Final Flashcards
4 main causes of persistent poverty
- unsupportive policy environment and weak implementation capacity
- failure of economic reforms to lead to sustainable growth
- budgetary allocation patterns biased against properly target and poverty focused interventions
- poor access to real assets due to unfavorable land ownership laws and unfavorable land tenure system
3 ways poverty is measured
human development index
gender development index
gender empowerment measure
human development index
based on life expectancy, infant mortality, nutrition and literacy, etc
expressed as variables: longevity index, knowledge index, and standard of life index
gender development index
uses same variables as HDI and measures for disparities between genders
greater disparities mean lower GDI
gender empowerment measure
measures disparities between men and women in political and economic participation and decision making using relevant variables
reveals inequalities of opportunities
author suggestions for poverty reduction
create separate HDIs for specific groups based on gender, race, age, income status, etc
would give more detail about human deprivation in each country
water resource in colonial period
- infrastructure developed by colonial powers oriented toward cities and elites
- inadequate funding for water infrastructure
- overlooked indigenous water knowledge, watershed management, water values, and water justice issues
colonial water resources
-infrastructure developed by colonial powers oriented toward cities and elites
- uneven, reflected concern for protecting the health and spatial planning of Europeans
- projects generated from African natural resources
colonial water resources
-inadequate funding for water infrastructure
- poor governance and corruption in many states
- led to international financial institutions to support water privatization
water privatization
- private companies raise money to fund new infrastructure for areas with little coverage and inefficient infrastructure
- allowed powerful international corporations to enter African water market
water resource in post-colonial period
- African urban areas ill equipped to deal with rapid urbanization
- large water footprints
- African governments continue to embrace western model of privatization
- women and girls adversely affected
- water sachet and ga’ruwa
post-colonial water resources
-large water footprints
inefficiencies and water waste causes cities to draw on water from near and far
post-colonial water resource
-African governments continue to embrace western model of privatization
- land and water grabbing
- hydrocolonialism: control of an area by controlling the water supply
post-colonial water resource
-water sachet and ga’ruwa
African informal water economy entrepreneurs
why is water scarcity not a natural phenomenon?
- colonial origins
- high costs
- population growth
- factors beyond nature
unnatural water scarcity
-colonial origins
poor infrastructure planning
unnatural water scarcity
-high costs
- movement expensive and difficult
- shrinking water bodies due to deforestation and desertification
unnatural water scarcity
–population growth
- rapid urbanization and increased poverty
- lack of resources
unnatural water scarcity
-factors beyond nature
- agricultural production uses 85% of water withdrawal from continent; 70% of water used for irrigation is lost
- higher standards of living
- competition between sectors
virtual water definition
- complex interactions among water, commodities, and long distance trade
- used to examine volume of freshwater needed to produce a product
- considers international travels of water that is found in communities
virtual water components
- most of African water footprint accounted for by market produce, like meat
- involves inequitable transfers from poor and water scarce rural areas to wealthy urban centers
virtual water in crisis management
- long term national security implications
- consider global consumption patterns and water footprints
door to door water delivery system of Niger
- ga’ruwa water sellers - men, usually refugees or men looking for work far from home (demeaning but necessary work) with standpipe managers)
- sold in plastic containers using carts
- little household water is available
- apprenticeships because clients rely on relationships
regional forces of ga’ruwa water selling
- informal economy workers
- key social service for Nigeriens
global forces of ga’ruwa water selling
- commodification of water
- use of modern appliances
- leads to expanding inequality and water poverty (excludes women and uses consumption style as marker of class)
5 reasons Africa is a net importer of food
- poorly developed agricultural sector under colonialism
- food production vulnerable to bad weather
- low proportion of land under irrigation
- poorly developed transportation networks
- 23% of produce lost or wasted
net importer
-poorly developed agricultural sector under colonialism
focus on minerals, forests, and tropical stimulants for European use
net importer
-food production vulnerable to bad weather
95% of crops are rain fed
net importer
-low proportion of land under irrigation
farmers struggle to find water for crops
net importer
-poorly developed transportation networks
deficient road systems
net importer
-23% of produce lost or wasted
spills, spoils, bruises or wilting
foreign investment and global agri-food industry roles in Africa as net importer of food
-contemporary African land grab
land profitable when bundled with water rights or access to marine resources
-African motivation to seize investment
promise of new infrastructure
catalyze economic development and alleviate agricultural investment gap
food security definition
economic and physical access to food, food self-sufficiency, security of access, and sustained access over a long period
difficulties defining food security
- food security and insecurity used interchangeably
- food security and self-sufficiency used interchangeably
- employed at household, local, national and regional levels
3 conditions of food insecure regions
- famine early warning systems (several different methods of measurement)
- household income levels determine security (more than 50% of all secure households are in the highest income category)
- lived poverty index
lived poverty index
reliable, self-reported, multidimensional measure of deprivation based on how often a household reports food or living insecurities
overlooked elements of food insecurity
- immediate threat to food security is not availability but access
- ignores predominantly urban transition
- focus on small farmer production to alleviate poverty and hunger
why food aid is problematic
- produces unnecessary surplus
- started as charity and is now a big business
- dependency created (power imbalances, uneven distribution to countries and between urban and rural areas)
- sometimes used as political means by African governments and international donors
