Depending who and where you are in the world, you will be experiencing the effects of climate change differently. Here in the UK, the recent hot-weather days in February might…
Cities, Uncertainty and Systems Change
Rediscovering the Water-Food-Energy Nexus
A few months ago, I presented the findings of a new book, The Water-Food-Energy Nexus: Power, Politics and Justice, to an International Water Association conference on the same topic at…
Realising the SDGs: why a sustainable livelihoods approach can help
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched with great fanfare in September 2015. This was an ambitious agenda for the whole world, aiming to transform development towards sustainability, while leaving…
Poverty traps: a short film about how people in rural Appalachia see poverty
Poverty is often described as a ‘trap’. How does this reflect the perception of people who live with poverty in their everyday lives? Researchers often use the words ‘poverty trap’…
‘What if?’ Meeting, making, dreaming, doing
Each week, the System Change Hive is exploring and experimenting with new solutions to societal and environmental problems, through creative arts practice. Artworks created will be exhibited in different locations around…
Water crisis’ disproportionate toll on women can no longer be ignored
STEPS member Lyla Mehta has written an article with Ria Basu for the Indian magazine Firstpost about the impacts of ‘water crisis’ on women. Often, access to water is about…
Irrigating Africa: can small-scale farmers lead the way?
by Ian Scoones, Felix Murimbarimba and Jacob Mahenehene We often hear that irrigation in Africa is too limited, and that the key to a “green revolution” on the continent is…
Five problems with ‘integrated assesment’ models, and what to do about them
What are the most appropriate ways of understanding changes in natural resource change in rural areas, particularly in the context of climate change? How can we make use of data…
Pastoralist milk is a viable commodity. What enables it to flourish?
Pastoralists’ integration into market dynamics is mostly addressed through the lens of trade in meat products, involving male traders. Pastoral milk, mostly traded by women, is often ignored. But good…
Could Kenya’s local flour mills be an early warning system for famine?
By Fred Ajwang, Relational Pathways project In the Relational Pathways project, we have been exploring how rural people relate to technology in their everyday lives. This has included fieldwork in…