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An important milestone for the sanitation sector was the adoption by the UN of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets 6.2 (safely managed sanitation and hygiene services) and 6.3 (reducing the portion of untreated wastewater), which focus on managing the entire sanitation service chain. Tajikistan has been at the forefront of promoting these at global level. Meanwhile, the fourth initiative of the President of Tajikistan on the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development, 2018–20281 is being implemented at national level., Over the past decade, sanitation has been given low priority within the focus areas of water sector reform. For example, not all aspects of regulations have been duly revised to adopt new technologies. In addition, many regulations for wastewater treatment remain outdated and pose legal constraints for testing new approaches in the country. The Tajikistan Water Supply and Sanitation (TajWSS) (Phase III) project piloted a decentralised wastewater treatment system (DEWATS) in the peri-urban Rudaki district in Tajikistan with two hospitals with the aim of scaling up to national level. This learning paper showcases the project findings, assessments and lessons learned in application of the DEWATS.

Tajikistan is often described as the poorest country in Central Asia, with GDP per capita consistently lower than any of its regional neighbours. Its water and sanitation infrastructure is severely dilapidated, suffering from decades of underinvestment and the failure to address widespread damage suffered during the country’s civil war (1992–1997). Efforts to ensure everyone has improved access to adequate water and sanitation services are characterised by contradictory legislation and blurred responsibilities between state agencies. Reform of the sector and roll-out of improved infrastructure have been slow, requiring strong accountability mechanisms to ensure that the rights of the most vulnerable people are adequately protected., Oxfam’s water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programme is therefore based on a theory of change that aims to improve the health status of Tajikistan’s population through the delivery of long-lasting WASH services, while addressing market systems and strengthening institutions.

This paper addresses the role of Russia as a humanitarian aid donor in the context of the increasing participation in international aid of so-called ‘new’, ‘emerging’ (or ‘re-emerging’), or ‘non-traditional’ donors. In recent years Russia has made a number of international aid commitments, for example within the G8, marking its re-emergence as an international donor since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. In line with Russia’s increasing international aid commitments, the level of Russian humanitarian aid has also been increasing over recent years. Nonetheless, the country still faces several obstacles in developing its donor capacity.

A key factor in global food price volatility is the way that states react to disruptions in supply. There is a strong inclination for exporters to impose export bans in reaction to potential food price increases in their own country. This reaction, however, is a poor strategy for managing food prices at home and has a range of unintended consequences for the domestic and international economy. This report looks at the short- and long-term impact of the grain export ban issued by the Russian government during 2010-11. In the summer of 2010 Russia experienced a heat wave that included the highest temperatures recorded in 130 years. As news of this disaster, and the resulting drop in Russia’s grain crop became known, international grain prices increased dramatically. In response to this increase, and in an effort to protect local consumers and local meat producers, the Russian government instituted a grain export ban that pushed grain prices higher in the international markets. As the ban is set to end on 1 July 2011, this paper considers it effectiveness, both in the short- and long-term. It shows that the ban did not bring food prices down in Russia, that it increased the price of grain internationally, and helped create an environment where price spikes and general instability are far more likely in the future. The report concludes with recommendations for alternative policies to increase food security in the future.

There are three core aspects of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) - scope, parameters and implementation - which must all be strong for the ATT to achieve its intended objectives of saving lives through preventing irresponsible arms transfers. This paper addresses implementation, an area somewhat neglected so far in the debate. This practical guide is intended to support law-makers, licensing officers, customs officials, and other agencies and individuals involved in establishing and implementing national control systems for international arms transfers. This guide will also be useful during the negotiations of the ATT. The guide acknowledges that there is no 'one size fits all' solution. It provides a clear framework and outlines the core principles and elements from different systems, giving examples from a number of countries. This guide strengthens Oxfam's campaign for a global, legally binding, Arms Trade Treaty, and is written with Oxfam's partners for the launch of preparatory talks on the ATT.

Climate change is affecting agriculture across Tajikistan and threatening the food security of thousands of people who depend on small-scale subsistence farming for their survival. Intense droughts, extensive flooding and increased frequency of weather-related shocks are becoming more apparent, and hitting poor people hardest. In Tajikistan, it is women who will most likely bear the brunt of this insecurity as they are increasingly responsible for securing an income from farming and providing for their families. As men often migrate to find work aboard, women are reliant on the small household plots for their year-round food source. However, they are often at the mercy of stresses that climate change will place on their natural resources, and face rising prices for staples, such as wheat or sugar. As the impacts of climate change intensify, women farmers are at higher risk of losing their livelihoods, pushing them deeper in poverty. Against this background there is a need to recognize and support the central role that women smallholder farmers play in the food economy. This report looks at climate change through the eyes of women farmers in Tajikistan. It examines the critical role that women can play in food security and in mitigating and adapting to climate change. As part of an ongoing climate change campaign, it makes recommendations on what needs to happen in order to secure a sustainable food economy in the country.

In the mountains and valleys of Tajikistan, a landlocked country in central Asia, poor and marginalised communities are struggling to cope with the impacts of climate change. Unseasonal rains, rising temperatures and climate extremes are hitting poor people hardest, and eroding their livelihoods. As part of an ongoing climate change campaign, Oxfam conducted research into how the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR) funds have been allocated in Tajikistan, linking to a global initiative intended to hold to account those organisations mandated to manage climate investment funds. The PPCR is one of the Climate Investment Funds; financing instruments designed to pilot low-carbon and climate-resilient development through the multilateral development banks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Tajikistan is one of eight countries and regions that are part of the PPCR process. Over the course of 2010, staff and consultants from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have been visiting Tajikistan to determine, alongside the government, how US$50 million could be spent to pilot climate resilient development. Whilst this new investment of funds is clearly widely welcomed, the research found a range of views about the way the US$50 million PPCR money has been allocated in Tajikistan. Many commentators felt that small holder farmers and households headed by women – some of those most vulnerable to climate change – have so far been left out of consultations and potential benefits. This report makes recommendations around the future of climate change investments to ensure that they benefit the poorest and most vulnerable people living in rural areas. Above all, it highlights that the most vulnerable communities must have an equal say in the governance of adaptation funds required to deliver their needs.

The people of Tajikistan, a small, mountainous country in Central Asia, are experiencing the impacts of climate change. More frequent droughts and heightened extreme weather conditions are hitting poor communities, eroding their resilience. The country's glaciers are melting, bringing the danger, in the future, of greater water shortages and potential disputes in the wider region. Last summer's unusually good rains and consequent harvest brought some relief to rural communities across Tajikistan but the long-term trends are clear - and ominous. This report is based on interviews undertaken in communities in Spitamen and Ganchi in the north and Vose, Fakhor, and Temurmalik in the south in October 2009. It gives an insight into how poor men and women are experiencing climate change, and what challenges they are currently facing - and will continue to face in the future. It makes recommendations on what needs to happen to help them cope better with climate change.

Since the end of the Cold War, the number of armed conflicts in the world has fallen. But is this trend now about to be reversed? Climate change, poverty and inequality, and the wider availability of weapons all add to the risk of conflicts increasing. In 1949, the Geneva Conventions enshrined people's rights to be protected from atrocities in conflict. Yet civilians are still killed, raped, and forced to flee their homes, 60 years on. In 2005, almost every government in the world agreed its Responsibility to Protect civilians. Many have failed to keep this promise. Governments must now make new efforts to take up the challenge in a rapidly changing "multipolar" world, where China and the USA will be the "superpowers" and where India, the European Union, Brazil, and others are gaining new global influence. Many people feel that there is little that can be done to prevent the brutal targeting of civilians that characterises modern warfare. They are wrong. This report, based on Oxfam International's experience in most of the world's conflicts, sets out an ambitious agenda to protect civilians through combining local, national, and regional action with far more consistent international support.

Human-caused climate change stands as the major global challenge of the 21st century. Poor countries will suffer most, but neither rich nor northern countries will be able ﾓto wait it out.ﾔ This report examines climate change in Russia and its neighbouring countries. Using case studies from the Arctic Region and the river valleys of central Russia, it surveys the effects of global warming on the environment, the economy and society and pays special attention to the lack of drinking water and the spread of diseases. It is hoped that this report will serve as a call to arms to arrest the damage, and support the people suffering most. If ignored, worsening conditions could render habitats barren, causing the extinction of species and the migration of millions of people.