Kenya faces critical declines in forest and water resource—faced nowhere more acutely than in the Mau Forest Complex and its dependent river basins. The Mau, a once densely forested montane massif in southern Kenya, west of the Great Rift Valley, is the source of numerous rivers feeding the Rift and Lake Victoria. Famous for its crossing by the massive Serengeti wildebeest migration between Tanzania and Kenya, the Mara River is threatened by upstream land use change in the Mau and the uncertain impacts of climate change. These land use changes cause diverse, often violent, conflicts generated by access to land, forest and water resources as well as inter-ethnic political strife. Recognizing the cross-sectoral importance of reversing these trends, the Prime Minister’s Office is in charge of coordinating Mau restoration.

Fifteen years after the end of Guatemala’s civil war, Guatemalans are still struggling to combat corruption and strengthen systems of transparency and accountability. According to Transparency International’s 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, Guatemala was ranked the 87th most corrupt country in the world. Corruption thrives on weak democratic institutions that lack the mechanisms necessary to hold public officials accountable for their management of public resources and exacerbates impunity, a major factor affecting democracy and governance in Guatemala.

Like all cities in Afghanistan, Jalalabad does not have an updated urban plan, which for the Municipality and citizens alike, means that community needs and municipal goals cannot be achieved. For example, infrastructure needs are rarely met, services cannot be properly provided, and land use often goes unchecked. Until a new urban plan is approved, the existing one (which is almost 50 years old) remains the official city blueprint.