The Dadia forest complex, in the Evros prefecture, in north eastern Greece was designated as a nature reserve in 1980 in order to protect the black vulture (Aegypius monachus) and other raptors. In this paper, the impacts of the protection on the forest growth were assessed using geographic information system (GIS) technologies. The major requirement for almost all research needed for sustainable forest management is extensive and intensive monitoring. GIS is a convenient tool for integrating remotely sensed data and various other kinds geo-referenced data.

Pooled water beetle species lists from 1826 British national grid 10-km squares were analysed using multivariate ordination and classification methods. The relationships of pool groups to the climate, altitude and land cover variables were assessed using constrained and partial ordinations. Ordination of the species pool data indicated a major trend between squares in the north-west of Scotland and those in southern England, illustrating differences in acid and basic water standing water. Secondary variation was from acid standing water to fast-flowing streams and rivers.

This paper investigates the effects of wheat genetic diversity and land degradation on risk and agricultural productivity in less favored production environments of a developing agricultural economy. Drawing production data from household survey conducted in the highlands of Ethiopia, we estimate a stochastic production function to evaluate the effects of variety richness, land degradation, and their interaction on the mean and the variance of wheat yield. Ethiopia is a centre of diversity for durum wheat and farmers manage complex variety mixtures on multiple plots.

This paper presents a range of future, spatially explicit, land use change scenarios for the EU15, Norway and Switzerland based on an interpretation of the global storylines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that are presented in the special report on emissions scenarios (SRES). The methodology is based on a qualitative interpretation of the SRES storylines for the European region, an estimation of the aggregate totals of land use change using various land use change models and the allocation of these aggregate quantities in space using spatially explicit rules.

Changes in rural areas, such as depopulation and land abandonment, but also intensification and loss of biodiversity, usually proceed very slowly yet are often irreversible. A scenario study (called EURURALIS) was carried out by Wageningen University and Research Centre in combination with the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP) to stimulate the strategic discussion among both national policy makers and policy makers at the European Union level on the future of Europe's rural areas and the role of policy instruments.

NAFTA's investment treaty has led to several expropriation compensation claims from investors hurt by new environmental regulations. Expropriation clauses in international treaties solve post-investment moral hazard problems such as hold-ups. However, these clauses can interact with National Treatment clauses in a manner that hinders investment. A police powers carve-out from the definition of expropriation can be Pareto-improvingand can increase the level of foreign investment.

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.