Deforestation and forest degradation account for up to 20% of the total annual anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, current approaches to address climate change include strategies to reduce deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD). Even though REDD is still under discussion within the UNFCCC framework, many REDD pilot projects are being implemented across the tropics.

This Regional Law establishes the legal basis for the development of mountainous areas of the Republic of Dagestan, the preservation and rational use of their natural resources and cultural heritage. Mountain territory shall be considered terrain with rugged relief and relative elevations of 500 m or more within a radius of 25 km, as well as terrain with an absolute height of relief of 1,000 m and more.

In 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA, 2005) provided the first comprehensive report on global ecosystems, the dependence of human societies on the services provided, current state, and likely future trajectory. The MA identified the failure to value ecosystem services as a major contributing cause. The 2001 environment strategy did not explicitly address environmental valuation, although the focus on poverty and environment implies a need for valuing natural resources and environmental services.

The purpose of this Instruction is to assist in the implementation of management plans in the protected areas system of Tajikistan. The Instruction is of advisory nature and is intended for use in the development of protected areas management plans. It is addressed to: (a) protected areas staff; (b) employees of the organization providing financial support to protected areas; and (c) staff of scientific research institutions.

This report presents a concise review of the major environmental and natural resources issues at the global and national level over the coming two decades. The environmental issues reviewed include air pollution and deterioration of air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, water quality, scarcity and access, land and soil degradation, deforestation and forest degradation, natural disaster, loss of biodiversity and protected areas, and governance and institutions for environmental and natural resource management.

El trabajo analiza la situación de conflicto que se presenta en las tierras secas de Mendoza, entre productores caprinos y programas de lucha contra la desertificación, a propósito de las prácticas productivas y el uso de los recursos naturales.Se aborda un caso de estudio situado en el extremo noreste de la provincia de Mendoza, polo hiperárido de la región, gravemente afectado por procesos de desertificación, con una extensión de 10.007km2 y poblado por 3015 habitantes, donde dominan las pequeñas explotaciones caprinas.

The National Integrated Coastal Management Framework (NICMF) and Implementation Strategy for Vanuatu is a cross-sectoral strategy enacted in 2010 that seeks to give substance to the national vision for sustainable coastal environmental management by prescribing institutional arrangements needed for management of the coastal ecosystem, and identifies relevant stakeholders to support the process for implementing management and development activities.

With the continual rise of global commodity prices and increasing population pressures worldwide, the future of agriculture is looking increasingly unstable. As a result of this escalating demand and intensification of unsustainable agricultural techniques, natural resources are facing an increasing threat of depletion.

The project goal is to adopt an integrated ecosystems approach for the management of land resources in the Kagera Basin that will generate local, national and global benefits including: restoration of degraded lands, carbon sequestration and climate change adaptation and mitigation, protection of international waters, agrobiodiversity conservation and sustainable use and improved agricultural production, leading to increased food security and improved rural livelihoods.

This study analyses and compares national legislation on wildlife management in twelve countries in Asia and Oceania, with the aim of identifying strengths and weaknesses of legal frameworks in the promotion of sustainable wildlife management and in allowing disadvantaged people, particularly indigenous and local communities, to directly benefit from it.

This module presents a Case Study of a Carbon-Balance Appraisal for an investment programme. It is useful for people who wish to improve their skills on how to estimate the climate change mitigation potential of agricultural programmes/projects and how to integrate it into the economic analysis of projects. This case is part of a set of documents which intend to provide support project developers in the process of learning and applying the EX-Ante Carbon balance Tool (EX-ACT).

The impacts of natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis have been increasing steadily since the 1950’s, particularly for developing countries. According to a World Bank external evaluation report “natural disasters destroyed US$652 billion in property worldwide in the 1990s alone – an amount 15 times higher in real terms compared to the 1950s. Approximately 2.6 billion people were affected by natural disasters over the past ten years, compared to 1.6 billion in the previous decade.