The second report from the Working Group on Climate Change and Development. Argues that efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa will ultimately fail unless urgent action is taken to halt dangerous climate change. Graphics, pictures, and stories from a range of agencies detail the impact that climate change is already having on Africa and the threat it poses to human development. With a foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. 40pp, UK. OXFAM PUBLICATIONS.

Argues that although nearly five billion of the world's people are beginning to climb from desperate poverty and to benefit from globalization's reach to developing countries, there is a bottom billion of the world's poor whose countries, largely immune to the forces of global economy, are falling farther behind and are in danger of falling apart, separating permanently and tragically from the rest of the world. Collier identifies and explains the four traps that prevent the homelands of the world's billion poorest people from growing and joining in the benefits of globalization - civil war, the discovery and export of natural resources in otherwise unstable economies, being landlocked and therefore unable to participate in the global economy without great cost, and finally, ineffective governance. Index, bib, 209pp, USA. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS USA.

In the last ten years, a number of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have seen substantial improvements in their growth rates, and, consequently a reduction in poverty. However, that growth needs to be deepened and broadened if poverty is to be substantially reduced across the continent. The purpose of this book is to support the efforts of economic analysts and practitioners in Sub-Saharan Africa who are working to design country-specific growth strategies by presenting what recent research on the drivers of growth has discovered; providing support for economic diagnostic work focused on accelerating growth, and presenting a menu of options for addressing challenges: Investment Climate, Infrastructure, Innovation, and Institutional Capacity. Index, bib, tables, 252pp, USA. WORLD BANK PUBLICATIONS.

Offers an up-to-date analysis of the problem and characteristics of urban poverty which addresses the political challenge of the low profile of urban development in current global debates. It features a systematic comparative analysis of a range of approaches to urban development supported and promoted by leading NGOs: how successful have these been in tackling the multi-dimensional nature of urban poverty, in comparison with neighbouring settlements where no interventions have taken place? Chapters on Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Kenya Index, bib, b/w photos, 258pp, UK. ITDG PUBLISHING.

Proceeding from the Conference on Debt Relief and Development in Africa held in Windhoek, 5-6 December 2005 to consider the issues in the light of the G8 action plan initiated after the 2005 Meeting in Gleneagles. 94pp, NAMIBIA. KONRAD-ADENAUER-STIFTUNG.

A multi contributor work on the vast subject of debt and debt relief in Africa, focusing on the welfare implications of debt, and its impact on the poor and on future generations. The authors offer a pan African perspective and includes case studies from sub Saharan Africa and from the SADC region in particular. Also includes a section devoted to theoretical perspectives, covering topics such as debt forgiveness initiatives and poverty alleviation. BNS, 409pp, SOUTH AFRICA. AFRICA INSTITUTE OF SOUTH AFRICA, 0798301708

Attempts to explain why, over the past two hundred years, wealth has diverged across the planet and why the poorest nations have so far been unable to improve their lot. Using the stories of Sach's own work in Bolivia, Poland, Russia, India, China and Africa, he offers a set of solutions to the interwoven economic, political, environmental and social problems that most challenge the world's poorest countries. Index, bib, 16 colour plates, 396pp, UK. PENGUIN BOOKS.

How can those in poor countries raise their standards of living, on a planet with limited resources, without putting it under additional environmental stress? In this hugely important intellectual, ethical and ultimately practical analysis from the internationally renowned Wuppertal Institute, the authors address the two problems that define our age - social justice and environmental sustainability. Going beyond the outdated North and South divide, they construct the necessary intellectual and moral platform for fundamental progress in the opening decades of the 21st century. 288pp, UK. ZED BOOKS.

Oxfam's survey of current trends in poverty, inequality, and vulnerability which argues that most positive change, including development, is locally and nationally driven. It examines development through the lenses of rights, politics, and power, and suggests a new framework for analysing how change happens, using case studies and examples. Also explores the impact of climate change, global integration, and the spread of electoral democracy. Foreword by Amartya Sen. Index, bib, notes, 522pp, UK. OXFAM PUBLICATIONS.

An examination by the World Bank of the main factors behind observed poverty changes in eight countries, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mauritania, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Bib, tables, notes 69pp, USA. WORLD BANK PUBLICATIONS, 082135213X

Through a series of case studies, this volume examines what can be learned, both positively and critically, from the experiences of selected internationally connected firms in Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Vietnam, Guyana, and the Nunavik region of northern Canada. BNS, 256pp, UK. PALGRAVE/MACMILLAN, 1403921288

Revised and updated ninth edition. A directory of long and short term voluntary placements worldwide. Includes chapters on Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and the Middle East. 351pp, UK. VACATION WORK PUBLICATIONS, 1854583131

In-depth country case studies based on original research and fieldwork investigations - relevant for policy makers concerned with poverty reduction and develop-ment. CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Reading the Bolivian Landscape 3. The Peruvian Andes 4.The 'Poor': in Western Mexico 5. Chiefs, Land and the Poor in Rural Mozambique 6. Displacements and Claims in the Politics of Land in Zimbabwe 7. Burkino Faso: Local Organizations Decentralization and Poverty Reduction 8. Poverty Reduction in Tamil Nadu, India 9. Bangladesh: Civil Society and Local Elections - 10. Forests of West 11. Political Agencies and Spaces. Tables, notes, index, 304pp, UK. ZED BOOKS, 1856499596

How can the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) be made a reality by 2015? If the MDGs are to halve global poverty and significantly improve conditions for the world's poor on schedule, it is essential to put the requisite funding in place. This is an up-to-date overview of the funding proposals and mechanisms now under discussion. The contributors have contributed their analyses as part of the Helsinki Process on Globalization and Democracy - an inter-governmental initiative to develop new approaches to global problem-solving. Key resource flows examined include ODA, foreign direct investment, remittances by migrants, commodity export prices, and new ideas to secure sustainable debt relief, including debt cancellation, revaluation of IMF gold reserves, debt arbitration, and other proposals. 256pp, UK. ZED BOOKS.

Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs) are the new buzzwords in development aid. Some 70 countries have already elaborated them in response to World Bank and bilateral aid agency requirements. This book presents detailed, field-level research on the application of PRSs in three countries: Tanzania, Vietnam and Honduras. It describes the changing relations between the governments of these countries, donor agencies, and civic organizations that have taken part in formulating the new generation of PRSs. Poverty Reduction Strategies run up against a central paradox: in giving decisive policymaking powers to external agencies, the very process of drawing up development strategies to prioritise reducing poverty can gravely undermine the consolidation of democratic forces, structures and ideas in developing countries. 198pp, UK. ZED BOOKS.

A concise work examining the meaning of poverty, drawing on the experiences of poor people themselves in both rich and poor societies. The author concludes that the opposite of poverty is not wealth but sufficiency and safety. Index, bib, tables, 134pp, UK. VERSO, 1859845665

Using empirical case studies, the authors look at the ways in which participation and negotiation are tools for empowerment and poverty reduction. BNS, 206pp, UK. ASHGATE PUBLISHERS, 0754633772

A report on the current state of development in the economic South looking at how rich countries invest in poorer nations and how aid can be better utilised. Refs, notes, tables, graphs, 89pp, UK. OXFAM PUBLICATIONS.

Based on field research in Kenya, Cote D'Ivoire, Brazil and Chile, these ten essays suggest how poverty and democracy impact each other and what can be done by donor agencies and NGOs to support the diversity of political cultures and grassroots organisations which seek to break the cycles of poverty. Also published in hardback. Bib, notes, tables, xiii, 237pp, UK. ZED BOOKS, 1842772058

An HSRC occasional paper focusing on the programmes dedicated to development in South and Southern Africa. Notes, refs, 50pp, SOUTH AFRICA. HUMAN SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL, No ISBN

2002 PAMPHLET

Prior work has shown that there is a significant amount of turnover amongst the African poor as households exit and enter poverty. Some of this mobility can be attributed to regular movement back and forth in response to exogenous variability in climate, prices, health, etc. ('churning'). Other crossings of the poverty line reflect permanent shifts in long-term well-being associated with gains or losses of productive assets or permanent changes in asset productivity. Distin-guishing true structural mobility from simple churning is important because it clarifies the factors that facilitate such important structural change. Conversely, it also helps identify the constraints that may leave other households caught in a trap of persistent, structural poverty. The papers in this book help to distinguish the types of poverty and to deepen understanding of the structural features and constraints that create poverty traps. Index, tables, 210pp, UK. ROUTLEDGE.

Argues that in Africa, relatively few wage and salary jobs open up each year and most new entrants in the labour market end up supporting themselves in casual labour, self-employment, or small family businesses, activities with low productivity and high vulnerability. With the globalizing economy, African economies need to become more competitive in all aspects of the investment climate, including improving worker's health and education, to better integrate the informal sector with the high wage economy. Index, bib, tables, charts, 81pp, USA. WORLD BANK PUBLICATIONS.