World trade, including especially a big part of the world’s energy resources, has to pass certain “choke points ” between areas of production and their final destination. One of these “choke points ” is the Straits of Malacca, the sea passage connecting the China Sea with the Indian Ocean. As the Strait is only 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) wide at its narrowest point, the

In 1996, the Ghanaian government has started a water reform process, which put the countries water resources under the control of the Water Resources Commission (WRC). This appointed commission consists of representatives of water providers, statutory regulatory agencies, irrigation officials, NGOs, women and traditional authorities. This commission has been assigned the task to ensure the economically efficient, ecologically sustainable, socially equitable and gender sensitive development of the country’s water resources. Using patterns of resource management in the irrigation sector of northern Ghana as example, this article shows that serious obstacles towards the local implementation of the water reform exist. Currently the management and allocation of resources is largely disobeying the regulations, rules and laws set out by various official agencies. Competing local authorities and institutions, lacking legitimacy and enforceability of official rules, as well as corruption, nepotism and political clientelism make resource management prone to conflicts, contestations and renegotiations. Non-transparent and irresponsible resource management compromises the efficiency, sustainability and equity of the irrigation sector. As the WRC lacks the competencies and resources to manage water resources at the local level, but has to rely on already existing structures the prospects for the implementation the water reform remains therefore questionable. 4 1.

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Die ZBW räumt Ihnen als Nutzerin/Nutzer das unentgeltliche, räumlich unbeschränkte und zeitlich auf die Dauer des Schutzrechts beschränkte einfache Recht ein, das ausgewählte Werk im Rahmen der unter

The expansion of trade and markets has produced profound changes in the social conditions and culture of societies around the globe. A short visit to a department store in Singapore, Shanghai or Caracas will convince us of the existence of a global market economy. We can muster and buy shirts made in Indonesia but with a label designed in New York or Frankfurt, canned tomatoes grown in Bulgaria, custom jewellery from the Philippines, electronic gadgets from Japan or Taiwan, brown bread from Germany, French cheese and Singaporean tofu, shark fins from Brazil and marmalade from England. Not all, but some of these goods are also sold in small towns or even by petty traders up-river in Laos or Borneo. While all these places have had contacts with the world market for centuries through small scale long distance trade, the recent, much more complete integration into the modern world system adds new dimensions to the economic, social and cultural life of the societies

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The contribution that science and technology can make to development is well understood – but for new ‘knowledge ’ to have an impact it must connect with existing local knowledge. Presented in this essay is a discussion of how development research projects can make a positive contribution to development, through the use of new science and technology – coupled with local knowledge. Drawing on field research conducted in rural Uzbekistan, under the aegis of a natural science driven project, I reflect here on the meaning of ‘development research ’ and make a case for combining external scientific research with practical development interventions. Specifically, through the use of participatory methods, accepting that development research is a process. This is argued both as academically challenging and interesting as well as ethically necessary for projects choosing to work in the developing world. I discuss my experiences in learning from local knowledge, outlining the principals of affording dignity to local partners, respecting local knowledge and experts, understanding the cultural context of knowledge and maintaining a constant willingness to learn. With these principals I present how it is possible to work in a collaborative manner towards developing locally appropriate and accessible technologies, and the importance of doing so in a sustainable manner. 4 1.

Acknowledgement This work was conducted within the framework of a project financed by GTZ on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. Authors ’ address

Abstract: The water-energy-food nexus is promoted as a new approach for research and policy-making. But what does the nexus mean in practice and what kinds of benefits does it bring? In this article we share our experiences with using a nexus approach in Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake area. We conclude that water, energy and food security are very closely linked, both in the Tonle Sap and in the transboundary Mekong River Basin generally. The current drive for large-scale hydropower threatens water and food security at both local and national scales. Hence, the nexus provides a relevant starting point for promoting sustainable development in the Mekong. We also identify and discuss two parallel dimensions for the nexus, with one focusing on research and analysis and the other on integrated planning and cross-sectoral collaboration. In our study, the nexus approach was particularly useful in facilitating collaboration and stakeholder engagement. This was because the nexus approach clearly defines the main themes included in the process, and at the same time widens the discussion from mere water resource management into the broader aspects of water, energy and food security.

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