All Publications http://www.oxfamamerica.org These are the search results for the query, showing results 21 to 35. Local Institutions, External Interventions, and Adaptations to Climate Variability http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/climate-change-adaptive-processes-mali The case of southern Mali. This research examines the role of local institutions in mediating the adaptive practices developed by individuals and collectives in the cotton-growing region of Mali. In this area, the main climate risk is erratic and inadequate rainfall, compounded by difficulties related to guaranteeing a sufficient income from cotton and cereal farming from increasingly infertile soils. The following key questions guided the fieldwork: 1) What role do local social institutions have in long-term adaptation to environmental change?, 2) How have extra-local actors interacted with local social institutions in development and adaptation efforts?, and 3) How is the production and use of weather and climate information organized?

]]> No publisher jedwards 2013-02-25T18:47:38Z Research Report Local Institutions, External Interventions, and Adaptations to Climate Variability http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/climate-change-adaptive-processes-ethiopia The case of the Borana pastoralists in southern Ethiopia The purpose of this study is to understand the role of local institutions in assisting the Borana pastoralists of southern Ethiopia in dealing with droughts. Because of social and economic marginalization, as well as sheer geography, Borana pastoralists are very vulnerable to the effects of climate variability. The study places these local practices in micro- and macroinstitutional frameworks, to explore how different interventions have enhanced or inhibited coping and adaptations; how local institutions interacted with external structures; and whether new institutions are emerging to foster adaptive capacity.

]]> No publisher jedwards 2013-02-20T20:20:10Z Research Report US Investment in Large-scale Land Acquisitions http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/us-investment-in-large-land-acquisitions US Investment in Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries In the past decade, investment in land used for agriculture and forestry in low- and middle-income countries has grown dramatically. This study provides an analysis of the extent of US investors’ and investment fund managers’ involvement in this phenomenon over the past 10 years. With this research, Oxfam America hopes to begin exploring the business models behind these investments and the potential food security implications in low- and middle- income countries where large-scale land acquisitions are occurring.

]]> No publisher jedwards 2013-02-19T18:46:19Z Research Report The role of local institutions in adaptive processes to climate variability http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/the-role-of-local-institutions-in-adaptive-processes-to-climate-variability The cases of southern Ethiopia and southern Mali Farmers and herders in arid regions of Africa face serious challenges in adapting to climate change and variability. They are highly exposed to climate stresses, especially drought, but adaptation to climate change is far from being a clear-cut biophysical or technical problem: it is also a social challenge. Although communities in semi-arid zones have organized their cultures and livelihoods around uncertainty and the risk of drought, climate predictions indicate that new extremes will be a real challenge to their capacity to adapt. This report looks at local social institutions in Ethiopia and Mali and their role in adaptation.

]]> No publisher akramer 2013-02-13T17:43:56Z Research Report The truth about the Arms Trade Treaty http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/the-truth-about-the-arms-trade-treaty Get the facts on an international treaty that will keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers around the globe. The National Rifle Association and its allies have mounted a campaign of lies and deliberate distortions to build American opposition to an international Arms Trade Treaty that will keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers around the globe. Here are the facts that set the record straight.

]]> No publisher cmccabe 2013-02-15T17:08:15Z Briefing Paper OXFAMCloseup, Winter 2013 http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/oxfamcloseup-winter-2013 Sowing the seeds of a better future. With this issue, we have given our magazine a new name: Closeup. It reflects our intention to help readers gain a deeper understanding of the people with whom we work and of the enterprise, drive, and dignity that defines their lives—even as many face terrible hardship. But hardship is only part of the story. Coupled with it—almost always—is a determination that can carry a region far.

In the pages ahead, you’ll read about civil society groups in Ghana that are working to ensure that the natural wealth of their country—its oil and gold—benefits its poorest citizens. You’ll also read about farmers in Haiti’s lush Artibonite valley where they have struggled to keep producing rice in the face of a flood of cheaper imports, mainly from the United States. Learn about the significant progress they are making, with Oxfam’s help, to revitalize their rice industry. As one farmer said, “We were hungry, but that is getting better all the time.”

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]]> No publisher jabdulla 2013-01-31T21:04:52Z Oxfam Exchange Mali's Conflict Refugees http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/malis-conflict-refugees Responding to a growing crisis Nearly 375,000 Malians fled the conflict in the north of their country in 2012. Over 145,000, the majority of them women and children, sought refuge in poor areas of neighboring Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger. More are already following since the escalation in fighting in January 2013. Those neighboring governments and humanitarian organizations have provided life-saving aid to refugees in difficult circumstances, but they are struggling to meet all the refugees’ basic needs. In Niger’s camps, up to 21 percent of children are malnourished. Governments and aid organizations must urgently step up preparations to respond to rising needs in refugeehosting countries, while all military forces and armed groups active in Mali must take all possible steps to avoid harm to an already distressed civilian population. Many of the refugees have repeatedly fled Mali over the last 20 years, and may well not return until the deep-seated social, political and economic drivers of the country's conflict are resolved.

]]> No publisher mhart 2013-01-22T14:47:38Z Briefing Paper Summary: Mali's Conflict Refugees http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/summary-malis-conflict-refugees Responding to a growing crisis Nearly 375,000 Malians fled the conflict in the north of their country in 2012. Over 145,000, the majority of them women and children, sought refuge in poor areas of neighboring Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger. More are already following since the escalation in fighting in January 2013. Those neighboring governments and humanitarian organizations have provided life-saving aid to refugees in difficult circumstances, but they are struggling to meet all the refugees’ basic needs. In Niger’s camps, up to 21 percent of children are malnourished. Governments and aid organizations must urgently step up preparations to respond to rising needs in refugeehosting countries, while all military forces and armed groups active in Mali must take all possible steps to avoid harm to an already distressed civilian population. Many of the refugees have repeatedly fled Mali over the last 20 years, and may well not return until the deep-seated social, political and economic drivers of the country's conflict are resolved.

]]> No publisher mhart 2013-01-22T14:47:58Z Briefing Paper Clean hands, clean water, and better health http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/clean-hands-clean-water-and-better-health A low-tech plastic container cuts waterborne disease for families struggling to eat in Senegal. No publisher akramer 2013-01-17T22:23:21Z Oxfam Impact Emiliana Aligaesha, Venture Capitalist http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/emiliana-aligaesha-venture-capitalist Tanzanian farmer is leveraging a tiny investment of US foreign aid to ensure the success of early-stage, high-potential start-ups. US foreign aid works best as a tool in the hands of the right local leaders—those trying to solve their own problems in their own nations and neighborhoods.

Emiliana Aligaesha is one of them.

]]> No publisher JLentfer 2013-04-02T18:24:17Z Briefing Note Fiscal Hawk: Manuel Dominguez http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/fiscal-hawk-manuel-dominguez Mayor Manuel Dominguez is leveraging a tiny investment of US foreign aid to budget for a sound future for his community. US foreign aid works best as a tool in the hands of the right local leaders—those trying to solve their own problems in their own nations and neighborhoods.

Mayor Manuel Dominguez is one of them.

]]> No publisher JLentfer 2013-01-17T20:46:40Z Briefing Note Job Creator: Nana Kojo Kondua IV http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/job-creator-nana-kojo-kondua-iv Village Chief Kondua is leveraging a tiny investment of US foreign aid to train fishermen and protect jobs and the environment in Abuesi, Ghana. US foreign aid works best as a tool in the hands of the right local leaders—those trying to solve their own problems in their own nations and neighborhoods.

Nana Kojo Kondua IV is one of them.

]]> No publisher JLentfer 2013-01-17T20:50:26Z Briefing Note Beltway Outsider: Martha Kwataine http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/beltway-outsider-martha-kwataine Health advocate Kwataine is leveraging a tiny investment of US foreign aid to protect the health of people in rural communities across Malawi. US foreign aid works best as a tool in the hands of the right local leaders—those trying to solve their own problems in their own nations and neighborhoods.

Martha Kwataine is one of them.

]]> No publisher JLentfer 2013-03-28T20:23:29Z Briefing Note R4 Rural Resilience Initiative http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/r4-rural-resilience-initiative-3 Quarterly report | July - September 2012 R4 represents a new kind of partnership, bringing public- and private-sector actors together in a strategic, large-scale initiative to innovate and develop better tools to help the most vulnerable people build resilient livelihoods. R4 promises to leverage the respective strengths of its partners: Oxfam America’s capacity to
build innovative partnerships and the World Food Programme’s global reach and extensive capacity to support government-led safety nets for the most vulnerable people. This partnership will enable thousands more poor farmers and other food insecure households to manage weather vulnerability through an affordable, comprehensive risk management program that builds long-term resilience.

In this report we share key accomplishments during the July–September 2012 quarter, including the enrollment results for the 2012 agricultural season in Ethiopia, and present the regional level analysis conducted in Senegal in preparation of the pilot rollout in 2013.

]]> No publisher akramer 2013-03-19T14:59:36Z Research Report Viv Tankou Moun http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/viv-tankou-moun Viv Tankou Moun (a Kreyol phrase meaning "to live like a human being") is a survey of 16 camps of Haitian people displaced by the 2010 earthquake. This is an executive summary of the survey results in French followed by English. From a peak of 1.5 million, the number of displaced people remaining in the camps that came into being after Haiti’s devastating earthquake of January 2010 has dropped significantly to around 358,000 nearly three years after the disaster. Despite the official end to the emergency phase of the crisis, conditions in the camps are deplorable and the people who remain are by and large those who are the least able to get back on their feet. This study was commissioned by Oxfam in order to gain a better understanding of the problem, particularly in the 16 sites in the commune of Delmas where Oxfam has provided water and sanitation services.

]]> No publisher mhart Caribbean Haiti 2012-12-13T19:38:13Z Briefing Note