Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations caught between Reality and Challenges

Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) have not only gained more and more relevance in the development process of Near Eastern developing societies, but they have also raised an increasing scholarly interest. The traditional civil society in the Middle East, which used to be in charge of the tribe or large families, has been altered by new groups, which are organized around new social structures, interests and goals. The number of NGOs has experienced a swift increase in number and size, and the extent of some renders them important players in the social welfare sector, both at the national and global levels. The expansion and the increasing role of NGOs worldwide since the end of the 1970s as actors in socio-economic development and in the formulation of public policies has had great influence around the globe. However, this new function is not automatically the outcome of independent activity; but rather the result of ramified relationships between the national and international environment.

Private Higher Education in the Sultanate of Oman: Rationales, Development and Challenges

Diese Studie stellt die Entwicklung des privaten Hochschulbereichs im Oman dar und analysiert sie auf die damit verbundenen Erwartungen. Sie untersucht die wesentlichen Herausforderungen, denen sich dieser Sektor zu stellen hat, und formuliert einige Empfehlungen, um die Rolle der privaten Hochschulbildung im Oman zu fördern. Um die Situation in Oman einordnen zu konnen, wurde die Literatur zu Systemen der privaten Hochschulbildung in verschiedenen Ländern vergleichend aufgearbeitet. Der Autor dieser Dissertation hat zudem zahlreiche offizielle Dokumente, Statistiken der Regierung, Berichte, Korrespondenzen und auch unveröffentlichtes Material zum Thema Bildung, Wirtschaft und zur Personalentwicklung geprüft und analysiert. Halb-strukturierte Interviews wurden mit Präsidenten und Dekanen privater Hochschulen sowie mit einigen externen Akteuren durchgeführt, um die Stärken und Schwächen, Herausforderungen und Ziele des privaten Hochschulsektors in Oman zu analysieren.

Management practices and challenges in smallholder indigenous chicken production in Western Kenya

The potential benefit of indigenous chicken (Gallus domesticus) production is still under-exploited in Kenya despite the efforts by different stakeholders to mainstream this production system as a pathway to rural development. The production system is often characterized by low input-low output productivity and low commercialization of the enterprise. This study which dwells on the current management practices and challenges faced by smallholder indigenous chicken farmers was conducted to gain insights into the underlying causes of production constraints. In Western Kenya women (76%) dominate the indigenous chicken production system. The flock composition consists mainly of chicks, hens and pullets (80%) which reflects their retention for production purposes. Less than half of the farmers access institutional support services such as extension, training, credit and veterinary services. In addition, indigenous chicken is largely reared in a low input-low output free-range system with only few farmers (24.2%) adopting management interventions as disseminated by extension service. To improve production and attain increased productivity, policy should focus on repackaging extension messages that considers farmers economic situations and strengthens collective action initiatives. Accessing joint input purchase and collective marketing of chicken products may further assist the farmers to increase profit margins.

Climate change and hunger as the challenges in the global food system

In the last decades, there has been a growing tendency towards international trade and globalisation, particularly leading to a significant increase in flows of agricultural commodities worldwide. From a macroeconomic perspective, the commodity projections are more optimistic than the previous years and the long run tendency shows an increasing demand for feedstock. However, the strong shifts of shocks and fluctuations (in terms of prices and volumes) are a concern to global food security, with the number of hungry people rising to nearly one billion. Agriculture is a main user of natural resources, and it has a strong link with rural societies and the environment. Forecasted impacts from climate change, limited productive endorsements and emerging rivals on crop production, such bio-energy, aggravate the panorama on food scarcity. In this context, it is a great challenge on farming and food systems to reduce global hunger and produce in sustainable ways adequate supplies for food, feed, and non-food uses. The main objective of this work is to question the sustainability of food and agriculture systems. It is particularly interesting to know its role and if it will be able to respond to a growing population with increasing food demand in a world where pressure on land, water and other natural resources are already evident, and, moreover, climate change will also condition and impact the outcome. Furthermore, a deeper focus will be set on developing countries, which are expected to emerge and take a leading role in the international arena. This short paper is structured as follows: Section I, “Introduction”, describes the social situation regarding hunger, Section II, “Global Context”, attempts to summarise the current scenario in the international trading scheme and present the emerging rivals for primary resources, and in Section III, “Climate Change”, presents an overview of possible changes in the sector and future perspectives in the field. Finally, in Section IV, “Conclusion”, the main conclusions are presented.

Balancing Economic Development with Environmental Conservation: Challenges Facing the North and South

This paper critically explores how development policies tend to ignore pressing environmental concerns. In the first section development in the North and South and the Bhopal disaster will be juxtaposed to show how development without environmental governance can be deadly. The article then turns to the way in which the Sri Lankan government’s Moragahakanda Development Project strives for economic development without concern for the environment. It will be contended in this article that governments and big companies in the North and South have tended to carelessly use scarce resources for development.