move from=20
centrally-planned to market-driven economies. FAO's FAO Research, Extensi=
on=20
and Training Division also announces a new, updated edition of its=20
'Directory of Agricultural Education and Training Institutions in Central=
=20
and Eastern Europe'. The directory provides essential data, including=20
enrolment figures, for 127 institutions in 15 countries, ranging from the=
=20
Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania, to the Biotechnical Faculty o=
f=20
Slovenia's University of Ljubljana. We post the directory's Foreword and=20
table of contents and details for obtaining a copy. Resources now hosts N=
ews=20
archives for 1997 and 1996.
    In 'Communication for Development' this month, Philippe Van der=20
Stichele, of SD's Extension, Education and Communication Service, introdu=
ces=20
the report of a Workshop to promote food security through rural connectiv=
ity=20
and the Internet, held in Zimbabwe in February 1997. Sponsored by IDRC, F=
AO,=20
SADC and the University of Guelph, Canada, the workshop was attended by a=
=20
cross-section of organizations working with rural communities in Mozambiq=
ue,=20
Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It's major output was a propo=
sal=20
for an integrated pilot programme for participatory rural connectivity in=
=20
Southern Africa. We also post details of a new FAO training kit, 'Artists=
 as=20
experts' (including guide, diskettes, video) that describes using songs,=20
dances, theatre plays, poems and other forms of cultural expression to=20
communicate on a wide variety of rural development issues. News archives =
for=20
1997 and 1996 are also available.

DIMENSION: ENVIRONMENT
   'Environmental Information' provides insights into the role of satelli=
tes=20
in detecting and monitoring cultivation of illicit narcotic crops, such a=
s=20
opium poppy and coca. FAO gained experience in this application of remote=
=20
sensing technology through UNDCP-funded projects in Afghanistan and Leban=
on.=20
SD's Environment and Natural Resources Service recently conducted a desk=20
study on UNDCP's behalf to evaluate the potential and limitations of the=20
approach. In our Resources section, we post the major findings of the stu=
dy,=20
'Evaluation of commercial remotely sensed data for assessment of illicit=20
narcotic crops', and details for obtaining a copy. Also in Resources: a=20
briefing on the Projet r=E9gional de gestion et d'information environneme=
ntale=20
for natural resources monitoring in the Congo Basin countries, and News=20
archives for 1997 and 1996.
    Last, but never least, 'Energy for Development' presents the full=20
programme of the International conference on sustainable agriculture for=20
food, energy and industry, to be held at the Federal Agricultural Researc=
h=20
Centre in Braunschweig, Germany from 22-28 June. Organized with FAO's=20
European Sustainable Rural Environment and Energy Network, the conference=
=20
aims at 'offering a platform for the exchange and evaluation of experienc=
e,=20
as well as the initiation of strategies for sustainability'. A special pa=
nel=20
discussion on 'Energizing the food production chain to promote food=20
security' is planned by FAO. Additions to our Resources section include a=
=20
report on a 'System approach to biogas technology' in Nepal drawn from=20
'Biogas technology - a training manual for extension' co-published by FAO=
=20
(see Introduction). We also post the reports of the World Energy Council'=
s=20
Electrification and non-electricity working groups, which met at FAO in R=
ome=20
in May 1997. We have archived News items for 1997 and 1996.

Next update: mid-July 1997
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