Eruptions, Initiatives and Evolution in Citizen Activism is the result of a collaborative research project spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. The book analyses internal and external challenges to civil society in more than twenty countries. It investigates through studies of ountries that include South Africa, India and the Netherlands of civil society evolution; examinations of citizen activism, such as Occupy London, the Chilean student movement, the Cambodian farmers campaign against land grabs; regional overviews such as the Southern Cone of Latin America, Southern Africa, and Russia. The studies identify changing roles, capacities, contributions and limitations of civil society in response to changing political, economic and social contexts. The book goes on to present selected studies, identifies patterns and lessons that emerge across countries and regions. It articulates implications of those lessons for practitioners and policy makers concerned with civil society contributions to national and regional development.

This book was published as a special double issue of Development in Practice.

Successful reproduction is the basis not only for the stability of the species in their natural habitat but also for productivity of our crop plants. Therefore, knowledge on reproductive ecology of wild and cultivated plants is important for effective management of our dwindling biodiversity and for the sustainability and improvement of the yield in crop species. Conservation and management of our plant diversity is going to be a major challenge in the coming decades, particularly in the tropical countries which are rich in biodiversity. Reproductive failure is the main driver for pushing a large number of tropical species to vulnerable category. Available data on reproductive ecology on tropical species is very limited and there is an urgent need to initiate research on these lines. A major limitation for the beginners to take up research is the absence of simple concise work manuals that provide step-wise procedures to study all aspects of reproductive ecology. The Manual fills this void. Over 60 protocols described in the manual cover the whole spectrum of reproductive ecology - study sites and species, phenology, floral morphology and sexuality, pollen and pistil biology, pollination ecology, breeding system, seed biology, seed dispersal and seedling recruitment. Each chapter gives a concise conceptual account of the topic before describing the protocols. The Manual caters to researchers, teachers and students who are interested in any aspect of reproductive ecology of flowering plants -- botanists, ecologists, agri-horticulturists, foresters, entomologists, plant breeders and conservation biologists.

The aim of this text is to analyse the conditions for a good society and, from extensive international research, to show how citizens can be put at the centre of the political process. This has enormous importance for future policy which the authors explore. With considerable support from the Commonwealth Foundation, the book sets out to change the current political consensus and demonstrate the route forward to sustainable development.

Successful reproduction is the basis not only for the stability of the species in their natural habitat but also for productivity of our crop plants. Therefore, knowledge on reproductive ecology of wild and cultivated plants is important for effective management of our dwindling biodiversity and for the sustainability and improvement of the yield in crop species. Conservation and management of our plant diversity is going to be a major challenge in the coming decades, particularly in the tropical countries which are rich in biodiversity. Reproductive failure is the main driver for pushing a large number of tropical species to vulnerable category. Available data on reproductive ecology on tropical species is very limited and there is an urgent need to initiate research on these lines. A major limitation for the beginners to take up research is the absence of simple concise work manuals that provide step-wise procedures to study all aspects of reproductive ecology. The Manual fills this void. Over 60 protocols described in the manual cover the whole spectrum of reproductive ecology - study sites and species, phenology, floral morphology and sexuality, pollen and pistil biology, pollination ecology, breeding system, seed biology, seed dispersal and seedling recruitment. Each chapter gives a concise conceptual account of the topic before describing the protocols. The Manual caters to researchers, teachers and students who are interested in any aspect of reproductive ecology of flowering plants -- botanists, ecologists, agri-horticulturists, foresters, entomologists, plant breeders and conservation biologists.