Rural 21 (Englische Ausgabe)

Focus 4/2011: Sustainable tourism
More than 220 million people – that is seven percent of the world’s working population – make a living in the tourism sector, and every day, around three billion US dollars is earned here. Thus the travel industry is contributing more than ten percent of the global gross national product. Even though a major share of this money remains in the industrialised countries (more than half of all international travels take part in Europe), the branch plays a considerable role in the countries of the South: For every third developing country, tourism is the principal source of foreign exchange; for just under half of the Least Developed Countries, tourism is among the top three sources of export earnings. Erfahren Sie mehr

Focus 3/2011: Food security initiatives – a quality check
The global food price crisis in 2007/2008 shook the world. The issue of food security and hunger has again acquired top priority, and so has headed the agenda at the G8 and G20 summits for the last three years. Numerous initiatives have been set in motion and the international community has been urged to develop an action plan for global food security. There have been demands for the United Nations to reform its Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and to revive the Committee for Food Security, giving it new, more effective functions. Erfahren Sie mehr

Focus 2/2011: Responsible use of forests
The forests of our globe play a major role in protecting the climate and the environment. They are both an important natural source of energy and resource for innumerable wood products and home to an immense biodiversity. For decades now, warnings have been issued against uncontrolled logging and its disastrous impacts particularly in the Brazilian Amazon, in south-east Asia and central Africa. How can humankind sustainably exploit the forests and at the same time protect and preserve them? This focus issue of Rural 21 provides some answers. Erfahren Sie mehr

Focus 1/2011: People on the move
Since 2008, it is estimated, for the first time in history, over half of the world’s population has been living in urban centres. What are the consequences? What does this mean for the rural regions and those staying at home? What are the impacts on agricultural production and food security? In addition to facts and figures on international trends, our focus in this edition illustrates the intricate links between migration and demographic change, tradition and modernity, cities and urban regions. Erfahren Sie mehr

Focus 6/2010: Energy and climate change
Energy poverty is always a prime component of poverty in developing countries, as the former head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Prof. Klaus Töpfer, never tires of emphasising. But what form can future energy production take if it is to contribute to poverty reduction but must do so without damaging sensitive ecosystems and accelerating climate change? The contributors to this issue of Rural 21 shed light on such questions. Erfahren Sie mehr

Focus 5/2010: Rural Development and Global Partnerships
Promoting rural areas and agricultural production have returned to the front stage of international development policy. Following years of neglect, political decision makers have come to accept that without modern agriculture it is impossible to ensure food security or reduce poverty. The articles in this issue focus on new strategies in bilateral and multilateral development policy and the new role of the Global Partnership for Food and Agriculture Erfahren Sie mehr

Focus 4/2010: Microinsurance for agriculture
Being very climate-dependent, agricultural producers have to face high risks and can only safeguard themselves against these risks to a very limited extent, especially in developing countries. 
In contrast to the growing offer of microcredits, the markets for microinsurance or insurances for agricultural produce, life insurance and health insurance have hardly developed in rural areas up to now.
What pre-conditions have to be fulfilled to improve the offer of agricultural insurances in developing and newly-industrialising countries? 
Rural 21 has asked experts from development cooperation and the private sector for their opinion. Erfahren Sie mehr

Focus 3/2010: Rural youth – to stay or not to stay?“
Life in rural areas offers but little prospects for youth and many young adults. Good training and income opportunities are not available. Working in agriculture no longer holds any attraction for most young people. Traditional family and social structures are also a barrier. Many young adults therefore migrate to the cities, where they often join an army of unemployed. How can life in rural areas become more appealing? What income opportunities and living conditions have to be created that are so alluring that young people no longer have to leave their villages? Rural 21 attempts to show some ways out of this dilemma. Erfahren Sie mehr

Focus 2/2010: Innovations for the poor
Innovations are the driving forces behind economic development, this also applies to the agricultural sector. This issue of Rural 21 focuses on innovations conducive to sustainable development and pro-poor growth. Numerous case studies look at the diversity of sustainable innovations. Erfahren Sie mehr

Focus 1/2010: Land acquisitions – land grabbed?
Foreign direct investment in land, also known as “land grabbing”, has become an explosive topic, especially in poor developing countries. In its first 2010 issue, Rural 21 gives insights into current trends in FDI, the political dimensions, the dangers that land grabbing by foreign investors hold for local food security, but also the opportunities it can bring for rural populations. Reports from countries in Africa and Asia illuminate the paths FDI is taking and the impacts it has, including on land law Erfahren Sie mehr