The study explores the relationship between decentralization and conflict, comparing two case studies in Cambodia and the Philippines. It addresses to what degree and in what ways decentralization influences conflicts that are related to natural resources management (NRM), especially where local institutions are often unrepresentative of, and unaccountable to local communities.

The study analyzes the impact of degradation of private land as well as common land resources on migration decisions in three dryland districts in Gujarat. The study concludes that overall, in dry areas such as Gujarat, access to irrigation, rather than land ownership is likely to deter migration. The poorest rural households in dry land regions are the least likely to migrate.

While external forces can take many forms, such as the shock of a natural disaster which destroys productive assets, or the long-term ‘trend’ of consistently declining market prices which limits net incomes, the focus of this research is on the policy and institutional environment both within and outside the local community.

The review reveals watershed management research as an interdisciplinary effort at multiple scales within a long-term movement towards informed participatory decision-making. Watersheds, together with aquifers, are the most important units for data collection and modeling in water management. Common property resources (CPRs) are of central importance, especially for low-income inhabitants.

What are the key causalities in the linkages between environmental resource scarcity, the non-violent assertion of rights to the environment and the (non) avoidance of violence itself?

The papers included in this volume were earlier presented at a conference on the settlement of land claims in Africa, which was held in Amsterdam in September 2003. The papers are written primarily from an anthropological perspective.

What are the key causalities in the linkages between environmental resource scarcity, the non-violent assertion of rights to the environment and the (non) avoidance of violence itself?

This bulletin is issued by FAO as a medium for the dissemination of information and views on land reform and related subjects to the United Nations, FAO Member Governments and national and international experts and institutions. Articles are published in the original language (English, French or Spanish).

This issue of Land Reform, Land Settlement and Cooperatives offers the reader a series of articles and information related to the discussions that will take place in March 2006 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, at the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (7–10 March). Needs have changed and there are new dimensions to previous concerns.