Session: Sess. 3

Myanmar is experiencing a time of great changes, with institutional reforms, market liberalization and democratic processes. A new Constitution was adopted in May 2008. This transition lays the space for great opportunities to reduce poverty and inequalities, and to promote an inclusive pattern of development. Indeed, Myanmar presents a wealth of cultural diversity, skills and natural resources and is strategically positioned between India and the People’s Republic of China. However, it still has high rates of poverty, especially in rural areas.

In Sub-Sahara Africa, majority of the population derives its livelihood from agriculture. Smallholder agriculture accounts for 75% of agricultural production of which the majority constitutes of rainfed farming. Drought is Africa’s principal form of natural disaster which often it affects rainfed agriculture dramatically.

Southern Africa is particularly susceptible to climate variability and drought and is increasingly being threatened by desertification processes, degradation of land and water resources and loss of biodiversity. Although rainfed farming is a high-risk enterprise, it is also a way of life and people are committed to making the best of the scarce resources at their disposal. However, droughts tend to reduce production to below the already marginal levels, thus threatening subsistence farming.

Supporting capacity development for sustainable agricultural water management The International Programme for Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID) is a multi-donor trust fund managed by the IPTRID Secretariat as a Special Programme of FAO. The Secretariat is located in the Land and Water Development division of FAO and draws on a worldwide network of leading centres of excellence in the field of irrigation, drainage and water resources management.

Cette note d’information couvre vingt années de collecte et d’analyse de données sur l’eau et de diusion de ces statis - tiques en tant que bien public international, librement accessible à tous. La principale base de données par pays sur les ressources en eau et leur utilisation – dont la présentation de façon uniforme constitue en soi un dé majeur – sert de plateforme pour l’utilisation et la présentation de plus de 180 variables et indicateurs qui peuvent être recherchés et extraits pour tous les pays et diérentes régions sur une longue période de temps.

This Synthesis Paper is based on an Expert Meeting held in Rome 26 to 28 February 2008 as a preparation for the FAO High Level Conference (HLC) on World Food Security and the Challengesof Climate Change and Bioenergy in June 2008. The paper contains appraisal of the implications of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (AR4-IPCC) for agricultural water management and, based on that evidence, offers a more operationally focused diagnosis.

This first edition of ROA Policy Brief is designed to clarify the roles of economic valuation of the external impacts from agriculture in policy-making, by resolving misunderstanding and confusion pertaining to existing valuation studies.

Este mes nos es grato invitarles a participar en una consulta electrónica sobre las Directrices Voluntarias sobre la Gobernanza Responsable en la Tenencia de la Tierra y Otros Recursos Naturales. Tras un prolongado proceso de consultas regionales, y antes de acometer la redacción del borrador cero, se están solicitando ahora materiales adicionales para la elaboración de estas directrices.

This conmpendium of recent sustainable development initiatives in the field of agriculture and land management has been developed as a supporting document for the Task Manager's Report on the Land and Agriculture Cluster for Chapters 10, 12 and 14 of Agenda 21. The report draws together 75 cases from over 45 countries, illustrating the many features of improved land management and sustainable agriculture and rural development.

Meeting symbol/code: APRC 00 3

Une analyse a été conduite au Niger afin d’évaluer les besoins liés á la gestion de l’eau à usage agricole (GEA) et d’identifier les priorités d’investissements dans le but de réduire la pauvreté en milieu rurale en terme de: recherché; assistance technique; formation; appui aux politiques. La méthodologie a été structurée en cinq phases: (1) Analyse des parties prenantes; (2) Atelier de lancement; (3) Interviews et visites de terrain; (4) Discussion des résultats préliminaires avec l’équipe nationale; et (5) Atelier de validation.