April 2013: The International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) has released publications addressing issues central to the green economy and the development of post-2015 development goals, gender equity, land rights and agriculture in Southern Africa, Madagascar, Guatemala, Brazil, and Caribbean small island developing States (SIDS).

The IPC-IG paper titled “Locating the Policy Space for Inclusive Green Growth within the SADC Extractive Sector” explores the high dependency of a number of countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on mineral resources, and the relative lack of expected social benefits from the extractive industries sector in these countries. The brief finds opportunities for greener and inclusive growth by linking extractive industries to other development goals beyond economic returns, as well as by integrating environmental concerns more broadly into economic development plans.

The IPC-IG paper titled “Greening the Economy and Increasing Economic Equity for Women Farmers in Madagascar” analyzes: the implications of climate change on opportunities for women; potential co-benefits from adaptation and mitigation; and alternative models for greening the economy. It notes the severe institutional and resource challenges facing Madagascar and highlights a lack of adequate consideration of the social dimensions of climate change, as well as a gender-blindness in disaster risk management and reduction. The paper notes the high vulnerability of women to climate change and presents a case study from rural Madagascar. It describes specific practices employed by women to cope with climate change.

The research brief titled “Guatemala and Integrated Rural Development” seeks to advance discussion on land reform and inequality in Guatemala by comparing market-led reforms by the Government since 1996 and the Integrated Rural Development Law created by civil society. It highlights contradictions between local efforts to build rural structures and State efforts to promote economic development through global agricultural competitiveness. The paper argues for an alternative strategy for resolving land inequality in Guatemala that generates national and rural growth.

The paper titled “Resource Inequality: Moving Inequalities from the Periphery to the Center of the Post-2015 Agenda” highlights the false separation between social, economic and environmental drivers of under-development, and instead stresses their interconnectedness. The authors describe unequal access of socially and economically marginalized groups to natural resources as a major driver of underdevelopment. They stress that consideration of “resource equality” may be a useful approach to bridge the gap between social and environmental dimensions of inequality.

In the research brief titled “Dams, Development and Displacement: Towards More Inclusive and Social Futures” the IPC-IG explores the assumption that implementation of green economic policy, access to water, energy and cultural rights are inherently complementary. It examines this question through the example of dams, noting that while dams represent “clean” energy, they can pose threats to the environment and cause concerns for local and indigenous communities. The report calls for non-monetary costs and benefits to be balanced with monetary considerations as large-scale development activities move forward.

Finally, in the research brief on “Food Security, Women Smallholders and Climate Change in Caribbean SIDS” the IPC-IG finds that small-scale ecologically-sensitive farming and fishing in the Caribbean present approaches to anchor local food security, shelter domestic food markets, and protect and secure the biodiversity of Caribbean SIDS ecosystems and biomes. The brief examines findings from Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and Haiti, and underscores the need to empower women smallholder farmers. The IPC-IG is a programme jointly supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Government of Brazil. [Publication: Locating the Policy Space for Inclusive Green Growth within the SADC Extractive Sector] [Publication: Greening the Economy and Increasing Economic Equity for Women Farmers in Madagascar] [Publication: Guatemala and Integrated Rural Development: Towards Inclusive Growth in the Rural Sector] [Publication: Resource Inequality: Moving Inequalities from the Periphery to the Center of the Post-2015 Agenda] [Publication: Dams, Development and Displacement: Towards More Inclusive and Social Futures] [Publication: Food Security, Women Smallholders and Climate Change in Caribbean SIDS]