Corruption in land management from the perspective of a simple risk framework. These risk factors and forms of corruption spring from more general shortcomings in the integrity framework. In this regard, this report argues that corruption is most likely to occur when an official or office has a monopoly, when the official or office has a great deal of discretion over how the decision is taken, and when there is little accountability for that decision or transparency, which might make it harder for the corruption to proceed unabated.

Debates and critiques around land policy often focus on the neo-liberal agenda of formalising land as alienable property, most notably through land titling schemes. Sometimes these schemes are posited against alternatives such as land reform and community land holding under common property arrangements. Claims and counter- claims are made for land titling as a means to boost smallholder security in the face of involuntary or otherwise unfair alienation of land sometimes under the rubric of land grabbing.

Over the past decade the Asia-Pacific region has experienced tremendous changes in nearly every aspect. These changes have been particularly profound in the forestry sector, where society has dramatically increased its demands and expanded its expectations for goods and services. Almost all countries in the region have moved towards sustainable forest management at the policy level and in many countries institutional structures are also gradually changing.

In Vietnam, forest devolution policies were implemented in the early 1990’s under which the government transferred management power over large areas of forested land previously controlled by the state forest enterprises or local authorities to local households. The government believes that implementing devolution policies would improve local livelihoods for the upland poor and stabilize forest conditions to increase forest cover.

The Outlook is a diagnostic tool that provides a comprehensive overview of local development trends in Cambodia. It also discusses policy and governance reforms aimed at reducing disparities and exploiting the enormous potential of Cambodian territories. The report will be of interest to policy makers, Development Partners, researchers, NGOs and others interested in the dynamics of Cambodia’s economic and policy development.

Cambodia has a land area of 181 035 square kilometers and a population of almost 14 million people (2008). In 2008, about 82 percent of the households lived in rural areas. A large majority of these households engage in rice- based agriculture, collection of forest products and livestock production. The agricultural sector generates about 32 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and provides employment to about 80 percent of the country’s labour force. The sector is dominated by small farm households who are mainly engaged in subsistence production.

Building upon the technical paper containing a review of the existing literature on the potential costs and benefits of adaptation options (FCCC/TP/2009/2), this report synthesizes information contained in submissions from Parties and relevant organizations, and other relevant sources, on efforts undertaken to assess the costs and benefits of adaptation options. A summary of lessons learned and good practices is provided.

In 2010, the ILC Secretariat decided to update information contained in the 2004 publication, so as to have a new basis to work more closely with and through CEDAW at national level. The update gives more visibility to the CEDAW Committee’s Concluding Observations and, accordingly, also to the CSOs’ shadow reports feeding them. This inclusion offers a more critical and comprehensive, if preliminary, overview of the situation of rural women in selected countries. NOTE: The 2004 publication is also available through this site.

ABSTRACTED FROM THE OVERVIEW: At the request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation of Myanmar (MOAI), a joint FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM)) team visited the country from 5 October to 4 November 2008. The main objective of the Mission was to analyze the food supply situation for the forthcoming year at the national and subnational levels (particularly in Cyclone Nargis-affected areas) and estimate food and agricultural assistance needs.

SUMMARY: In the last 30 years, the context of development in Cambodian has gone through dramatic changes. A succession of transitions characterised by a complete restructuring of institutional and socio-economic frameworks have resulted in a singular situation. Cambodian society remains largely agrarian with land being a major safety net for a large majority of the population who depend on natural resources in their livelihood. Nevertheless, in the context of an industrializing economy, land-based resources are under the pressure of competing driving forces.

As an important step forward, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 200 in December 2004 to accelerate the reform of state forest enterprises. The government aims to develop provincial SFE reform plans by mid-2005 and to have them implemented over two to three years. However, the Government also recognizes that several implementation and policy issues remain. This review examines the overall policy framework of SFE reform in light of the promulgation of new regulations and existing implementation capacity.

ABSTRACTED FROM THE MISSION STATEMENT: The primary purpose of his mission was for the Special Representative to update himself on the human rights situation in Cambodia for his report to the 61st session of the Commission on Human Rights. He paid particular attention to the management of land and natural resources, the continuing problem of impunity, and to corruption which impacts negatively on the realisation of a range of human rights and distorts the allocation of economic resources so as to further exacerbate existing inequalities.