This paper reviews the experiences of introducing land consolidation and land banking instruments in Central and Eastern Europe, largely to address the structural problems of small and fragmented farms. The introduction has been uneven with some countries having established operational programmes while others have taken steps with differing levels of success, and a few have not taken action. The paper assesses the driving factors for the introduction and the approaches used in individual countries.

In Lesotho, some externally financed agricultural development projects have appeared particularly prone to failure. One reason may be that, when designed, projects have not been subjected to sufficiently rigorous analysis, particularly with regard to expected farmers' response to extension messages.

Meeting Name: Near East Forestry and Range Commission (NEFRC)
Meeting symbol/code: FO:NEFRC/2015/2/Rev.1 (English only)
Session: Sess. 22

Meeting Name: North American Forest Commission
Meeting symbol/code: FO:NAFC/2016/Inf.3
Session: Sess. 28

Meeting Name: FAO Committee on Forestry
Meeting symbol/code: COFO/2016/7.4
Session: Sess. 23

Meeting Name: North American Forest Commission
Meeting symbol/code: FO:NAFC/2016/6
Session: Sess. 28

In the early 1970’s, about 80 ha of rich fen, meadows and wet forest on the margins of the large and pristine raised bog ‘Komosse’ in Southern Sweden were drained by ditches to promote spruce (Picea abies) growth and forestry production. Draining had a dramatic impact on forest production on the nutrient-rich peaty soils downhill from the ditches. In 40 years, most of the meadows and fens had turned into dense forest.

Meeting Name: Committee on Forestry
Meeting symbol/code: COFO/2014/6.2

Basándose en datos más completos y fiables como nunca antes, y abarcando 234 países y territorios, la Evaluación de los recursos forestales mundiales 2015 da evidencia de signos esperanzadores del logro de una gestión forestal mejorada y de una disminución de la deforestación en todas las regiones del mundo. Sin embargo, estas tendencias deben aún ser reforzadas, especialmente en los países que han quedado a la zaga.

Forests and woody vegetation cover a total surface area of 1.3 million ha in 2015 (FAO 2015) that represents 8% of the country surface area. It includes 1 million ha of forests and 0.3 Million ha of shrubs and other woody area. The forest area has increased from 643,000 ha in 1990 to 1,041,000 ha in 2015 ((FAO 2015) that corresponds to an increase by 62% in the last twenty five years or an annual increase of 1.9%.

En el Proyecto TCP/RLA/3404 “Casos de ejemplaridad de manejo forestal sostenible en América Latina y el Caribe: fortalecimiento de políticas y programas nacionales”, ejecutado en Costa Rica, Chile, Guatemala y Uruguay, se evaluaron y seleccionaron 31 experiencias de buenas prácticas forestales y las lecciones aprendidas.

Este informe presenta los principales resultados sobre el uso de las tierras forestales y el cambio de uso de la tierra entre 1990 y 2005 de la Encuesta por teledetección de la Evaluación de los Recursos Forestales Mundiales 2010 de la FAO. Este es el primer informe de su género en presentar estimaciones sistemáticas sobre el uso y cambio de las tierras forestales mundiales.