This thematic study explores the links between the right to food and natural resources governance. It covers a range of issues of which access to resources and assets, land, water, and the recommendation to protect ecological sustainability for sustainable management of natural resources are primary.

This country report focusses on the factors influencing the development of forestry in the country and goes on to outline likely future scenarios based on current trends and problems.

Meeting Name: FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (LARC)
Meeting symbol/code: LARC/16/4
Session: Sess. 34

Volume I of the proceedings on the above theme, which was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 11 to 14 February 2003. The three primary objectives of the symposium were to provide a forum (i) to review and synthesize the latest information on large rivers; (ii) to raise the political, public and scientific awareness of the importance of river systems, the living aquatic resources they support and the people that depend on them; and (iii) to contribute to better management, conservation and restoration of the living aquatic resources of large rivers.

Our region is food insecure and a net importer of foods. It produces much less food than it requires due to many factors, such as limited arable land and shortage of water resources, and below world average agricultural productivity in many cases. In addition, the region suffers from excessive food losses and wastes. FAO estimated recently that food losses and waste in the world amounts to about 1.3 billion metric tons, and we estimate that our region’s share of these losses and wastes is very significant.

Land Tenure Working Paper 16 Governance of Land Tenure Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) looks at the land governance situation in the region. It has been prepared to provide a base for discussion for the regional consultation meetings on the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and other Natural Resources. The objective of the study is to evaluate the current land governance situation in the region and to identify main achievements as well as remaining challenges.

La présente publication «Situation des ressources génétiques forestières de la Mauritanie» est issue d’un rapport national présenté à l’Atelier sous-régional FAO/IPGRI/CIRAF sur la conservation, la gestion, l’utilisation durable et la mise en valeur des ressources génétiques forestières de la zone sahélienne (Ouagadougou, 22-24 sept. 1998).

Land Tenure Working Paper 17. This publication identifies and assesses issues related to land governance and provides examples of good governance in the Caribbean subregion. This working paper was done in light of FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and other Natural Resources.

Meeting Name: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA)
Meeting symbol/code: CGRFA-16/17/24 Rev. 1
Session: Sess.16

A quarterly news bulletin dedicated to the exchange of information relating to wildlife and national resources management for the Asia-Pacific region.

The current working definition of biotechnolology used by the FAO refers to any means of developing or using living organisms to produce or alter or improve a product or organism for a specified purpose (UNEP 1992; Schmidt 1997), which would include prehistoric plant and animal domestication. A more current perspective specifies biotechnology having commercial applications, featuring deliberate manipulation of the genetic components of living organisms or their products (IBPGR 1991; Iowa State University 1994).