IPTRID
The aim of the network of the International Programme for
Technological Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID) is
to improve the exchange and flow of research results in the
field of drainage and irrigation. Its main functions are to
help developing countries and organizations to set up
research programmes, and to encourage collaborative research
and technology transfer by establishing networks and
developing human resources. Members of the network can
communicate with each other and with the central network, and
can use its services: bibliographical research, the provision
of documents, and the publication of a semi-annual review
(GRID) in English, French and Spanish. (Spore, No 44,
April 1993)
Contact: H.R. Wallingford, Howberry Park,
Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8BA, UK.
World Sustainable Agriculture Network
The World Sustainable Agriculture Network was created
by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) to
use new computer technologies to link together individuals and
organizations working to create a more sustainable system of
agriculture. It is a collaborative effort with the Institute
vfor Global Communications (IGC). The goal of the network is
safe and secure food supplies. The network is open to anyone's
participation. However it has one definite bias: sustainable
agriculture must be seen as agriculture that depletes neither
the people nor the land.
Network members include farmers, consumers, environmental
activists, agricultural researchers, educators, church
leaders, policy-makers, food companies and unions. The network
provides the following services: twice-weekly news bulletins,
weekly bulletin on biotechnology, calendar of events, reviews
of new educational materials and technical assistance. Means
of communication are electronic mail, fax and ordinary mail.
Joining the network is not free of charge.
Contact: Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy,
1313 5th Street SE, Suite 303, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA.
Tel: +1-612- 379 5980. Fax: +1-612-379 5982. E-mail:
iatp@igc.org.
PENHA
PENHA, Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn
of Africa, is an African organization which was set up some
time ago by a group of researchers and development workers
from the Horn of Africa who are concerned about the future of
pastoralists in the Horn of Africa. A research and development
agency has been established which is committed to mobilizing
indigenous research capacity on pastoralism within the Horn.
By focusing on indigenous knowledge, land tenure and health,
it hopes to fill important research gaps which may have been
neglected by national governments, institutions and
international organizations. PENHA has a regional perspective
and by focusing on specific areas of research, it hopes to
contribute towards a broader understanding of pastoral
problems and to put forward joint solutions. Through
networking, workshops, informal talks, collaborative research,
newsletters, etc., PENHA will ensure that the fruits of
research are widely disseminated throughout the region.
Contact: PENHA, P.O. Box 494, 1 Laney House, Portpool Lane,
London EC1N 7FP, UK. Tel: +44-71-242 0202. Fax: +44-71-404
6778.
The Rural Development Forestry Network
The Rural Development Forestry Network began life as
the Social Forestry Network at the Overseas Development
Institute in London in 1985, where it joined ODI's networks
for Agricultural Research and Extension, Irrigation
Management, and Pastoral Development. It is a research
network, where a staff of four research fellows divide their
time between their own research and more direct networking
activities. Research topics emerge from new directions in the
subject or from networkers' interests. Network research is
strongly oriented towards policy and practice.
Most of the 1700 network members are foresters, although other
natural and social scientists are also members. Seventy per
cent of the members live in developing countries. Twice a year
the network publishes a Newsletter and a set of Network
Papers. A Register of Members is published every two
years.
Contact: Gill Sheperd, Rural Development Forestry
Network, ODI, Regent's College, Regent's Park, London NW1 4NS,
UK.
South-North Network Cultures and
Development
This network is composed of individuals, from NGO's as well as
the academic world, acting in their own name. In certain
countries in South and North, groups of members have set up
local networks. These function autonomously and find their own
funding. Network participants share concern about the
irrelevance of 'development models' as proposed for, or even
imposed on, non-Western societies. They believe that it is
imperative to establish both theoretical and practical
alternatives and to transform certain aspects of development
cooperation and NGO partnership. This implies that it is up to
each cultural community to seek its own roots in its own
values. The network concentrates on: intercommunication,
action-oriented research, training, lobbying and advocacy, and
intercultural consultancy service. A trilingual (French,
English and Spanish) newsletter 'Cultures and Development -
Quid Pro Quo' is published.
Contact:
Europe and International Coordination: Thierry Verhelst
or Edith Sizoo, 174 Rue Joseph II, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium.
Tel: +31-2 2304637. Fax: +32-2-2311413.
Africa: Issiaka-Prosper Laleyê, Cultures et Dynamique
Sociale, B.P. 427, Saint-Louis, Senegal. Tel: +221-611906 ext.
1342 (work), ext 1635 (home), Fax: +221-611884.
Asia, Siddharta, Network Cultures - Asia, Tree, 902
Indiranagar 1 stg, Bangalore - 560038, India. Tel:+ 91-812-
543370.
Latin America, Rubem C. Fernandes, Iser, Ladeira da Gloria 98.
C.P. 16011, 22211 Rio de Janeiro, R.J. Brazil. Tel: +55-21-
2655747. Fax: +55-21-2054796.
NIN
The Northern Information Network is designed to link users of
databases that contain geographically referenced information
about the North. The network encourages the sharing of
information as a way to achieve more effective decision-making
in the areas of resource management and economic development.
NIN supports a variety of research initiatives in and about
the North, including project impact assessments, sustainable
development strategies, wildlife management planning, land use
planning and emergency preparedness. Potential users of the
network and sources of database information include land-use
planning offices, community and native organizations, interest
groups, industrial and business organizations, academic
institutions, and government departments.
If you have a geographically referenced database that should
be part of NIN, or if you would like further information,
please contact:
Dr. Valerie Hume, Natural Resources and Economic Development
Branch, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development,
Ottawa, K1A 0H4, Canada. Tel: +1-819-997 9480. Fax: +1-819-997
1587.
African Network on Rural Poultry
Development
The African Network on Rural Poultry Development (ANRPD), or
the Réseau Africain pour le Dévelopement de
l'Aviculture en Milieu Rurale (RADAR), was formed from a need
to consolidate knowledge of rural poultry production and to
coordinate efforts to develop it. The network serves as a
forum for the exchange of ideas and resources, the comparison
of methods, and the evaluation of results. It is an
independent voluntary association of individual researchers
and development workers operating in, or interested in,
Africa. The objectives are to promote the documentation of
results and the dissemination of information; the coordination
of training programmes for research and development personnel;
the identification of research and development priorities,
funding sources, and cooperation opportunities; and the
development of research and development protocols.
There are currently 250 members from 46 countries. The network
produces a biannual newsletter in English and French and a
directory of rural poultry development, and holds periodic
meetings.
Research priorities are: the evaluation of vaccines and
traditional remedies for the control of Newcastle disease; the
evaluation of genotypes and their relationship to productivity
in different poultry species; and socio-economic analysis of
the efficiency of the small-holder production system.
Contact: Dr. E.B. Sonaiya, Animal Science Department,
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. (Dr. J.G. Bell)
Canadian Circumpolar Institute
The Canadian Circumpolar Institute (CCI) functions as a multi-
and interdisciplinary research centre. Its goals are: (1) to
promote and support research on the circumpolar North,
especially that involving interdisciplinary and
multidisciplinary programmes, (2) to foster communication
among Northern-oriented researchers and to disseminate
information on the circumpolar North, (3) to encourage the
involvement of Northerners, students, academics, government,
industry, and the general public in the activities of the
institute and (4) to promote and support the Canadian
Circumpolar Library as a distinctive Northern research
collection of international importance.
CCI serves the University of Alberta as its centre for
research on the northern regions of Canada and other
circumpolar nations. CCI also coordinates and supports the
research efforts of some 100 on-campus Northern experts
through grants, awards and contracts, and is engaged in
contract research. CCI has a publication programme, organizes
and sponsors workshops and conferences, and publishes a
monthly newsletter. CCI is affiliated with the Canadian
Circumpolar Library, which has some 200,000 reference items
and maintains an on-line database.
Contact: The Director, Canadian Circumpolar
Institute, G-213 Biological Sciences Building, University of
Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G2E9. Tel: +1-403-492 4512. Fax:
+1-403-492 1153.
People and plants
The People and Plants Initiative aims to contribute to the
sustainable and equitable use of plant resources. The
initiative seeks to support ethno-botanists from developing
countries who work with local communities to: