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Rest of the world
RNRRS legacy

Research reports for Mexico

Weighing up the pros and cons of commercializing non-timber forest products
Three new tools are now available to help weigh up the pros and cons of commercializing non-timber forest products. A book looks at how harvesting and selling forest products could make a difference to the lives of the poor and what factors need to be considered. A manual, developed and tested in rural communities, maps out ways to scale-up, add value and overcome obstacles along the marketing chain. Then, a computer program helps compare options to reduce the risk of failure. National networks, researchers and development agencies already draw on these tools to help shape their programmes. Both producing and importing countries and regions use them - Mexico, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, the Nile Basin, Sahelian West Africa, the Mekong Delta and the Philippines. (Ref: FRP42)
Working more closely with producers: a new guide
'Participatory Livestock Research - A Guide', is a new book designed to help researchers avoid the problem of new technologies not being adopted by small livestock keepers. Many technologies have not been adopted in the past for a range of reasons. Some, for example, did not take into account the limited resources of poor users, like lack of land, while others targeted problems that poor producers did not feel were urgent. The new book teaches its readers how to work more closely with end users, to ensure that the final result is something that is wanted and can be used. It details the methods and principles applied to participatory technology development, and backs this up with a range of case studies from Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. (Ref: LPP27)
Improved livestock practices for highland communities
In Bolivia, work has been underway to find better ways of managing draught animals in the Andes. As part of this, the project has addressed the need to treat animals well and keep them healthy so that they can work for longer. But, importantly, it has also tackled the fact that inappropriate tillage practices are causing the delicate soils of the area to degrade, reducing productivity and forcing people to leave land on which they can no longer make a living. The project's outputs include the development of better ways of allocating feed, housing animals and caring for their health. It has also developed new equipment specifically for working the delicate soils found in hillside environments, and identified better ways to manage soil and conserve water. (Ref: LPP12)
New techniques give decision makers an edge
The Local Application of Remote Sensing Techniques (LARST) project has produced a variety of remote sensing tools to help decision makers plan for and monitor a huge range of environmental problems. They can also be used to provide early warning of threats to food security (like locust outbreaks), human and animal health (by predicting epidemic outbreaks), threats to forestry (like fire) as well as threats to water resources, and fisheries. Remote sensing techniques like these give decision makers the tools they need to properly design, implement and monitor new policies. The techniques are already in use around the world to solve a range of problems, from detecting fire risks in Nicaragua, Mexico and Botswana, to estimating rainfall and avoiding famine in Ethiopia. (Ref: FRP35)

RNRRS legacy: Rest of the World

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