Summary: "Since mid-July 2015, torrential rains in Myanmar have caused floods and landslides that have resulted in loss of lives, widespread displacement and loss of livelihoods. Further, Cyclone Komen, which eventually made landfall in Bangladesh, was sitting off the coast of western Myanmar bringing with it strong winds and further heavy rains, worsening the situation in parts of Myanmar. Of the 14 states in Myanmar, 12 have been severely affected.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Report preparation and contact persons:
1 What is the area of forest and other wooded land and how has it changed over time?
2 What is the area of natural and planted forest and how has it changed over time?
3 What are the stocks and growth rates of the forests and how have they changed?
4 What is the status of forest production and how has it changed over time?
5 How much forest area is managed for protection of soil and water and ecosystem services?

The institution of slavery is found mostly at intermediate stages of agricultural development, and less often among hunter-gatherers and advanced agrarian societies. We explain this pattern in a growth model with land and labor as inputs in production, and an endogenously determined property rights institution. The economy endogenously transits from an egalitarian state with equal property rights, to a despotic slave society where the elite own both people and land; thereafter it endogenously transits into a free labor society, where the elite own the land, but people are free.

In this paper I develop a theoretical model to analyze policy that restricts who can own land. I briefly review research related to such policy in Saskatchewan, Canada, and identify a standard supply-demand model that I extend in several ways. First, I replicate results for how policy affects prices and develop new results for how policy affects social welfare using comparative statics. Second, I extend the model to a dynamic setting where demand curves change over time and show that policy can affect price changes in variety of ways, which I refer to as comparative dynamics.

Highlights:

This Act makes provision with respect to planning management and administration and the system and procedures for planning.

La biodiversidad y la estabilidad del Iberá están reguladas por el régimen de fluctuación climático- hidrológico que ha determinado distintos modelos de ajuste de las poblaciones animales y vegetales a la periodicidad de la oferta de agua. En este estudio se evaluaron los riesgos para la biota y el paisaje del Iberá que surgen al considerar el cambio global del clima hasta el año 2100.

In this issue: ELD CA National teams defined and visited pilot research sites. ELD CA Initiative presented at the International Water Forum of Mountain Countries. ELD CA National teams defined ecosystem services and their valuation methods. ELD CA and UNDP BIOFIN project in Kazakhstan defined the cooperation during the
meeting in Astana. Strengthened the cooperation between ELD CA and partners in the region. Description of research pilot sites in the ELD approach in Central Asian countries.

The Zambia Wildlife Act, 2015

The aim of this document is to help countries seeking to develop a REDD+ Forest Reference Emission Level and/or Forest Reference Level (FREL/FRL) under the UNFCCC. The document provides a structural overview of UNFCCC requirements for FREL/FRL construction, summarizing UNFCCC guidance and translating it into elements needed for FREL/FRL construction. A description of possible advantages and risks associated with different options for each of these elements is added to provide some practical considerations to FREL/FRL construction.

In Kenya, insecure land tenure and inequitable access to land, forest and water resources have contributed to conflict and violence, which has in turn exacerbated food insecurity. To address these interlinked problems, a new set of laws and policies on food security and land governance are currently being introduced or designed by the Government of Kenya. The new Food Security Bill explicitly recognizes the link between food security and land access, and the 2012 land laws target the corrupt system of land administration that made much of Kenya’s land grabbing possible.

Previous studies have combined climate, crop and economic models to examine the impact of climate change on agricultural production and food security, but results have varied widely due to differences in models, scenarios and input data. Recent work has examined (and narrowed) these differences through systematic model intercomparison using a high-emissions pathway to highlight the differences. This paper extends that analysis to explore a range of plausible socioeconomic scenarios and emission pathways.