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The crisis in agricultural commodities is closely linked to issues of poverty and environmental degradation. Dealing with entrenched rural poverty and major impacts from agriculture on ecosystem viability requires a new look at how commodity markets succeed or fail. There is a need for better understanding of how commodity markets work and how policy makers and businesses can intervene to introduce fairness, justice and sustainability into these markets. This challenging context provides the background for this book, which brings together an edited selection of papers prepared for two strategic dialogues on commodities, trade and sustainable development, jointly convened by IIED and the ICTSD

Although the idea of sustainable development is by now well established, discussions of how to progress from concept to reality often become mired in the complexities of global politics and offer few concrete solutions. While achieving sustainable development will undoubtedly require changes at the global level, the authors of this book emphasize that patterns of sustainable development must be built from the bottom up. They focus on methods for movement toward sustainability that can occur at the grassroots level. This book presents an integrated series of essays on the policies for sustainable development from one of the leading policy research institutes for environmental and developmental issues. It concentrates on the developing world and looks at the specific sectors to which policies must be applied. Beginning with a discussion of what constitutes sustainable development, it goes on to examine the institutional measures needed to mobilize human resources for change and the economic policies for sustainable natural-resource management. It then considers the policies needed in agriculture, urban development, industry, forests, drylands, energy use, finance, population, and consumption. The book ends with a discussion of the potential for financing new policy initiatives and the pressing need to reduce population growth and profligate consumption. Throughout, it demonstrates how those directly involved are best suited to manage their environments and resources. Policies for sustainable development depend upon the experience and resourcefulness of local people and require that they control their own futures