A tradable development rights (TDR)
program focusing on biodiversity conservation faces a
crucial problem defining which areas of habitat should be
considered equivalent. Restricting the trading domain to a
narrow area could boost the range of biodiversity conserved
but could increase the opportunity cost of conservation. The
issue is relevant to Brazil, where TDR-like programs are
emerging. Current regulations require each rural property to

The study develops a new method to
measure the impacts of climate change on agriculture called
the Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) Model. A multinomial logit is
estimated to predict the probability of each AEZ in each
district. The average percentage of cropland and average
crop net revenue are calculated for each AEZ. Then an
estimate of the amount of cropland in Africa and where it is
located is provided. Using current conditions, the model

Although private forest use in Brazil has been regulated at least since the Forest Code of 1965, cumulative deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon reached 653,000 k

This report focuses on one specific
interaction: the role of forests, and particularly protected
forests, in maintaining quality of drinking water for large
cities. There are many reasons for this focus: many city
dwellers already face a crisis of water quality, and
contaminated water spreads a vast and largely unnecessary
burden in terms of short and long-term health impacts
including infant mortality, with knock-on effects on ability

In this paper, the authors seek to answer three questions about poverty and forests in Malawi: (1) What is the extent of biomass available for meeting the energy needs of the poor in Malawi and how is this distributed? (2) To what extent does fuelwood scarcity affect the welfare of the poor? (3) How do households cope with scarcity? In particular, do households spend more time in fuelwood collection and less time in agriculture in response to scarcity? The authors attempt to answer these questions using household and remote-sensing data.

Conservation of high-biodiversity tropical forests is sometimes justified on the basis of assumed hydrological benefits - in particular, the reduction of flooding hazards for downstream floodplain populations. However, the "far-field" link between deforestation and distant flooding has been difficult to demonstrate empirically. This simulation study assesses the relationship between forest cover and hydrology for all river basins intersecting the world's tropical forest biomes.

The World Bank's revised forest
policy came into being in 2002 and covers all types of
forests. It has the following key objectives: (i) harnessing
the potential of forests to reduce poverty in a sustainable
manner; (ii) integrating forests effectively into
sustainable development; and (iii) protecting vital local
and global environmental services and values. The policy
enables the bank to fully engage in forestry throughout the

This paper reviews the status of weather
and climate services in Europe and Central Asia
(ECA).Worldwide, the accuracy and value of weather and
climate services are rising, bringing great economic
benefits. However, many National Meteorological and
Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in Europe and Central Asia are
in decline. As a result, these potential gains are often
missed. Much more could be done to mitigate weather

Policies to promote adaptation climate
risks often rely on the willing cooperation of the intended
beneficiaries. If these beneficiaries disagree with policy
makers and programme managers about the need for adaptation,
or the effectiveness of the measures they are being asked to
undertake, then implementation of the policies will fail. A
case study of a resettlement programme in Mozambique shows
this to be the case. Farmers and policy-maker disagreed

Based on a literature review and expert
interviews, this paper analyzes the most important climate
impacts on development goals and explores relevant
institutions in the context of mainstreaming climate
adaptation into development assistance in Mozambique.
Climate variability and change can significantly hinder
progress toward attaining the Millennium Development Goals
and poverty aggravates the country's climate

The detailed analysis of current
cropping areas in Africa presented here reveals significant
climate sensitivities of cropland density and distribution
across a variety of agro-ecosystems. Based on empirical
climate-cropland relationships, cropland density responds
positively to increases in precipitation in semi-arid and
arid zones of the sub-tropics and warmer temperatures in
higher elevations. As a result, marginal increases in

The pressure on an already stressed
water situation in South Africa is predicted to increase
significantly under climate change, plans for large
industrial expansion, observed rapid urbanization, and
government programs to provide access to water to millions
of previously excluded people. The present study employed a
general equilibrium approach to examine the economy-wide
impacts of selected macro and water related policy reforms