News and Events

As of April 1, 2005 the Cities Feeding People program changed into the Urban Poverty & Environment Program (UPE) , which funds research and activities in developing countries that apply integrated and participatory approaches to reducing environmental burdens on the urban poor and enhancing the use of natural resources for food, water and income security.

UPE aims to ease environmental burdens that exacerbate poverty in selected cities by strengthening the capacity of the poor to equitably access environmental services, reduce environmental degradation and vulnerability to natural disasters, and enhance use of natural resources for food, water, and income security.

Read the informative brief.

website: http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-5911-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

Urban Agricultural Magazine - Urban Aquatic Production

The Urban Agriculture Magazine is an initiative under the RUAF Programme. The magazine is published on the RUAF website three times a year, in various languages. Go to www.ruaf.org for other editions or more information. To access the UA Magazine: http://www.ruaf.org/newslgen_fr.html

This issue of UA Magazine draws on preliminary research findings from the PAPUSSA project. The articles of this magazine are available in PDF. Click the links below to view.

Contents

1	Urban Aquatic Production - Editorial	view
2	Aquatic Food Production Systems in Bangkok	view
3	Current Status of Periurban Aquatic Production in Hanoi	view
4	Periurban Aquatic Food Production Systems in Phnom Penh	view
5	Production and Marketing Systems of Aquatic Products in Ho Chi Minh City	view
6	The Future of Periurban Aquatic Food Production Systems in Southeast Asia	view
7	Planning for Aquatic Production in East Kolkata Wetlands	view
8	Demise of Periurban Wastewater-fed Aquaculture?	view
9	Skin Diseases Among People Using Urban Wastewater in Phnom Penh	view
10	The Use of Treated Sewage Water from Settlement Ponds in San Juan, Lima	view
11	Family Aquaculture in Cuba	view
12	The Role of Aqua Farming in Feeding African Cities; Tilapia Culture in Homestead Concrete Tanks in Periurban Nigeria; Periurban Aquaculture in Ghana; Urban Agriculture in Istanbul, Turkey	view
13	Books / Websites	view
14	Events / News and Partners	view
15	RUAF Workshop on Multi-stakeholder Action Planning and Policy Making	view
16	Forthcoming Issues / Colophon	view

Linking Community and Small Enterprises Activities with Urban Waste Management

M. DiGrigorio, T. Thi Tien, N. Thi Hoang Lan, N. Thu Ha (1998)

During the UWEP programme of WASTE one of the topics for research was named: ''Linkages between actors in waste management''. The aim was to find out if and what kind of links exist between various actors in waste management and what linkage between what actors proved to be of importance to support the development of an improved (more sustainable) waste management system. The research is carried out in several cities: Hanoi (Vietnam), Quezon City, Manila and Puerto Prinsessa (Philippines), Manizales and Medelin (Colombia). Local research teams, equipped with a jointly developed Terms of Reference, did field research during 2 to 3 months. They studied policy papers and research documents, interviewed actors and participated in field work.

The research proved not to be an easy task. The interpretation of the TOR, the transparency of the system and the willingness of actors to participate and the experience of the researchers themselves with this type of topic resulted in difference of findings.

This report should be seen as a draft report, but since its contents may be of value to other readers. Obviously, some of the obsevervations may be incorrect, some links may be missing, others too much stressed. However the studies are of value for further thinking in this field.

A Working Document is published as well, in which these UWEP case studies have been analysed parallel to case studies produced by the University of Amsterdam (Stelios Grafakos/I.S.A. Baud) and are presented in an analytical framework. Alliances in Urban Environmental Management, A process analysis for indicators and contributions to sustainable development in urban SWM

CS-link vie_ebook.pdf (740 kB)

http://www.waste.nl/page/764

Poverty and the City

By, Grinspun, A. (ed.)

By 2050, two-thirds of the world's people will live in cities. Such growth is bound to outstrip the capacity of poorly resourced governments and feeble urban economies to absorb new residents and provide them with adequate jobs, shelter and services. This edition of the International Poverty Centre's newsletter turns its attention to the issue of urban poverty.

The first article argues that official poverty statistics tend to understate the actual scale of need in urban areas of the developing world. The authors argue that standard poverty lines often fail to reflect the real cost of living in a city and to capture key dimensions of well-being, thus neglecting the great scope for improving the lot of the poor through provision of public goods. The second article compares the situation in Lagos, Karachi and Kingston and highlights the vulnerability of the urban poor to eviction and other housing crises. Examples of damaging state interference are given, including slum clearance and ill conceived transport policies.

The third article assesses the scale and impact of urban violence on the poor, finding that not only does violence affect people's health and well being, but it also has a devastating impact on the social fabric and economic prospects of a city. The following article examines poverty impact of geographical segregation, drawing on the example of Montevideo, Uruguay. Problems of social polarisation and the emergence of ghetto culture are discussed.

The fifth article examines the situation of informal settlers in the Philippines, with particular reference to the power relations in existence amongst urban dwellers. The final article provides an assessment of the growing rate of urban poverty globally. The author argues that the urbanisation of poverty constitutes one of the major challenges of our time, highlighting the importance of tenure security in the fight against urban poverty. [adapted from author]

Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC19725

Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Hanoi: Opportunities and Constraints for Safe and Sustainable Food Production

The study provides a complete summary of the demography, climate, institutions, and physical resources available to produce and market food in Hanoi, Vietnam. This publication includes an evaluation of the impacts of urban and peri-urban agriculture on food supply, income generation, job creation and environmental pollution.

The full study can be downloaded from: http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/TB26.pdf

Farming in urban areas can boost food security

Urban and peri-urban farms already supply food to about 700 million city dwellers -- one-quarter of the world's urban population -- and nearly all of the world's population growth between now and 2030 will be concentrated in urban areas in developing countries, so that by then almost 60% of people in developing countries will live in cities.

http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/102877/index.html

Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Metro Manila: Resources and Opportunities for Food Production

Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Metro Manila: Resources and Opportunities for Food Production analyzes agricultural resources and activities in Metro Manila and their impacts on the environment and economy. Guidelines are provided for planning agricultural activities to assist urban poor in other major cities of developing countries.

For abstract: http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/TB26.pdf

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