Pressures on the natural resources, especially land and water, continue to increase as a result of an ever-increasing world population and continuing economic growth. These pressures originate from the many claims of stakeholders at different scales on the limited resources, and are aggravated by their different and often conflicting goals.

This bulletin is issued by FAO as a medium for the dissemination of information and views on land reform and related subjects to the United Nations, FAO Member Governments and national and international experts and institutions. Articles are published in the original language (English, French or Spanish).

This issue of Land Reform, Land Settlement and Cooperatives offers the reader a series of articles and information and examones the importance of land tenure data and databases and their roles in their host societies. The volume represents rich set of articles specific for many regions and countries. The data presented is crucial for decison and policy making inthe fields of economic development, food security and environmental sustainability,

The conference reviewed the current state-of-knowledge of dryland ecosystems; it identified important knowledge gaps for defining future paths of research into drylands; and it commemorated fifty years of dryland research in the UN system in the context of the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. The conference - in a cross-cutting manner - also addressed issues related to research and science needed for dryland conservation, policy options for sustainable dryland development, and necessary interventions and

The Government of Namibia has identi ed land degradation as a serious problem which demands remedial intervention, and recognizes that integrated ecosystem management strategies are needed to e ectively address the underlying causes.The goal of the Country Pilot Partnership for Integrated Sustainable Land Management (CPP-ISLM) is to work towards combating land degradation by using integrated cross-sectoral approaches, which would enable Namibia to ensure environmental sustainability as well as the protection of dry land ecosystems and their functions.

On the occasion of the International Year of Mountains-2002, FAO and its partners undertook a large-scale assessment and global review of the current status and future trends of integrated and participatory watershed management. The overall objectives were to promote the exchange and dissemination of experiences in implementing watershed management projects in the decade from 1990 to 2000 and to identify the vision for a new generation of watershed management programmes and projects.

This paper focuses on legal and institutional aspects of children’s property and inheritance rights in Southern and East Africa. Chapter 2 discusses violations of children’s property and inheritance rights and discusses how the spread of HIV/AIDS has contributed to the violations. Chapter 3 assesses several norms of customary law that aim to protect children’s property and inheritance rights as well as the current practices of customary law that—in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic—serve to complicate and limit children’s ability to maintain their rights.

A thematic study on “Urban and peri-urban forestry” focuses on the potentials and constraints for urban forestry development at regional and sub-regional levels considering the current experience and future prospects of urbanization in the region that is expected to take place in the next 15 years. As a complement to this thematic Urban and peri-urban forestry study, a livelihoods analysis of the contribution of forests and trees to urban poor livelihoods has been carried out the Sub-programme on access to natural resources of the Livelihood Support Programme (GCP/INT/803/UK).

This paper represents part of an area of work in support of enhancing access to land and forest resources in support of rural livelihoods in Mongolia. . This synthesis report draws on field studies undertaken recently in five rural areas of Mongolia, covering all ecological zones from montane and northern taiga forest to arid forest in the Gobi. Our findings document and explain, with case studies and documentation from participatory analysis, the downward cycle of resource depletion and descend into poverty that is in action.

Globally, according to FRA 2000, planted forests account ed for only 5% of forest area, but up to 35% of industrial roundwood supply. This is anticipated to rise to 40-44% by 2020. Planted forests reflect a higher social, environmental and economic importance than their area would suggest. Many countries have existing planted forest data that is not based upon forest inventory, is incomplete and often outdated. Thus it is difficult to measure and plan the quantity and quality of planted forest resources and the provision of goods and services that they supply.

To address the needs of individual regions, such as LAC, more detailed regional and sub regional strategies are needed to ensure that forestry contributes fully to the challenges of poverty, inequity, environmental degradation and sustainable development. This report presents such a strategy for four Andean Countries of South America, that is, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Venezuela could not be included because of time constraints, and the difficulties of obtaining a suitable consultant to carry out the field work.