This study investigates today’s plant species richness and composition in cultivated and recently abandoned
arable land of Kosovo. Relationships between these aspects of vegetation and both environmental features
and agricultural management measures are studied at the regional and plot scale. In 2006, 432 vegetation relevés
with a standard plot size of 25 m² were recorded in cultivated fields. In 2007, data collection focussed on 41 plots
in arable fields that had been abandoned the year before. With respect to the environment, data analysis accounts

Presented to USDA Economists Group, Washington, DC, March 11, 2009
Discusses land use conflicts between agriculture, conservation, development and energy.

This document summarises approaches to resolve disputes, profile the membership of the Communal Property Association, develop a new CPA Constitution and examine options for the utilisation of mineral, agricultural and game resources and the allocation of business sites. It also explores options for CPA management and the need for professional management staff in this large and complex restitution claim

Local and Community Driven Development (LCDD) is an approach that gives control of development decisions and resources to community groups and representative local governments. Poor communities receive funds, decide on their use, plan and execute the chosen local projects, and monitor the provision of services that result from it. It improves not just incomes but people's empowerment and governance capacity, the lack of which is a form of poverty as well. LCDD operations have demonstrated effectiveness at delivering results and have received substantial support from the World Bank.

La situación de América Latina y el Caribe es distinta de la de los países desarrollados. Mientras que estos últimos son los que principalmente generan la externalidad global resultante de las emisiones y también la sufren, la región de América Latina y el Caribe contribuye poco a generarla pero la sufre de manera desproporcionada. Si se toman en cuenta las emisiones regionales, América Latina y el Caribe solo emite más que África, que ocupa el último city (aunque en términos de emisiones per cápita se encuentra por encima de Asia y África).

This research is intended to help contribute to this articulation process by identifying and consolidating small farmers' trade agenda in five countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. These countries represent a good mix of both net agricultural exporters and importers, providing the paper with a balanced perspective of looking at trade and its impact on small farmers. The agenda of small farmers in these countries formed the bases for the formulation of their trade agenda in ASEAN. The research is divided into three parts.

As market reforms to the Mongolian economy continue and the country enjoys rapid economic growth, the environment has entered a period of unprecedented pressure. Mining, infrastructure development and tourism development, in particular, are undergoing rapid expansion, and all pose risks to Mongolia's globally important biodiversity.

La crisis alimenticia es apreciada como un problema productivo y distributivo, aun cuando no hay carencia ni una sobredemanda de alimentos que determine su escasez. La crisis es el sobreprecio de los alimentos, es la especulación con una mercancía vital para la vida y la salud de las personas y los pueblos.

Agriculture plays an important role in climate change, both as a contributor emitting greenhouse gasses (GHGs) and as a potential reducer of negative impacts. This paper gives an overview of how current and proposed agricultural practices affect climate change and how the proposed measures for mitigation and adaptation impact agriculture. The paper states that industrial agriculture, as currently practiced with monocultures and agrochemicals in a globalised production system, is a major contributor to climate change.

Rural non-farm development plays a key role in generating employment in many developing countries. Clustering is an important industrial organization in the rural non-farm sector. Based on primary surveys of both urban and rural handloom weaver clusters in Ethiopia which took place in May/June 2008, one of the most important rural nonfarm sectors, this paper examines the mechanism and performance of clustering. The clustering way of handloom production is observed even in remote rural areas, illustrating its vitality and flexibility in adapting to restricted environments.

Uncertainty and risk are characteristics inherent in agricultural activities, and one of the main sources of risk is weather. Because agriculture depends heavily on rainfall, it is sensitive to weather changes. Agriculture is also vulnerable to extreme weather events; floods, droughts, and frosts cause both production and capital losses. Approximately 98 percent of the catastrophic risk to agriculture in Mexico stems from two types of weather events: droughts (accounting for 80 percent) and cyclones (accounting for 18 percent).

"The civil war in Sierra Leone, caused by a mix of political, social, and economic factors, had a huge impact on the overall economy in general and on the performance of the agricultural sector in particular. The agricultural research system of Sierra Leone was severely affected by the civil war. Research infrastructure was destroyed, laboratories were damaged and abandoned, and well-trained researchers and scientists fled from the country.