Present biodiversity conservation programmes in the remaining extensive forest blocks of the humid trop-ics are failing to achieve outcomes that will be viable in the medium to long term. Too much emphasis is given to what we term grand design-ambitious and idealistic plans for conservation. Such plans im-plicitly oppose or restrict development and often attempt to block it by speculatively establishing paper parks. Insufficient recognition is given to the inevitable long term pressures for conversion to other land uses and to the weakness of local constituencies for conservation.

The forest transition (FT) hypothesis implies that changes in a region's forest cover follow a determinable pattern of decline and later re-expansion over time, which is supposed to be similar across regions and countries. Such a uniform pattern – if empirically proven and quantified – might help in establishing REDD+ baselines (i.e., references against which reductions in the emissions from deforestation and forest degradation of developing countries could be measured, and subsequently be rewarded).

The total area of the Arab Region is about 14·2 million km2, 90% of it lies within arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. The area is characterized by harsh environment, fragile ecosystems and limited water resources and arable lands. Throughout its long history these lands were the main source of grain and animal production. By the end of this century and in spite of the national, regional and international efforts to combat desertification and mitigate the effect of drought and desiccation, desertification is still one of the major environmental problems in the Arab Region.

The implementation of an international programme for reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) can help to mitigate climate change and bring numerous benefits to environmental conservation. Information on land change modelling and carbon mapping can contribute to quantify future carbon emissions from deforestation. However limitations in data availability and technical capabilities may constitute an obstacle for countries interested in participating in the REDD programme.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is a conservation finance instrument based on the payments for ecosystem services model, wherein governments, private landowners, concession holders, and/or communities are compensated for undertaking activities which mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from forest use and land use change. This article reviews the numerous sources for REDD+ finance within the context of total global conservation finance.

This study profiled soils over a land degradation gradient to obtain formulae as integrative measures for describing the gradient as a result of deforestation in Thailand. We applied antibiotic resistance most-probable-number profiling to the soil bacterial communities, and then described the gradient. Soil samples were collected on the gradient represented by dry evergreen forest (the original vegetation), dry deciduous forest (moderately disturbed) and bare ground (the most degraded) in February (dry season), March (shortly after temporal precipitation) and June (rainy season) 2001.

Knowledge of soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics following deforestation or reforestation is essential for evaluating carbon (C) budgets and cycle at regional or global scales. Worldwide land‐use changes involving conversion of vegetation with different photosynthetic pathways (e.g. C₃ and C₄) offer a unique opportunity to quantify SOM decomposition rate and its response to climatic conditions using stable isotope techniques.

Patterns of land-use and land-cover change are usually grouped into one of two categories defined by the dominant trend: (1) deforestation resulting from expanding agriculture and (2) forest expansion, usually related to the abandonment of marginal lands. At regional scale, however, both processes can occur simultaneously even in the absence of net change. Given the focus on net change, such redistribution of agricultural and natural and seminatural lands has been generally overlooked.

A major development concern of the 1970s and 1980s was 'the other energy' or 'woodfuel crisis'. Woodfuel use in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America was believed to be a key factor in tropical deforestation, and the loss of forests was projected to result in widespread woodfuel shortages. In recent years, however, it has become apparent that woodfuel production is seldom a direct cause of deforestation (although it may be a by-product), and that most woodfuel demand is met by trees and shrubs growing outside of forest areas.

There is an ongoing debate on the effect different property regimes have on the use of natural resources and land conversion (i.e., deforestation or reforestation). Much of the discussion has been centered on the two main forms of tenure regime: common-pool system and private property. Case studies around the world have provided evidence on whether one is more effective at preventing deforestation than the other, but there is not a clear pattern. Part of the problem is that evidence comes from theoretical models or isolated case studies instead of comparative studies across large areas.

Policy-makers consider participatory reforestation and forest resource management to be the key to reducing the problems of deforestation and forest degradation. In this regard, the government of Ghana introduced a modified taungya system as a mechanism to restore degraded forest reserves under the National Forest Plantation Development Programme to allow landless farmers access to land for temporary crop production and secured tree tenure rights.

In developing countries across the globe the impact of livestock on deforestation levels has
been profound. This paper explores the role of the cattle industry in household decision
making for small landholders in the Brazilian Amazon. Important inquiries raised in the
literature are addressed, including the determinants of the co-evolution of deforestation and cattle herds, the possibility of production specialization, and the role of cattle in household livelihoods. Panel data suggest that households have changed focus from crop