Folkecenter

Jatropha - fuel for the future?

We will be finding out about the wild plant jatropha. Will it use up precious land which could be used to grow food - or does it hold the key to feeding the world's hungry industries?

published: December 2007

WRENmedia

Blooming business

Flowers are big business - so big in fact, that global trade in flowers has been growing by 20 per cent each year. With so much demand coming mostly from Europe, it is no wonder that farmers want to invest in the flower business, but is the option open to small scale farmers, as well as large commercial operations? Susie Emmett travelled to South Africa and Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where flowers from more than 80 countries are traded, to find out. She talks to the entrepreneurs seizing the opportunity to create an increasingly blooming business.

published: July 2007

WRENmedia

Wetland management: a shared responsibility

Who is responsible for managing natural resources, such as forests, land and rivers? Should local communities be in charge of decision-making or government offices? Or is the best approach to split the responsibility, putting some decisions in the hands of professionals, and others at the discretion of the people whose lives are affected? In the wetlands of northern Nigeria, building of dams has had negative impacts on livelihoods in downstream communities. Recently, however, improved communication between those communities and the authorities who manage the dams is offering a much more hopeful future. 'Wetland management: a shared responsibility' highlights how the change has come about.

published: May 2007