Much information on restoration and management exists for wet tropical forests of Central America but comparatively little work has been done in the dry forests of this region. Such information is critical for reforestation efforts that are now occurring throughout Central America. This paper describes processes of degradation due to land use and provides a conceptual framework for the restoration of dry tropical forest. Most of this forest type was initially harvested for timber and then cleared for cattle in the last century (1930–1970).

Solid waste management is a worldwide problem and it is becoming more and more complicated day by day due to rise in population, industrialization as well as changes in our life style. Presently most of the waste generated is either disposed of in an open dump in developing countries or in landfills in the developed ones. Landfilling as well as open dumping requires lot of land mass and could also result in several environmental problems.

Cities face significant impacts from climate change, both now and into the future. These impacts have potentially serious consequences for human health, livelihoods, and assets, especially for the urban poor, informal settlements, and other vulnerable groups. Climate change impacts range from an increase in extreme weather events and flooding to hotter temperatures and public health concerns. Cities in low elevation coastal zones, for instance, face the combined threat of sea-level rise and storm surges.

This report analyzes in some detail the risks to project finance and the performance of real-sector investments. Options, futures, derivatives, foreign exchange and more exotic instruments are not specifically addressed. The objectives of institutional investors, such as pension funds, include creation of sustained revenues over a long period of time. Clearly, given this long-term perspective, institutional investors need to be particularly aware of growing risks to their investments in climatically sensitive sectors or regions.

In the northern highlands of Ethiopia, establishment of exclosures to restore degraded communal grazing lands has been practiced for the past three decades. However, empirical data on the effectiveness of exclosures in restoring degraded soils are lacking. We investigated the influence of exclosure age on degree of restoration of degraded soil and identified easily measurable biophysical and management-related factors that can be used to predict soil nutrient restoration.

Keywords: Rwanda; farm household typology; sustainable technology adoption; multivariate analysis;
land degradation; food security; bioeconomic model; crop simulation models; organic fertiliser; inorganic fertiliser; policy incentives

Fire can significantly increase a landscape’s vulnerability to flooding and erosion events. By removing vegetation, changing soil properties and inducing soil water repellency, fire can increase the risk and erosivity of overland flow. Mitigation of land degradation and flooding events after fire can help safeguard natural resources and prevent further economical and ecological havoc, but can benefit from an improved understanding of its drivers.

Land degradation is a gradual, negative environmental process that is accelerated by human activities. Its gradual nature allows degradation to
proceed unnoticed, thus reducing the likelihood of appropriate and timely control action. Presently, there are few practical frameworks to help
countries design national strategies and policies for its control. The study presented here developed a framework for the national assessment of
land degradation. This framework is envisaged to support governments in formulating policies on land degradation. It uses time-series remote

Kenya’s land surface is primarily arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) which account for 84% of the total land area. The Desert Margins Programme (DMP) in Kenya has made some contribution to understanding which technology options have potential in reducing land degradation in marginal areas and conserving biodiversity through demonstrations, testing of the most promising natural resource management options, developing sustainable alternative livelihoods and policy guidelines, and replicating successful models.

This chapter presents and discusses the causes of land degradation, and ways of sustainable land development and agricultural productivity. The evidence presented here suggests several avenues for achieving a world without land degradation. First, efforts to promote sustainable land management need to improve locally and nationally. Second, instead of focusing solely on fertilizer subsidies, countries should use broader and more cost-effective incentives to encourage farmers to adopt integrated soil fertility management.