As the pace of decentralisation in Africa quickens, how can external agencies help communities fulfill new management responsibilities? A study from Niger has implications for other parts of Africa where commitment to decentralised natural resource management is offering scope for radical new approaches to transferring power to local people.

More than 1000 community members from Valhalla Park, Cape Town, will protest
outside the High Court in Keerom Street, Cape Town, on Thursday. The protest takes place in support of 700 community members who have been charged with illegally occupying a piece of land in the centre of Valhalla
Park that the Unicity had already set aside for housing.

I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. I am interested in perspectives on socio-economic development in Africa today. I am an international graduate student at Oregon State University. I am working on a PhD thesis entitled "Integrating indigenous knowledge into the community development process: The Zimbabwean experience".

The odds of a new round of world trade negotiations including substantive talks on environmental issues have lengthened following the emergence of a new draft text for ministerial agreement at the Doha summit, due to start on November 9. Despite strong pressure from the European Union, the draft proposes no new environmental negotiations.

A battle has erupted in Kenya over a government decision to cut 10 percent of its forest cover despite vehement protests from the public and cases pending before the courts.