Bücher veröffentlicht von Practical Action Publishing

Cigarettes and soft drinks are available in just about every village in the developing world - clean water, primary education and health services are not. The main reason for this paradoxial and tragic situation is the failure to deliver public services, especially in the face of growing populations. What is more, the supply of essential services in most developing countries is grossly inequitable - those who need them the most are the least able to afford them. This important book suggests a strategy to overcome what appears to be an otherwise hopeless situation - ''micro-privatization''. Governments can hand over responsibility for many public services to small private or community enterprises. The quality, efficiency and outreach of the services are considerably improved, and the costs significantly reduced. To illustrate the efficacy of this strategy, Malcolm Harper presents twenty-four real life case studies from Asia, Africa and Latin America, the USA and Europe, which amply demonstrate that micro-privatization is practical anywhere. The activities covered by these examples of successful initiatives include urban services, utilities, agricultural services, health and hygiene, transport, welfare and education.

Claes Axel Andersson, Andreas Beusch and Derek Miles Road Maintenance and Regravelling (ROMAR) Using Labour-based Methods (Workbook)

From sociocultural, political-economic, and environmental as well as biomedical viewpoints, the book presents reviews and case studies of traditional veterinary knowledge and practice, along with historical perspectives, theoretical discussions and research methodologies. The 23 chapters span 10 major species of animal domesticates raised by more than 80 ethnic groups in nearly 40 nations of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, covering nearly 100 diseases and more than 300 medicinal plants and other traditional materia medica. Provides researchers, development professionals, and policymakers working in agricultural and rural development with insights,ideas and approaches to the subject. Published in the Indigenous Knowledge and Development series.

The editors consider the different aspects of, and the issues surrounding, affordable water supply and sanitation. They consider both ''software'' aspects - people, communities, health, management and institutions - as well as technological considerations such as waste management.INTRODUCTIONSection 1 COMMUNITIES, HEALTH,''PEOPLEB.V. Apparao, Mrs Anitha Pius and G. Karthikeyan IndiaMapping of fluorosis affected villagesDr V.S. Ariyaratne and Palitha Jayaweera Sri LankaSarvodaya integrated approach to waterlsanitationJ.M. Barot IndiaGender appreciation in Gujarat , IndiaMrs Jemima A. Dennis-Antwi GhanaDeveloping hygiene education materialsMs Vijitha Fernando Sri LankaWater and sanitation - gender and equityMs Ruthy C.D. Libatique PhilippinesEmpowering women to manage watsan technologiesJelle van Gijn and Brian Ellis UKCommunity infrastructure programme in PakistanSection 2 INSTITUTIONS AND MANAGEMENTMaria de Fatima Carteado and R. Franceys WEDCInstitution development, BrazilRekha Dayal and Peter Lochery IndiaApplication of key sector principlesDr V. J. Emmanuel Sri LankaWater and economic developmentMark Harvey IndiaInstitutional constraints - MaharashtraDerrick Owen Ikin Switzerland

A detailed survey of the main areas of bio-energy and biomass, solar energy and hydro, wind and water power. The authors address the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energies, their appropriateness, and their socio-economic implications.

This book describes communities that first built on their own assets, before seeking assistance from outside. What are the common factors that help all these communities mobilize? Do outside organizations have a role to play? It is aimed at community workers, researchers and policy makers who want to take a fresh look at community development.

To mark the UN Year of Energy in 2012, Practical Action is publishing some of its best practical briefings and case study material for the benefit of energy development practitioners around the world. Practical Answers 1 is the first in a new series of handbooks that provide guides on a variety of subjects for international development workers.

This book presents 15 case studies and a variety of approaches to document the capacities and constraints to be encountered among communities facing changing climates in Bangladesh, Cameroon, Canada, Ecuador, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Peru, South Africa, Sudan, United States, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

The phenomenon of the transnational mega-charity is examined as are the threats to the independence of voluntary organizations from governments, UN agencies and from charities themselves. This is also a story about lessons of heroism and folly, of bungling and luck and failure - and of achievements that have improved the lives of millions.

Microplanning is a community-based process which enables local people to prepare and implement programmes for settlement upgrading. Local participants contribute to both the content and structure of programmes. Case studies from Chile and Sri Lanka.

This book explores how international NGOs are navigating these rapid changes, changes that challenge their role and legitimacy, their values, and their overall purpose. It calls for a re-examination of theories about change, and a re-focus on ideas of complexity and feminism and on learning from past NGO experience.

Poor people bear the brunt of climate change since they live in those regions most affected by fluctuating temperatures, sea level rise, flooding and drought. Far from behaving as victims, however, they use the assets and resources at their disposal to adapt and survive. How can agencies assist local communities adapting to change? By what mechanisms can communities make the most of emerging information? Can effective community-based approaches be scaled up? Understanding Adaptation to Climate Change demonstrates that although communities' adaptation strategies may be varied and depend on local context, social networks play a pivotal role in accessing appropriate climate knowledge and resources and communicating useful approaches to other communities. The key activities of reducing vulnerability, fostering resilience and developing the capacity to experiment and learn are combined as appropriate. This book is essential reading for NGO practitioners, students and government and NGO policy makers who wish to gain an understanding of what adaptation means in theory and practice.

The result of a review of the literature on infrastructure design for urban low-income housing. Covers infrastructure planning; site preparation; drainage; roads and access; water supply; power supply; sanitation; solid waste management.

This survey of the current, and likely future extent of, biomass energy shortages in Sri Lanka seeks to identify the most appropriate means by which these might be addressed, and draws out the lessons to be learned in other parts of the world.

To mark the UN Year of Energy in 2012, Practical Action is publishing some of its best practical briefings and case study material for the benefit of energy development practitioners around the world. Practical Answers 1 is the first in a new series of handbooks that provide guides on a variety of subjects for international development workers.

Barefoot Book explores the potential of `intermediate' services for the rural poor, using examples in the fields of health care, law, administration, economics, banking, management, craft, mechanics, building and geology.

The book presents a study of the social and economic viability of mini-cement plants in the Indian economic context.

This books shows that women can be instrumental in expanding and democratizing national economies: creating wealth and family well-being. Through a history of UNIFEM, the author shows how the large-scale investments of governments, the World Bank, the United Nations and other organizations can become both more effectively and gender-sensitive.

What assistance do disaster-affected communities need? This book guides humanitarian field staff in answering this vital question during the early days and weeks following a disaster, when timely and competent assessment is crucial for enabling informed decision making. Needs assessment is essential for programme planning, monitoring and evaluation. In an emergency response, however, a quick and simple approach to needs assessment may be the only practical possibility - in other words, it needs to be 'good enough'. This guide does not explain every activity needed to carry out an assessment, but it describes the assessment process, and provides a step-by-step guide through the process. It also contains a number of tools and resources that may be helpful when planning or carrying out humanitarian needs assessments. This guide is essential reading for field staff carrying out assessments after a humanitarian crisis; it should also be read by humanitarian policy makers, students, lecturers and researchers.

Do we use obscure or fashionable words to impress our colleagues or win research proposals? Are many of our actions against poverty simple, direct and wrong? Provocations for Development is an entertaining and unsettling collection of writings that questions concepts, conventions and practices in development. It is made up of short and accessible writings by Robert Chambers reflecting on the evolution of concepts like participation and of organizations like the World Bank. Besides provocations, there is mischief, verse and serious fun. The book irreverently examines vocabularies of development and how words are instruments of power; challenges concepts of poverty, presents empowering breakthroughs in the current explosion of participatory methodologies; is critical of past and present procedures and practices in aid; points to feasible changes for doing better; touches on values, ethics, gender and participation, immersions, hypocrisy, and paradigms; and finally invites readers to ponder the question 'what would it take to eliminate poverty in the world?'

This revised edition of a classic text re-emphasizes the importance of agroecology as the discipline that provides the basic ecological principles of how to study, design and manage agroecosystems

Drawing on case histories of emergency relief programmes that have successfully promoted development, the book offers guidelines for fashioning assistance programmes designed to counter the effects of both natural and human-caused disasters. The authors argue that relief efforts must support and enhance existing capacities and they present an analytical framework for assessing the characteristics and needs of afflicted communities.Part I Lessons Learned and Guidelines for Program DesignIntroduction to Part I: Thinking Development in a World of Disasters, 1 A Framework for Analyzing Capacities and Vulnerabilities, 2 First Decisions in Programming, The Decision to Intervene, North-Sou th Partnerships in Disaster Relief, 3 The Context of Programming, The Political Con text, The international Policy Context, Information Is Power or Who Needs to Know What?, 4 Dimensions of Programming, The Myth of Speed, Scale of Program, Duration of Programming, 5 People and Programming, Project Participants, Women and Gender Considerations, The Uprooted: Refugees as a Special Case? 6 Approaches to Programming, Personnel (When a Northern NGO In terveiies), Expertise, Education and Training, 7 Cooperation and Accountability in Programming, Coordination with Other Agencies, Monitoring and Evaluation, 8 Closing the Gap Between Principles, Policies, and PracticePart I1IRDP Case HistoriesIntroduction to Part 11: Background and Development ofIRDP Case Histories9 Wollo Rehabilitation and Disaster Prevention Projects:Wollo, Ethiopia, 10 Ethiopia Emergency Program: Yifat na Timugo, Ethiopia, 11 Proyecto Nueva Vida Armero: Armero, Colombia, 12 Cereal Banks in Burkiqa Faso: Food Security, Drought, and Development, 13 Kordofan Agroforestry Extension Project: Northern Kordofan, Sudan 14 Earthquake Housing Reconstruction and Rural Development: Joyabaj, Quiche, Guatemala, 15 Local Resource Management Project: Santo Domingo, Albay, Bicol Region, Philippines, 16 Qala en Nahal Refugee Settlement Project: Eastern Sudan, 17 Nomad Program: T i Aicha, Mali, 18 Promotion of Health Care Among Khmer Refugees: Greenhill Site B, Surin, Thailand, 19 Northeast Thailand Project: Surin, Thailand, Appendix A: Annotated List ofAdditiona1IRDP Case Histories, Appendix B: Bibliography

Women Feeding Cities analyses the roles of women and men in urban food production and is essential reading for policy makers, planners, researchers and practitioners working on urban agriculture programmes.