This new publication from the r4d "Towards Food Sustainability"-project employs Ferguson's concept of the "Anti-Politics Machine" to uncover hidden power asymmetries of state-driven development strategies in the age of neoliberalism. "Commons-grabbing" is the institutional change from common to state and private property, often based on a false discourse of "unproductive" or "unused" resources. Institutional pluralism facilitates this process. Moreover, financial compensation for grabbing commons do not equally reach affected people, do not cover their loss and increase vulnerability, thus eroding resilience and especially affecting women.

This report presents an innovative and participatory approach to identifying hotspots of water scarcity and conflicts, exemplified by the Ewaso Ng’iro North Basin in Kenya. Hotspots are areas within the Basin that show problematic situations of water scarcity and/or water conflicts. Hotspots are therefore an important indication of where and how to set priorities of water development in the basin.

The approach combines spatially disaggregated baselines with a participatory assessment involving expert and contextual knowledge, and complements the current state assessment of hotspots with anticipating the impact of future developments under three scenarios, namely peripheral, agrarian and industrial transformations.

The mapping reveals distinct patterns of hotspots, with two complex configurations of hotspots in the upper basin and in the region of the Merti aquifer and a number of less complex and more localised hotspots, thereby clearly indicating priorities, required strategies, and appropriate approaches for water development and conflict mitigation in the basin.

Air quality in the Chilean city of Coyhaique is awful. Researchers from the Univer-sity of Bern’s UNESCO Chair and their Chilean partners want to change this. Their focus is on combining environmental education in schools, nature conservation, and the promotion of renewable energies and energy-efficient building. A main insight from the project is that the population’s active participation is crucial to successful sustainable development.

Construction of the proposed Isiolo Dam in the Ewaso Ng’iro River has been identified by

Kenya’s National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation as necessary to improve local livelihood by providing water for domestic and livestock use, small irrigation activities, and in the future, for tourists in the proposed Isiolo Resort City.

However, there has also been opposition to the proposed construction, on the grounds that the dam will expose herders downstream to drought, negatively affect endangered wildlife, and put the local wildlife--?tourism based economy at risk.

The Ewaso Ng’iro Basin Stakeholder Forum, composed of conservation sector, business sector, and civil society, has sought further understanding on the risks and opportunities related to the project.

The present study represents one such effort, in which the Forum engaged Conservation

Strategy Fund (CSF) to conduct an initial desk--?based study of potential local costs that could be caused by the Dam. Forum members provided data and factual input, but did not carry out analyses or take a role in generating conclusions or recommendations.

This study sought to investigate the prevailing trade conditions in order to understand the extent to which the current food systems have been shaped by Kenya’s trade policy and the extent to which Kenya’s trade policy is embedded in or restricted by international commitments. It also sought to analyze Kenya’s agricultural policy in order to understand the extent to which the Kenya Government is involved in the food processing industry. The study also analyzed Kenya’s food standards and labeling policy and investigated the intellectual property rights with regards to seeds and other inputs in Kenya.