Final Report Desakota, Part II E1. Water-based Ecosystems, Poverty Alleviation and the Desakota phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa: A Regional Literature Review.

Abstract

The Desakota phenomenon is defined as driven by four areas of interlinked rapid change: the overall political economy; water based ecosystems; global environmental changes; and poverty. This literature review attempts to re-examine the relationship between the water-based ecosystem goods and services and poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa through the Desakota lens.

To lay a foundation for understanding the key drivers of change in the area, the socioeconomic, environmental and spatial context of the region must first be examined. This is done in Chapter Two. In Chapter Three, the drivers are examined in relation to their role in determining the importance of understanding the effects of the Desakota phenomenon on water-based ecosystems and poverty. Chapter Four explores how these drivers affect meso level relationships between people and ecosystem goods and services. In conclusion, Chapter Five outlines some of the most pertinent research gaps and possible entry points to emerge from the study.

The literature, case studies and conceptual frameworks used in this review are deeply embedded in two broader situational analyses; the Sub-Saharan African Review, and the Desakota Review. Subsequently, the findings in this review draw on some of the fieldwork and consultations conducted for those reviews. No primary research, however, was done specifically for this review. Instead, a broad range of peer reviewed and grey literature was surveyed in an attempt to contextualize the broader findings within the Desakota context in sub-Saharan Africa.

Citation

71 pp.

Final Report Desakota, Part II E1. Water-based Ecosystems, Poverty Alleviation and the Desakota phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa: A Regional Literature Review.

Published 1 January 2008