The ongoing expansion of oil palm plantations in the humid tropics, especially in Southeast Asia, is generating considerable concern and debate. Amid industry and environmental campaigners’ claims, it can be hard to perceive reality. Is oil palm a valuable route to sustainable development or a costly road to environmental ruin? Inevitably, any answer depends on many choices. But do decision makers have the information they require to avoid pitfalls and make the best decisions? This review examines what we know and what we don’t know about oil palm developments.

This report aims to evaluate the economic, social and ecological impacts of large-scale land concessions to plant rubber and make recommendations for the future management of land in Lao PDR. Study focused on Champassak and Salavane provinces from July 2007 to July 2008. It was the product of a collaboration between the Centre for Research and Information on Land and Natural Resources of the National Land Management Authority, Office of Prime Minister, Laos, the Foundation for Ecological Recovery, and the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University.

In de provincie Limburg is er steeds meer discussie tussen overheden, de landbouwsector en maatschappelijke organisaties over de inrichting van het landelijk gebied in relatie tot de landbouwproductieruimte en andere maatschappelijke gewenste opgaven (groene, blauwe, maar ook rode opgaven). De provincie Limburg wilde graag door uitvoering van een strategisch onderzoek inzicht en ondersteuning in de vraag welke maatregelen en instrumenten ontbreken c.q.

There are millions of hectares of land in the Ukraine which either have been abandoned, or are farmed with a low land productivity due to severe land degradation. The Netherlands Embassy has requested a study to assess the opportunities and benefits of restoration of degraded steppe areas. The goal of this project is the restoration of degraded land and to develop more sustainable land use with a higher biodiversity. Innovative farming systems are proposed which are both economically and environmentally sustainable agricultural production systems.

Vegetation degradation and desertification occur in many semiarid ecosystems worldwide, particularly in the Western Mediterranean Basin. A peculiar semiarid Mediterranean land use system dominates the landscape of southern Portugal where cork oak (Quercus suber) is the main tree species.