The report is a result of input solicited from Member States and regional partners, and extensive desk review of available documentation and internet resources on drought and desertification, as well as information exchange with and comment from various

organizations and individuals. It is in no way meant to be exhaustive but it brings out the main findings obtaining from the above sources on the subject matter.

The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) at its Sixteenth Session 1. (CSD-16) to be held in 2008, will focus on the assessment of the progress made in implementing programs and actions on sustainable development under the thematic cluster of issues covering agriculture and rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa.

The purpose of this Act is to contribute to the promotion of public welfare with the systematic management of uninhabited islands and surrounding waters by prescribing matters necessary for the conservation and management of uninhabited islands and surrounding waters. In particular, the State and local governments shall formulate and execute policies necessary for the proper conservation and management of uninhabited islands, such as protecting uninhabited islands and surrounding waters from being damaged, or indiscreetly utilized or developed. The text consists of 37 articles.

Getting to the roots of Burma’s latest timber export trade...

They had been rooted in Burma’s soil for many years, some of them for more than a century. Then the heavy excavation machinery moved in—and the trees moved out, across the border to China. Some Burmese nature lovers say the trees will be homesick, but for Burmese and Chinese entrepreneurs they just represent money. Lots of money...

The purpose of this Act is to protect lives and property of people from the danger of steep slope failures and to contribute to public welfare by prescribing matters concerning the designation and management of steep slopes at risk of collapse, the formulation and execution of necessary improvement plans and emergency measures.

The general trend of climatically-driven treeline advance is modified by regional, local and temporal variations. Treelines will not advance in a closed front parallel to the shift of any isotherm to higher elevations and more northern latitudes. The effects of varying topography on site conditions and the after-effects of historical disturbances by natural and anthropogenic factors may override the effects of slightly higher average temperatures. Moreover, the varying treeline-forming species respond in different ways to a changing climate.

This Law, consisting of 43 articles divided into five Chapters, creates the Ecological and Economic Zone of the State of Acre.

Historicamente a realidade fundiária brasileira, quer rural quer urbana, foi marcada pela existência de regulação formal, mas não aplicada integralmente, fazendo com que as regras do acesso à terra sejam bastante frágeis e incipientes.

La presente Estrategia MERCOSUR de Lucha contra la Desertificación, la Degradación de la Tierra y los Efectos de la Sequía se inscribe en el marco de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas de Lucha contra la Desertificación y la Sequía y, en particular, en su Anexo III de Aplicación Regional para América Latina y el Caribe. El documento fue elaborado por el Grupo Ad hoc de Lucha contra la Desertificación y la Sequía que fuera creado en 2005 durante la IV Reunión de Ministros de Medio de Ambiente del MERCOSUR.

Land is very important natural resource to the human being as it provides the basis for more than 95% of human food. On the broader context, land has many other functions, e.g. provision of biological habitats and physical and connective space; regulation of hydrology and climate; storage of minerals, raw materials and historical/pre-historical records; and as a buffer to control waste and pollution. Expanding human requirements and economic activities are placing ever increasing pressures on land resources, creating competition and conflicts and resulting in suboptimal use of land.

Le Plan national concernant la protection de la nature est un document à portée nationale qui vise l’atteinte de deux objectifs stratégiques: a) enrayer la perte de la biodiversité, en particulier par le maintien et le rétablissement d’un état de conservation favorable des espèces et des habitats menacés, d’intérêt national ou communautaire; b) préserver et rétablir les services et processus écosystémiques à l’échelle paysagère et nationale.

Se analizó el efecto del aprovechamiento forestal (maderero y de la extracción de palmitos; Euterpe edulis, Palmae) sobre la estructura, diversidad y composición florística de los bosques denominados palmitales de la Selva Atlántica Argentina (54 °13' W, 25°41' S), en la provincia de Misiones, Argentina. Se establecieron 3 ha de parcelas permanentes, dos ubicadas en la zona intangible del Parque Nacional Iguazú (PNI) y otra en un sitio lindante aprovechado forestalmente. Se midieron tres parcelas no permanentes cada una de 0.2 ha.