Water use options for regional development : potentials of new water technologies in Central Northern Namibia

The CuveWaters project relates the alignment and implementation of innovative water technologies to an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the Cuvelai-Etosha-Basin, which lies in Central Northern Namibia. The aim here is to improve inhabitants’ living conditions by means of appropriate technical schemes and measures – particularly with a view to enhancing water supply and basic sanitation (incl. waste water disposal). A focal part of Cuve-Waters concerns the re-use of water, efficient use of water and utilisation of different water qualities for different purposes (multi-resource mix). With respect to urban conditions and the problems of adequate supply and sanitation, the prospect of a semi-decentralised infrastructure system is under investigation, a concept which includes rainwater utilisation as well as waste water collection and treatment. One major option for such systems, in which waste water is considered a valuable resource, is a washing house combining effective waste water collection (vacuum sewer) with high-tech separation techniques (generation of energy, nutrients and waste water processing). Cleaned waste water – free of bacteria, viruses or pathogens – and fertiliser from an anaerobic waste water treatment plant can be re-used for irrigation in small scale agriculture to enhance food security and/or generate alternative income through the marketing of fresh produce. Energy, in the form of biogas, can be used for cooking or lighting. On the rural sites of the study area, adequate water supply poses a major challenge, for which three technology options are investigated here: rainwater harvesting, solar-coupled desalination of brackish groundwater, and managed aquifer recharge. Suitable technology options are selected for different sites in a participatory process (cf. CuveWaters Project 2008a, CuveWaters Project 2008b). Thus, general aims of the project in terms of providing regional economic impetus and improving livelihoods are: - to link integrated water resources management to land issues, develop the technology needed to build capacity, and achieve better governance; - to bring together supply- and demand-driven approaches in developing the infrastructure; - to consider water as related to other resources (land, energy, nutrients) and other fields of sustainability such as poverty reduction, equality and regional development. From these project objectives arise the key questions driving the surveys documented in this paper: what impetus for regional development can be expected from the implementation of technological options selected for the CuveWaters project? What constraints and obstacles need to be considered here, particularly in terms of incorporating the technologies into strategies of IWRM? What conclusions can be drawn when it comes to the supervision of implementation (training, capacity building, governance)? After an introduction the economic and social situation in the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin along with the conditions for urban agriculture is outlined. This is followed by the discussion of the potentials for water-related activities in the region, taking into account additional water uses and the operation and development of infrastructures, whilst investigating the potentials of urban agriculture for Central Northern Namibia. Finally, these potentials are summarized and conclusions pertaining to flanking measures for technical implementation are drawn

Agricultural economists and world poverty: progress and prospects

New development paradigms come and go, seemingly with increasing rapidity, yet poverty remains the scourge of the developing nations. As we enter the new millennium, we fear that still more development fads and fancies will emerge, to be taken up and then dropped by the development community. These swings in fashion bring with them the danger that the ‘basics’ of effective development strategies for poverty reduction will be neglected. In this article, we advance some personal and perhaps controversial views about the virtues of getting agriculture moving as a means of reducing poverty, and about the role that agricultural economists can and should play in that endeavour.Food Security and Poverty,

Water use options for regional development. Potentials of new water technologies in Central Northern Namibia

The CuveWaters project relates the alignment and implementation of innovative water technologies to an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the Cuvelai-Etosha-Basin, which lies in Central Northern Namibia. The aim here is to improve inhabitants’ living conditions by means of appropriate technical schemes and measures – particularly with a view to enhancing water supply and basic sanitation (incl. waste water disposal). A focal part of Cuve-Waters concerns the re-use of water, efficient use of water and utilisation of different water qualities for different purposes (multi-resource mix). With respect to urban conditions and the problems of adequate supply and sanitation, the prospect of a semi-decentralised infrastructure system is under investigation, a concept which includes rainwater utilisation as well as waste water collection and treatment. One major option for such systems, in which waste water is considered a valuable resource, is a washing house combining effective waste water collection (vacuum sewer) with high-tech separation techniques (generation of energy, nutrients and waste water processing). Cleaned waste water – free of bacteria, viruses or pathogens – and fertiliser from an anaerobic waste water treatment plant can be re-used for irrigation in small scale agriculture to enhance food security and/or generate alternative income through the marketing of fresh produce. Energy, in the form of biogas, can be used for cooking or lighting. On the rural sites of the study area, adequate water supply poses a major challenge, for which three technology options are investigated here: rainwater harvesting, solar-coupled desalination of brackish groundwater, and managed aquifer recharge. Suitable technology options are selected for different sites in a participatory process (cf. CuveWaters Project 2008a, CuveWaters Project 2008b). Thus, general aims of the project in terms of providing regional economic impetus and improving livelihoods are: - to link integrated water resources management to land issues, develop the technology needed to build capacity, and achieve better governance; - to bring together supply- and demand-driven approaches in developing the infrastructure; - to consider water as related to other resources (land, energy, nutrients) and other fields of sustainability such as poverty reduction, equality and regional development. From these project objectives arise the key questions driving the surveys documented in this paper: what impetus for regional development can be expected from the implementation of technological options selected for the CuveWaters project? What constraints and obstacles need to be considered here, particularly in terms of incorporating the technologies into strategies of IWRM? What conclusions can be drawn when it comes to the supervision of implementation (training, capacity building, governance)? After an introduction the economic and social situation in the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin along with the conditions for urban agriculture is outlined. This is followed by the discussion of the potentials for water-related activities in the region, taking into account additional water uses and the operation and development of infrastructures, whilst investigating the potentials of urban agriculture for Central Northern Namibia. Finally, these potentials are summarized and conclusions pertaining to flanking measures for technical implementation are drawn.water use; urban gardening; poverty reduction; development; Integrated Water Resources Management; Namibia; Africa

Cluster-based industrial parks : a practical framework for action

They are being hailed as the new Holy Grail of economic development. The success of special economic zones (SEZ) in general and specialized ones in particular (industrial and technology parks) in countries as diverse as Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and more recently, China; Korea; Taiwan, China; or Mauritius, has led several African leaders to launch new similar initiatives. This paper establishes a common point of reference for those who believe in the virtues of SEZs, explains why the many existing ones have not delivered the expected outcomes, and summarizes the key issues on the agenda. It then suggests cluster-based industrial parks as the most effective tool for developing competitive industries and generating employment, and provides some practical guidance to development practitioners and policymakers on the road ahead.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Emerging Markets,Debt Markets,Labor Policies

Poverty and Inequality and Social Policy in China

Despite prolonged economic growth, poverty has become a more notable and noted feature of Chinese society. The paper examines three phases of development since the foundation of the People's Republic: the central planning era (1949 -1978); the pro-urban growth model (1978 - 1999); and more recent changes (1999 - 2004). For each phase the nature of the economic and social policies are described and the effects on poverty and inequality are examined. The limitations of a social policy that is subservient to the economic strategy are considered. The alternative of a model of social development based on the livelihood approach is analysed and its potential to reduce poverty and inequality are considered.poverty, inequality, social policy, China, livelihoods, social development

Tourism and Regional Competitiveness: the Case of the Portuguese Douro Valley

Using a framework that articulates the most important factors of competitiveness to evaluate the regional economic strategies, and applying this framework to the Portuguese NUT III Douro, we show that this region is relatively weak in terms of internal linkages, subject to ageing and out-migration and lacking in innovation and entrepreneurship, apart from being isolated from mass markets. With these characteristics, to define only the priority to tourism is clearly insufficient for convergence. So, after assessing the results of such strategy, the paper ends with a conclusion that is extensive to other regions: the lagging regions, which are trying to converge with the more developed ones based on tourism, cannot only rely on a combination of environmental resources and marketing, but have to attend to other factors of competitiveness as well.Douro Valley, environmental resources, regional competitiveness, tourism

Political Shaping Of Transitions To Biofuels In Europe, Brazil And The USA

Faced with major challenges of global climate change, declining fossil fuel reserves, and competition between alternative uses of land, the transition to renewable transport fuels has been marked by new modes of political economic governance and the strategic direction of innovation. In this paper, we compare the different trajectories to the development and uptake of biofuels in Europe, Brazil and the USA. In terms of the timing, direction, and development of biofuels for road transport, the early lead taken by Brazil in sugarcane based ethanol and flex-fuel cars, the USA drive to corn-to-ethanol, and the European domination of biodiesel from rapeseed, manifest significant contrasts at many levels. Adopting a neo-Polanyian ?instituted economic process? approach we argue that the contrasting trajectories exemplify the different modes of politically instituting markets. We analyse the contrasting weight and impact of different drivers in each case (energy security, climate change mitigation, rural economy development, and market opportunity) in the context of diverse initial conditions and resource endowments. We explore the ?politics of markets? that arise from the different modes of instituting markets for ecologically sustainable economic growth, including the role of NGOs, the scientific controversies over land-use change, and the contrasting political institutions in our case studies. We also place our analysis in the historical perspective of other major carbon energy transitions (charcoal to coal, coal to petrochemicals). In so doing, we explore the idea of the emergence of new modes of governance of contemporary capitalist political economies, and the significance of politically directed innovation. The research is based on an extensive primary research programme of in-depth interviews with strategic players in each of the geographic regions, qualitative institutional analysis, a scenario workshop, and secondary data analysis

Forecasting the demand for privatized transport - What economic regulators should know, and why

Forecasting has long been a challenge, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. But the analytical instruments and data processing capabilities available through the latest technology, and software, should allow much better forecasting than transport ministries, or regulatory agencies typically observe. Privatization brings new needs for demand forecasting. More attention is paid to risk under privatization, than when investments are publicly financed. And regulators must be able to judge traffic studies done by operators, and to learn what strategic behavior influenced these studies. Many governments, and regulators avoid good demand, modeling out of lack of conviction that theory, and models can do better than the"old hands"of the sector. This is dangerous when privatization changes the nature of business. For projects amounting to investments of $100-200 million, a cost of$ 100,000-200,000 is not a reason to reject a reasonable modeling effort. And some private forecasting firms are willing to sell guarantees, or insurance with their forecasts, to cover significant gaps between forecasts, and reality.Markets and Market Access,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Decentralization,Banks&Banking Reform,Markets and Market Access,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Access to Markets,Environmental Economics&Policies