Entomophagy, the human consumption of insects, has not received significant attention in Western literature, despite the critical role which it plays as a protein supplement in many parts of the world. This paper explores the importance of entomophagy in Africa within the context of food security and indigenous technical knowledge. These issues are further investigated through a case study of the mopane caterpillar in Southern Africa. The findings clearly indicate the contribution which insects make to the diet of rural Africans.

Lewis, C. A., and Illgner, P. M. 2001. Late Quaternary glaciation in southern Africa: moraine ridges and glacial deposits at Mount Enterprise in the ABSTRACT: Late Quaternary moraines and diamictons containing striated clasts are described from near Elliot in the Drakensberg of South Africa. An equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of 2109 m is suggested for the palaeoglacier associated with the innermost moraine. This glacier was fed by a very extensive snowblow area and the ELA may reflect the temperature-precipitation-wind ELA rather than the temperature-precipitation ELA and be considerably below the 'regional' ELA. Mean annual air temperatures when glaciation occurred were probably at least 10.0°C below those of the present.

IntroductionAfrica has suffered disproportionately more than other continents from a series of political and economic shocks. Chief among them are the debt crisis, the questionable impacts of structural adjustment, and various political and natural disasters (Adedeji, 1996;Barratt Brown, 1995;Belshaw and Livingstone, 2002;Manji and O'Coill, 2002). Whilst it is apparent that in the first years of the 21st century many African governments are more stable, democracy is more entrenched, and governments are putting in place significant decentralization and economic reform processes, a significant development backlog still remains. In addition, while Poverty Reduction Strategy Plans are in place and the Millennium Development Goals are widely accepted and striven for, extremely limited resources make the specified goals difficult to attain in the short term (Jenkins and Tsoka, 2004). Many of these policies have a medium to long-term vision whilst also having to respond to immediate needs. As argued elsewhere, the scale of the`development impasse ' (Binns and Nel, 1999) requires the full utilization of all viable alternative development interventions, including those of community-based development and NGO-assisted development, given that the development backlog far exceeds the capacity of national governments. This particular paper, which is based on a successful community-based development initiative in Malawi, seeks to explore the nature of the key success factors needed to initiate, support, and maintain a successful project and which allow it to attain financial success and sustainability by effectively penetrating formal sector markets. As such, findings contribute to the knowledge based on local development capacity and opportunities in the African context.Abstract. Africa has a disproportionate share of the world's poorest countries and within this context economically weak states generally lack the ability to provide the ideal level of support and opportunities for their citizens. This paper examines how, in Malawi, a community-based economic development initiative, with the aid of a supportive NGO, has significantly improved rural livelihoods and facilitated market access in the formal market economy. Active government and NGO support for small scale irrigation farming coupled with their encouragement of community development led to the emergence of the Ngolowindo agricultural cooperative which serves as a useful model and example of locality-based development in Africa. After providing a context for the study in terms of both contextual literature and details specific to the Malawian context, the paper examines how the cooperative emerged, how it operates, what role the supporting NGO plays, and how products are sold. The study concludes with an overview of key findings and an examination of the lessons for local development in Africa.

In the post-apartheid era, South Africa is experiencing a serious water supply crisis as demand increases from both rural areas and rapidly growing towns and cities. New dams and water transfer schemes are being constructed, but they are both controversial and unlikely to fully satisfy demand. Alien species of trees and plants have invaded many parts of the country, taking over land from indigenous species. These alien species consume much more water than the indigenous vegetation, as well as threatening biodiversity and constituting a signi®cant ®re hazard. The Working for Water Programme, established in 1995, and working in partnership with local communities, aims to clear invasive alien species and thus increase water supply. The programme is examined in terms of its impact on environment and the livelihoods of predominantly poor rural communities. Questions are raised about the future sustainability of the programme.

Community-based economic self-reliance has become critical in many African countries because of the severity of prevailing soci-economic and environmental constraints. Concerns over food security have encouraged a re-evaluation of the importance of indigenous technical knowledge. This study examines a rural area in Zimbabwe where members of the local community have established a successful beekeeping association to improve their livelihoods. The history of the initiative, its broader impact on the community and the role played by external facilitation feature in the study.