Esta é a sétima edição da série “Desafios para Moçambique” do IESE, iniciada em 2010, com o objectivo de contribuir para a análise e debate público de desafios económicos, sociais e polí- ticos considerados relevantes. O livro contém 14 artigos, organizados em quatro partes: Política, Economia, Sociedade e Moçambique no Mundo. À semelhança da terceira edição (2012), na preparação da presente edição os coordenadores consideraram pertinente convidar os autores a relacionarem os seus artigos com uma temática principal.

This LEGEND bulletin considers the impact that new technology can have on documenting land rights and democratising access to land data around the world.

Conscientes do colapso civilizacional com que nos defrontamos como espécie humana e inspirados pela Campanha da Fraternidade deste ano, cujo tema é Fraternidade: Biomas Brasileiros e Defesa da Vida e que tem como lema Cultivar e Guardar a Criação (Gn 2,15), a edição de número 500 da revista IHU On-Line debate o tema que também é assunto central do ciclo de conferências promovido pelo Instituto Humanitas Unisinos – IHU a partir do dia 15 de março até o final do mês de junho deste ano.

A Agricultura Brasileira se destaca entre as maiores do mundo e representa uma fonte de alimentos e de matéria prima para muitos países. Nela estão presentes diversos modos de fazer Agricultura, entre os quais a produção Agrícola Familiar, encontrada em extensas e importantes regiões do país. A agricultura familiar no Brasil é crescentemente uma forma social de produção reconhecida pela sociedade brasileira, por suas contribuições materiais e imateriais.

ELD is a joint initiative of Germany, the European Commission and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). ELD offers a strong platform for raising public awareness of land degradation and advocating sustainable land-use strategies.

Soils around the world are degrading rapidly, reducing ecosystem diversity and some important functions, threatening food and other human securities, and increasing vulnerability to climate change. This is a vicious cycle created by and leading to further unsustainable land-use practices. Integrated (‘nexus’) soil, land, water and ecosystem management can help to turn it into a virtuous cycle.

Conservation agriculture (CA) is an important form of sustainable land management, provided that the three basic principles - no tillage, permanent soil cover, diverse crop rotation or intercropping - are always observed.

Protecting land is vital to achieving food security and reducing poverty. This is the insight on which the global WOCAT network was built two decades ago. WOCAT’s early focus on soil and water conservation has expanded into a tried and tested facility for decision support in all aspects of sustainable land management for every kind of land manager. There is a special focus on providing sustainable benefits for the rural poor, both efficiently and cost-effectively.

Twenty-seven nations are classified as ‘water scarce’, a further 16 as ‘water stressed’. This situation, coupled with the fact that many surface and groundwater systems are shared between two or more states, has led governments to develop sustainable water management strategies. This implies a real commitment by all water users – households, farmers, and industrialists – to use available supplies in ways that reap sustainable and equitable benefits for all.

We are continuously transforming a resource that is both essential and finite: our soils. We do so in a way that has serious social, economic and ecologic implications. There is an urgent need to shift these transformations to more sustainable pathways. Transgovernance can assume a pivotal role in this regard.

The livelihoods of many rural dwellers are dependent on having secure and equitable access to land. Tenure security is also a prerequisite for sustainable land management. The massive interest of commercial investors has increased the pressure on land globally. This article describes the international community’s efforts to improve the responsible governance and management of land.

Soils are naturally poor in sub-Saharan Africa, and poor management has further reduced their productive capacity. The author argues that more fertiliser use is required to reverse further nutrient mining and productivity decline and that this agro-input is best used in combination with other measures to ensure that most of its nutrients are taken up by the crop.