During the last decade, the concept of water demand management has received increasing attention from both academics and development agencies and banks. In the face of rising costs for supply augmentation and concerns over the apparently inefficient use of water in agriculture, managing demand…
This edition of Unasylva comes in the wake of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20,which, among other things, produced a document called The Future We Want. In it, world leaders renewed their commitment to sustainable development and stated that “the wide range of…
The critical role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation is now widely recognized. Forests contribute significantly to climate change mitigation through their carbon sink and carbon storage functions. They play an essential role in reducing vulnerabilities and enhancing…
The guidelines are the first comprehensive, global instrument on tenure and its administration to be prepared through intergovernmental negotiations. The guidelines set out principles and internationally accepted standards of responsible practices for the use and control of land, fisheries and…
The habitat of tsetse fly (Glossina spp.) depends upon climatic conditions, host availability and land cover characteristics. In this paper, the Land Cover Classification System (LCCS), developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP…
Geospatial datasets and analysis techniques based on geographic information systems (GIS) have become indispensable tools in the planning, implementation and evaluation of a wide range of development programmes, including actions addressing sustainable agriculture and rural development. The…
The present study, by the Chief of the Agrarian and Water Law Section of the FAO Legislation Branch, is intended to explore in greater depth the value of legislation to the land use planning process. It is, on the one hand, an exploration of the ways in which legislation serves to provide the…
Compared to rural agriculture, urban agriculture (UA) has some distinct features (e.g., the limited land access, alternative growing media, unique legal environments or the non-production-related missions) that encourage the development of new practices, i.e., “novelties” or “innovations”. This…
Land degradation is a multifaceted phenomenon. In many mountainous and hilly areas that are marginal in terms of their economic and social sustainability, degradation is closely linked to population decline through ageing and outmigration, and to the abandonment of land, leading to a loss of…
For centuries, farmers, herders, fishers and foresters have developed diverse and locally adapted agricultural systems managed with time tested, ingenious techniques. These practices have resulted in a vital combination of social, cultural, ecological and economic services to humankind. “…
This document details the activities that were undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and cooperating agencies (the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of South Africa (DAFF), the Africa Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-…