Although the need for adaptation to climate variability and change is increasingly recognized, identifying and implementing adaptation options on the ground still presents a challenge. Especially for Africa, which is regarded as being particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability...

Palm oil production is currently the focus of contentious debate. On the one hand, it yields positive socio-economic impacts and can be a powerful engine for rural development. On the other hand, it can generate severe negative impacts regarding ecological and social sustainability....

REDD is one of the latest additions to a series of incentive-based mechanisms for reducing carbon emissions. Many developing and emerging countries have started engaging in REDD. Peru, the country with the world’s fourth largest area of tropical forest, is no exception here – with an obvious...

Many coastal resources, including fish stocks and mangrove forests, are “common pool resources”. It is difficult to exclude anyone interested from harvesting them, which typically results in overexploitation. The study compares three incentive schemes that may induce resource users to...

The cotton sector in different countries of sub-Saharan Africa shows different organisational models, ranging from atomistic competition to monopolistic structures. Each model differs in its type of service provision and purchase agreements offered to smallholder farmers, who are the main...

This paper examines the dynamic effects of demand and supply shocks on mineral commodity prices. It provides empirical insights by using annual data for the copper, lead, tin, and zinc markets from 1840 to 2010. I identify structural shocks by using long-run restrictions and compare these shocks...

Le coton est l’une des cultures de rente les plus importantes en Afrique subsaharienne où il est presque exclusivement cultivé par de petits exploitants agricoles. On y dénombre environ 1,7 million de cotonculteurs, qui plantent du coton en rotation avec des cultures vivrières. La plupart...

A decent environmental quality is a necessary condition for survival of humankind in general and human development in particular. Environmental pollution is a great challenge in developing countries, where especially the poorest are most likely to suffer. Reflecting the state and the dynamics of...