SANREM CRSP is supported by the United States Agency for International Development and the generous support of the American people through Cooperative Agreement No. EPP-A-00-04-00013-00
The SANREM CRSP is managed by the Office of International Research, Education, and Development at Virginia Tech.
Winning the water war: Watersheds, water policies and water institutions. Agnes C. Rola, Herminia A. Francisco, and Jennifer P.T. Liguton, co-editors, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development , 2004.
There is a water crisis, which is aggravated by a flawed governance of water resources. There is a need to empower local government units and communities to address the water crisis. This book presents a holistic analysis of the water situation that focuses on supply and demand conditions as well as on the social, economic, legal and institutional context of the problem. It argues for watersheds as the appropriate planning unit for an integrated water resources management system. It recommends pluralism in the modes in water governance in the country that will enable local stakeholders…to evolve appropriate mechanisms in accordance with local social, political, economic and ecological realities. In sum, the book seeks innovative ways of trying to win the ‘water war’ or of dealing with water scarcity and its related concerns.
This book is not available digitally. It can be ordered from the Philippines Institute of Development Studies’ publications catalog. To request a copy of the catalog, e-mail publications@pidsnet.pids.gov.ph
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Recipes for Life. V. Nazarea, J. Camacho, and N. Parra (University of Georgia). Abya-Yala, Quito, Ecuador. 2006.
A recent increase in the younger generation’s exposure to modern language and culture has threatened the oral traditions of the people in the Cotacachi region of Ecuador. When SANREM began its work in the region, the Cotacachi people asked for help documenting beliefs, rituals, sayings, and recipes that had long been passed along by word of mouth. In response to their request, as well as a need to establish an understanding of the Cotacachi culture, researchers Virginia Nazarea, Juana Camacho, and Natalia Parra documented recipes, folk sayings, local customs, and folk cures for physical ailments, painting a picture of the rich cultural and oral heritage that has evolved in the region. Titled Recipes for Life, the book contains cures for such ailments as varicose veins, headaches, cough and cold, fevers, and liver pain; advice on childbirth and child rearing; explanations of cultural ceremonies and traditions; recipes for ritual and everyday foods; and sayings meant to guide each generation toward a better life. The book was written in three languages-Quechua, Spanish, and English-to connect with a universal audience and it illustrates SANREM’s efforts to embrace the distinct, yet common, elements that characterize project sites around the globe.
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Ecoagriculture: A Review and Assessment of its Scientific Foundations. Ecoagriculture Discussion Paper No. 1. L. Buck, T. Gavin, D. Lee, and N. Uphoff (Cornell University). Ecoagriculture Partners, Washington DC. 2004.
Continued population growth and urban expansion are reducing the availability per capita of land for agricultural purposes. Growing water scarcity is threatening agricultural production and creating challenges for farmers. As the severity of these problems increases, the world continues to demand that agriculture:
- feed the growing global population and reduce hunger;
- generate sustainable incomes and livelihoods;
- contribute to export growth strategies;
- reduce poverty; and
- support economic and social equity.
There is growing concern that current agricultural systems are not sustainable and may be contributing to the degradation of ecosystems that are important to humans and other species. Out of this concern comes an approach called ecoagriculture, which promotes sustainable solutions to global malnutrition and hunger while protecting and enhancing the natural resources used in food production and wildlife conservation. This work summarizes input from researchers worldwide, examines the scientific basis for ecoagriculture, and looks at its potential for future development.
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Conflict, Social Capital and Managing Natural Resources: A West African Case Study. Ed. K. Moore (Virginia Tech). CABI Publishing, Oxford, UK. 2005.
The Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (SANREM) Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP)-West Africa Project designed and implemented a program to develop and test an approach to address issues surrounding decentralization, conflict, and NRM. The driving force behind the approach is the need to find long-term solutions to complex natural resource management problems. In dealing with conflict over natural resources, it is important to implement short-term conflict resolution/management strategies, as well as address the underlying causes generating conflict situations. This book describes the SANREM Project approach, focusing on long-term consensus building, the provision of social infrastructure as a platform for change, and improved agricultural and natural resource technologies and decision making tools.
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Land Use Changes in Tropical Watersheds: Evidence, Causes and Remedies. Ed. I. Coxhead (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and G.E. Shively (Purdue University). CABI Publishing, Oxford, UK. 2005.
This book addresses land use change in tropical landscapes, with particular emphasis on the economic processes that influence rates of land degradation and forest clearing. Multidisciplinary contributions draw lessons from a rich, decade-long collection of economic, social, and environmental data on the Manupali watershed in the southern Philippines. Through this detailed case study the book documents forces leading to land use changes, in particular the potential impacts of institutional devolution and policy reforms, and highlights interrelationships among biological, economic and social phenomena. This book will be of significant interest to those studying natural resource economics, soil and water conservation, land use, and agricultural development.
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Development with Identity: Community, Culture and Sustainability in the Andes. Ed. R. Rhoades (University of Georgia). CABI Publishing, Oxfordshire, UK. 2005.
Throughout Latin America, indigenous peoples are demanding that development must address local priorities, including ethnic identity. Simultaneously, sustainability scientists need to conduct place-based research on the interaction between environment and society that will have global relevance. This book reports on a six-year interdisciplinary research project on natural resource management in Cotachachi, Ecuador, where scientists and indigenous groups learnt to seek common ground. The book discusses how local people and the environment have engaged each other over time to create contemporary Andean landscapes. It also explores human-environment interaction in relation to biodiversity, soils and water, and equitable development. This book will be of significant interest to sociologists, anthropologists, economists, and sustainability scientists researching environment and agriculture in rural communities
Other SANREM CRSP publications