En conclusion, des informations actuelles, fiables et transparentes sur le secteur forestier sont un ingrdient vital du processus d'amnagement durable. Toutes les organisations et institutions engages dans la gestion durable des forts devraient exploiter les moyens offerts par Internet pour coordonner et relier les serveurs et optimiser ainsi la valeur des informations disponibles. Comme promis dans la prcdente dition, ce numro d'Unasylva contient de nouveaux articles sur le dveloppement durable des montagnes, qui viennent ainsi complter le tour d'horizon de la question.

This study is a revised version of a working document originally prepared by FAO in April 1995 analysing the policy and legal options available for dealing with the sensitive issue of foreign ownership of land. It provides information on the approaches that are, or have been adopted to regulate foreign ownership of land. As such, it aims at providing a framework for analysis and a representative sample of the legal techniques and strategies that have been devised to deal with the issue; it is not intended to be an authoritative summary of the state of the law in this area.

This report presents the outcome of a macroeconomic survey of the forest sector of the Republic of Latvia. It presents issues and parameters facing public and private sector decision-makers in their respective attempts to develop this sector. It identifies opportunities and constraints to investment and proposes measures to, accordingly, either engage them or remove them. It also attempts to introduce simple methodologies to undertake analysis currently constrained by the absence of more comprehensive data.

A medium size 46-page report that comments on the overall situation of data on forest resources in Nigeria. It is composed of ten parts including the following topics: forest resource situation assessment in Nigeria, FAO input data, status of forests and the country's vegetation, forest reserves, free areas and conservation areas, land ownership and tenure, inventory of high forests and plantations, followed by some results. A very short conclusion is given.

A medium-size report that describes the overall situation of data on fuelwood in Burundi. The report starts with a general introduction of the study and the country. It is followed by a section describing the forest area, its uses and the legislation surrounding it. The following part states the country's forest resources distinguishing natural from artificial forests. Some attention is given to non-wood forest products and sustainable forest ecosystems. The latter parts are a view of the institutional and political atmospheres as well as the effects of the crisis on forest ecosystems.

James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, reassessed the global financial architecture and its impact on Latin America. Latin American countries, being small economies, are very vulnerable to world pressures. After a huge drop in private sector finance, we’re seeing the first signs of return. What we need now is greater transparency and supervision in banking and the private sector—and a better common set of principles and standards. We need decent government, trained government, with capacity at all levels. We need legal systems that work.

Previous studies of land contracts have focused more on efficiency questions than on determinants of access to land and dynamics of access. By looking closely at the question of access to land, the authors conclude:land rental contracts more friendly to the poor than land sales markets to access land.

Tries to understand the case for redistributive land reforms. Argues that there is relatively persuasive evidence showing that redistributing land may promote equity as well as efficiency. Suggest that it is, nevertheless, unclear, given that all forms of redistribution cost money as well as bureaucratic and political capital, that redistributing land is the best way to redistribute.The second part of the paper takes as given that policymakers want to redistribute land, and discusses strategies for achieving such redistribution.