Steppe desertification due to vehicle travel is a severe environmental issue in Mongolia. We studied natural vegetation recovery on abandoned vehicle tracks in the central Mongolia steppe through vegetation surveys and stable isotopic techniques. The following issues were addressed: (i) invasion of pioneering plant species, (ii) alteration of soil surface features, and (iii) contribution of revegetated plants to soil organic matter (SOM).

In Ethiopia deforestation is a major problem and many peasants have switched from fuelwood to dung for cooking and heating purposes, thereby damaging the agricultural productivity of cropland. The Ethiopian government has embarked on a two-pronged policy in an effort to stem deforestation and the degradation of agricultural lands: (i) tree planting or afforestation; (ii) dissemination of more efficient stove technologies. The motivation in here is, therefore, to examine the potential of the strategy of disseminating improved stoves in the rehabilitation of agricultural and forests lands.

In the turmoil of a rapidly changing economy the Albanian government needs accurate and timely information for management of their natural resources and formulation of land-use policies. The transformation of the forestry sector has required major changes in the legal, regulatory and management framework.

During the past 20 years, most settlements of the Brazilian Agrarian Reform (AR) have been established in or near better-preserved natural ecosystems, where environmental impact is likely to be negative and contribute to natural resources degradation. The objective of this work is providing a first, comprehensive insight of the impacts related to the environmental quality of these settlements, based on the primary survey of 4,340 AR settlements installed between 1985 and 2001. An index was calculated to integrate different aspects of environmental impacts in one single number.

The study was caried out in Peru in 2003 and 2004. The study aims to increase the chances of future success of forest rehabilitation efforts by identifying the strategies that best contribute to long-term sustainability with minimal negative effects on stakeholders. Specifically, the study derives strategic lessons from the past and ongoing initiatives. The study identifies and disseminate the most promising approaches and incentives for rehabilitation in different ecological and socio-economic situations.