Myanmar is one of the most biologically diverse and ecologically productive nations on Earth. Its forests support the livelihoods of more than 36 million people, while the forestry sector employs more than

500,000 people and is one of seven sectors promoted under Myanmar’s National Export Strategy. Yet, after decades of unsustainable exploitation, driven by arbitrary revenue targets, mismanagement, illegal logging and, more recently, large-scale conversion to agricultural crops, Myanmar’s forests are badly damaged.

As the applications of Earth system models (ESMs) move from general climate projections toward questions of mitigation and adaptation, the inclusion of land management practices in these models becomes crucial. We carried out a survey among modeling groups to show an evolution from models able only to deal with land-cover change to more sophisticated approaches that allow also for the partial integration of land management changes. For the longer term a comprehensive land management representation can be anticipated for all major models.

Mangroves are valuable socio-ecological ecosystems that provide vital goods and services to millions of people, including wood, a renewable natural capital, which is the primary source of energy and construction material for several coastal communities in developing countries. Unfortunately, mangrove loss and degradation occur at alarming rates. Regardless of the protection and close monitoring of mangrove ecosystems in Mexico during the last two decades, mangrove degradation and the loss of biodiversity is still ongoing.

Implementation of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is designed to relieve pressure on tropical forests, however, many are concerned that it is a threat to the rights of forest communities. These potential risks need serious attention as earlier studies have shown that the Asia-Pacific region is a forest conflict hotspot, with many economic, environmental and social implications at global (e.g. climate change) to local levels (e.g. poverty).

Stimulating an effective provision of public goods and ecosystem services from Europe’s farmland and forests is a critical challenge for policy-makers. In this paper we focus on three aspects of this challenge. Firstly, we explore the different drivers that influence the provision of public goods and ecosystem services by farming and forestry. Secondly, we identify the key motivational, institutional and socio-economic factors that can encourage the provision of these benefits.

Over the last 20 years, Uganda has emerged as a testing ground for the various modes of carbon forestry used in Africa. Carbon forestry initiatives in Uganda raise questions of justice, given that people with comparatively negligible carbon footprints are affected by land use changes initiated by the desire of wealthy people, firms, and countries to reduce their more extensive carbon footprints.

Despite the local and global importance of forests, deforestation driven by various socio-economic and biophysical factors continues in many countries. In Nepal, in response to massive deforestation, the community forestry program has been implemented to reduce deforestation and support livelihoods. After four decades of its inception, the effectiveness of this program on forest cover change remains mostly unknown.

There are numerous global, regional, national and even subnational targets for increasing forest area and forest restoration. In light of these global targets and emerging ambitious national commitments, it is imperative to develop low-cost strategies and techniques for landscape restoration. The most widely used restoration strategies involving planting of tree seedlings are often costly and their application for restoring vast expanses of degraded forest lands in the region may be limited.

The Global Forest Resources Assessment of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) celebrates its 70th Anniversary in 2018. FAO's forestry department whishes to commemorate this important occurrence with a special publication on the history of the past 70 years of Global Forest Resources Assessemnt.

While the potential contribution of a nationally implemented program for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) to developing countries’ budgets remains as yet obscure, two general concerns are that REDD+ will i) incentivize land grabbing and ii) remain financially uncompetitive against current commercial forest uses.

En los últimos años, la frontera agrícola en el Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia se ha expandido considerablemente. Debido al cambio climático, se espera una reducción del rendimiento de los cultivos, lo que producirá una nueva expansión en dicha frontera. Por este motivo, es necesario desarrollar una agricultura más eficiente, que incluya medidas de adaptación vinculadas a políticas macroeconómicas de protección de los recursos naturales.