© Judith Rosendahl

To support equitable land rights on the ground, there is much to learn from effective strategies currently employed by civil society organizations to advance pro-poor resource governance in adverse contexts. Civil society organizations which are already working to promote responsible land governance find ways to support land rights issues benefiting the poor, despite the sometimes highly adverse social and political circumstances. However, this knowledge often goes undocumented, excluding any systematic learning from these experiences. Thus, policy remains uninformed by these valuable insights.

Seven case studies were jointly elaborated to document, analyze and communicate cases of pro-poor resource governance.

A research collaboration entitled “Pro-Poor Resource Governance under Changing Climates” (ProPoorGov)  between the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), and local civil society organisations (CSOs) in six countries (Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, and India) was initiated to builds bridges between local knowledge, and national and international policy processes. A main objective was to better understand the relationship between vulnerability and the historically interrelated social and environmental factors.

Here the link between governance of resources and the factors leading to vulnerable livelihoods was explored, as well as the effect of institutional change on livelihood vulnerability in the face of external climatic or non- climatic changes.

Project period: 2012-2013
Project team: Judith Rosendahl, Matheus Zanella, Jes Weigelt
Partner: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Contact: Judith.Rosendahl[at]iass-potsdam.de