After reviewing the main causes and effects of land degradation and erosion in the uplands of mainland Southeast Asia, this chapter presents several case studies of recent land-use changes governed by economic, political and institutional transitions, the expansion of teak and rubber tree plantations in northern Laos and southwest China, respectively, and of monocropping coffee in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam. We explain how these environmental disturbances are altering water and soil resources across different geographic scales, from the agricultural plot to the headwater catchment.

Vietnam has pilot-tested a payment for forest environmental services (PFES) program in an effort to restore and protect forest areas, some of which have been severely degraded by the excessive cutting of trees by small-scale farmers planting annual crops on steep, sloping lands. The pilot program implemented in southern Vietnam seems to be successful, yet the program in northern Vietnam has not produced the desired rates of planting and maintaining forest areas.

Impact of dynamic land use and land cover changes on the livelihood of local communities and ecosystem services is a major concern. This is particularly evident in most dryland agricultural systems in South Asia. We study land use/land cover (LULC) changes over the last two decades in a watershed (9589 ha) located in semi-arid eco-region in South India (Anantapuram district) using Landsat and IRS imagery. We captured additional data through field observations and focused group discussions.

The impact of shallow subsurface drainage was investigated as a pilot study on a 0.13 ha plot of a farmer’s field located in Batiaghata, Khulna District, Bangladesh, in the floodplain of the Bay of Bengal. The drainage design differed from traditional subsurface tile drains in two respects: (i) the depth of drains was shallow (30 cm); and (ii) the design did not include a sump and accessories such as pumps (drainage outlets were tidal).

Sustainable participatory watershed management is an approach promoted by the Ethiopian government to restore natural resources and agricultural productivity across the country. This comparative study between six watershed programs shows that this approach increases farmers’ food security and incomes (around 50% on average), as well as their resilience to drought and other climate shocks. However, the study also confirms that the nature and scale of impact can vary significantly between watershed programs.

Traditionally, Indian farmers kept bovines, especially cattle, for draught purposes in agriculture and transportation with milk as an adjunct. However, with increasing farm mechanization and rising demand for milk, the bovine functions have shifted more towards dairying. While bovine population has been increasing, the chronic scarcity of feed and fodder reinforces the need for optimization of bovine population for sustainable growth of dairying.

In Cambodia, the interactions between large-scale land investment and land titling gathered particular momentum in 2012–13, when the government initiated an unprecedented upland land titling programme in an attempt to address land tenure insecurity where large-scale land investment overlaps with land appropriated by peasants.

Sudden and gradual land use changes can result in different socio-ecological systems, sometimes referred to as regime shifts. The Lao PDR (Laos) has been reported to show early signs of such regime shifts in land systems with potentially major socio-ecological implications. However, given the complex mosaic of different land systems, including shifting cultivation, such changes are not easily assessed using traditional land cover data. Moreover, regime shifts in land systems are difficult to simulate with traditional land cover modelling approaches.

This report analyses what the key determinants are for farmers when deciding to rent out their land and how LIFT can influence these to further strengthen the rural land rental market..This resource was published in the frame of the Land Investment for Transformation (LIFT) Programme. For more information;please check: https://landportal.org/community/projects/land-investment-transformation...

This research aims to analyse relative effects of current land rental arrangements on the efficiency and equity of small landholding farmers and its implications for land policy debate in Ethiopia..This resource was published in the frame of the Land Investment for Transformation (LIFT) Programme. For more information;please check: https://landportal.org/community/projects/land-investment-transformation...

El presente Reglamento General para la aplicación de la Ley Orgánica de Tierras Rurales y Territorios Ancestrales, de Tierras Rurales y Territorios Ancestrales, tiene por objeto regular la aplicación de la Ley Orgánica de Tierras Rurales y Territorios Ancestrales, de conformidad con los principios, finalidades, lineamientos de la política agraria de tierras y los derechos vinculados a la propiedad de la tierra rural y territorios ancestrales.