Both ENDS in Benin newspaper
On November 6th 2012 ‘La Nation’ covered a workshop organised by Both ENDS and partner organisation JVE-Benin. The workshop aimed at bringing together policymakers and NGOs that are active in various river basins throughout Africa, and to familiarize them with the so-called ‘Negotiated Approach’. Professor Vijay Paranjpye of Gomukh Trust, a local organisation from India that has been at the base of the development of this alternative approach to managing natural resources, was present to inspire African delegates with experiences from the Indian practice.
Local expertise
All over the world, local communities whose livelihoods depend on the natural resources around them are marginalised. They are pushed off their lands by project developers, their rivers are polluted by emerging industries or the water flow is hampered by dam building. The Negotiated Approach empowers local communities to play a proactive role in the negotiations on - as well as the execution of -water management. The difference with other participatory methods is that within Negotiated Approach, local communities themselves can plan and propose policies, based on their own expertise and needs; rather than to be given the ability to say yes or no to plans designed from behind the drawing board.
Poor water management and droughts
Professor Paranjpye started working with local communities in the Bhima river basin in India over two decades ago. Poor water management and droughts in the basin led to ecological degradation and conflicts between water users. By structurally bringing together various communities and authorities they were able to turn the tide. Building on the successes of Gomukh and other organisations from different parts of the world, Both ENDS and these partners have further developed the Negotiated Approach.
Negotiated Approach in Africa
The workshop in Cotenou, Benin, was the second in a series to examine the potential of the Negotiated Approach in Africa. At the initiative of JVE Benin, supported by Both ENDS, civil society organisations came together for three days. Landry Alagbé of JVE Benin explains why: “Sustainable management of water is necessary because of developments such as quick urbanisation, resource exploitation, migration and the need for food security. The current approach has reached its limits, the Negotiated Approach offers far more opportunities.” The workshop’s participants from Ghana, Togo, Benin, Senegal, Mali, Uganda and Kenia shared a wealth of knowledge and experiences, and showed great interest to apply the method in their practice, by knowledge building and local action on the ground and by influencing relevant policy processes.
Read more about the Negotiated Approach here.
Article in 'La Nation' , 6 november 2012
Read more about this subject
-
External link / 29 april 2025 -
Blog / 23 april 2025The power of trust
Trust builds trust. That is what I have learned from how Both ENDS works - within our team, with partners in joint strategies and advocacy, and in our relationships with partners as a funder. Trust is the foundation. It is what allows compassion to grow, what gives rise to hope, and what fuels real solidarity. This is especially powerful in contrast to the prevailing global trend of political and international leaders who prioritize hard measures and self-interest, ignoring relations of trust. It is even more reason for us to share what we have experienced when we put trust first.
-
Letter / 15 april 2025
African civil society urges Oman against EACOP support as east Africa trade expo kicks off
Just one day before the Oman East Africa Trade and Investment
Expo opens in Muscat on April 16, over 70 civil society organisations (CSOs) from Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and beyond have published an open letter urging the Government of Oman to refrain from providing financial or diplomatic support for the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). -
Blog / 11 april 2025FMO is very pleased with its own success – now the local population still needs to be
The FMO development bank is proud of its results and the opportunities it seizes where commercial banks fail to act. But do the bank's actions really help, ask Anne de Jonghe and Nick Middeldorp.
-
News / 7 april 2025Food forest Ketelbroek: where food production and biodiversity come together
When Both ENDS-colleagues visit partners, they often go on a "field trip" to see how our joint work affects people and communities. This year, we did the same in the Netherlands. Food forestry pioneer Wouter van Eck demonstrates a group of Both ENDS partners how regenerative agriculture can offer solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises.
-
Publication / 1 april 2025
-
Blog / 31 maart 2025International cooperation and solidarity are in the interest of both the Netherlands and Africa
Traditional development aid keeps Africa in a state of aid dependency, but development cooperation is essential to break this post-colonial dependency, argues Melvin van der Veen in response to an interview in NRC Handelsblad with the Cameroonian economist Célestin Monga. By breaking off this cooperation on the basis of equality, we are actually stifling the voices of African civil society organisations, indigenous communities, youth and women's movements and human rights defenders, and we are not solving global problems.
-
External link / 28 maart 2025Eerlijke handel en gelijkwaardige relaties: pas dán kan Kenia echt op eigen benen staan
This op-ed is available in Dutch.
-
Blog / 27 maart 2025Fair trade and equal partnerships: only then can Kenya stand on its own
Several media outlets, including de Volkskrant, focused last week on the shift from “aid” to “trade,” partly in response to the state visit of the Dutch royal couple to Kenya. The idea is that it would be beneficial for Kenya to stand on its own two feet. A beautiful ideal—one I whole heartedly believe in. But this ideal can only become a reality if equality is at the heart of trade and international cooperation.
-
News / 25 maart 2025Urgent call to Shell: Don’t leave the Niger Delta without cleaning up decades of pollution
Last week, Shell reported that it officially completed the sale of its on-shore oil assets in the Niger Delta, leaving behind a vast oil pollution caused by 70 years of oil extraction in the region.
-
Letter / 25 maart 2025
Letter to Shell's CEO and plc Executive Committee: don’t leave the Niger Delta without cleaning up
Today, on Shell Capital Markets Day 2025, Both ENDS together with 195 international and Nigerian of civil society organisations is sending an open letter to Shell’s Executive Committee demanding a full cleanup of the SPDC pollution legacy and transparency on the cleanup process.
-
News / 21 maart 2025Dutch Royal couple visits Thogoto Forest: a green oasis on the outskirts of Nairobi
This week, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima visited Thogoto Forest as part of their state visit to Kenya. They were able to see the impact of the work of our partner MCDI in the area: a restored forest, clean water and farmers who can earn a living by selling their agro-ecological products.
-
News / 18 maart 2025Abuses surrounding TotalEnergies‘ LNG project in Mozambique are piling up; Dutch support irresponsible
On Friday 14 March, the French Public Prosecutor's Office announced that it would launch an official investigation into TotalEnergies’ involvement in involuntary manslaughter during the attacks on Palma, the location of their LNG project. This umpteenth abuse makes it clear that the Netherlands cannot in any way provide public support for this project.
-
Event / 12 maart 2025, 09:30 - 11:15The Conflict, Gender, Climate Nexus: Localized understanding and policy recommendations
Across the world, women lead efforts to advance peace, gender and environmental justice. From the Philippines to Mozambique, Burkina Faso to Brazil, they face a deadly convergence of violence, environmental destruction, and extractivist land grabs. As corporate interests, state forces or other armed actors expand into their territories, entire communities are displaced, criminalized, or subjected to violent repression. At the same time, worsening climate disasters further erode their means of survival, exacerbating food insecurity, water shortages, forced migration and gendered inequalities.
-
News / 4 maart 2025Feminist March 2025: let's take to the streets for gender justice
Women's rights are under pressure worldwide, and hard-fought rights and freedoms are being dismantled. Whereas until recently the Netherlands was a champion of emancipation, women's rights and gender justice, the current cabinet is breaking with this policy and abandoning millions of women and girls. That is why Both ENDS, together with many other allies, will be taking to the streets on 8 March. It is time to make a strong stand against the dismantling of gender policy and to stand up for gender equality and social justice.
-
Letter / 3 maart 2025
Input for FMO’s “investment approach to responsibly managed forest plantations”
Both ENDS has been asked by FMO to comment on its draft investment approach to responsibly managed forest plantations. To follow are a number of observations and recommendations, partially informed by Both ENDS long legacy of working in the forest & land arena, in dialogue with international donors, philanthropic foundations, companies, certification bodies and notably with forest dependent communities and other land users.
-
News / 21 februari 2025Cabinet turns its back on international cooperation and solidarity with callous policy letter
Foreign Trade and Development Minister Klever's published policy letter is coldhearted and callous. It places the Netherlands in international isolation and abandons the most vulnerable people worldwide, including many women, farmers, indigenous peoples and youth.
-
Press release / 18 februari 2025Trade deal fueling resource grab? 120+ groups from Europe and Indonesia sound the alarm
Brussels, 18 February 2025 - Over 120 civil society organizations and trade unions from Indonesia and Europe today call on the Indonesian government and the European Union to stop the negotiations for the Indonesia-EU free trade agreement – the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
-
Dossier /Seeking justice for the affected communities of Vale’s mining disasters in Mariana and Brumadinho
In 2015 and 2019, the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais experienced two severe mining tragedies in Mariana and Brumadinho, due to the same mining company: Vale. Since then, the affected communities have been seeking justice, via the criminal punishment of the responsible parties, and a fair compensation for the loss of their loved ones, their homes and their livelihoods. Both ENDS supports local CSOs by amplifying their quest for justice within an international audience and, more specifically, by raising awareness amongst Dutch investors in Vale about the high risks this company’s activities pose for people and the environment.
-
Dossier /Towards a socially and environmentally just energy transition
To address the climate crisis we need to urgently transition away from fossil fuels towards clean, renewable energy. However, this transition is not only about changing energy sources. It requires an inclusive and fair process that tackles systemic inequalities and demanding consumption patterns, prioritizes environmental and social justice, and which does not repeat mistakes from the past.
