Study on state land leases and concessions in Lao PDR, sponsored by the Lao-German Land Policy Development Project (German contribution to the Lao Land Titling Project II in Lao PDR). This study is part of a series of Land Policy Studies conducted in preparation of a coherent and comprehensive "National Land Policy Statement for Lao PDR."

"The Lore Lindu region in Indonesia—as in many forest frontier areas in Southeast Asia—has experienced rapid deforestation due to agricultural expansion in the uplands, at the forest margins. This has resulted in aggravated problems of erosion and water availability, threatening agricultural productivity growth. At the same time, technical progress is promoting agricultural intensification in the lowlands. In this article, we examine how improved technologies for paddy rice cultivation in the lowlands have affected agricultural expansion and deforestation in the uplands.

Weed problems continue to be an obstacle in plant protection and in natural areas, causing high costs of control and asking for adequate prevention measures. New weed problems in any given area (risk area) may arise from three basic sources: by introduction and naturalization of new weedy plant species, by increasing spread of weedy taxa that are already present in the risk area, and by the evolution of new weedy taxa in the risk area.

Land-use conflicts reveal the contemporary evolution of rural areas, and specifically the rise of the rural living environment and its confrontation with the other functions of the countryside (productive, recreational and natural protection). Local public authorities implement regulations to organize common environmental resources use without conflicts. But local public choice can not satisfy everyone, leading to a lack of unanimity. Local public intervention inevitably creates a losing side and it is difficult for them to escape the environmental damage by leaving.

Rangeland condition assessment was conducted in the Borana lowlands, southern Ethiopia to determine the current status and future trend of the grazing land with emphasis on comparing different functional land use units, called Kalo, Worra and Foora. An approach that integrated data from herbaceous and woody plants, soil and pastoralists' perceptions was followed. Density and canopy cover of woody plants were determined in 123 plots of 500m2.

Ethnic minorities in the mountainous forest regions of northern Thailand and northern Vietnam live in a particularly restrictive political, social and economic environment. Widespread degradation of land, water and forest resources has adverse effects on the livelihoods of these groups. Given the dramatically increasing scarcity of natural resources, regulation of resource access and allocation are becoming fundamental for the development of sustainable resource management, in which an active participation of the local population in planning and implementation is a crucial prerequisite.

Across South Asia, many rural people use common land to harvest naturally-growing plants, grow crops and feed their livestock. Increasingly this activity is being commercialized as farmers move to sell the produce they obtain. Despite the importance of this development to village people, its overall effect is uncertain and there are fears that it will damage the environment.