The analysis of `ambiguous lands' and the people who inhabit them is most revealing for understanding environmental deterioration in Thailand. `Ambiguous lands' are those which are legally owned by the state, but are used and cultivated by local people. Land with an ambiguous property status attracts many different actors: villagers hungry for unoccupied arable lands in the frontiers; government departments looking for new project sites; and conservation agencies searching for new areas to be protected.

Preliminary findings on the effects of land use in the Masinga Dam catchment, Kenya, on the storage capacity of the reservoir are presented. Remote sensing and GIS techniques, supplemented with ground reports, were used to determine areas most susceptible to erosion. A representative catchment was then chosen for rainy season monitoring of soil loss, river suspended sediments and discharge response to rainfall. In addition, Gerlach-type traps were used to evaluate erosion rates under different crop covers and slope gradients.

Characterizing soil erosion hazard and its spatial variability is critical for maintaining
user confidence in planning soil- and water- conservation programmes and general
land-use management. Predicting the average rates of soil erosion for a combination
of specific soil and land-use types is vital. This is because such predictions form a
basis for providing guidelines for effective erosion control.
The purpose of this investigation was to examine the erosion effects of alternative

This issue of Caravan chronicles ICARDA’s efforts in developing a research strategy and a need-based research program for the CAC region. In doing so, ICARDA played a major role in bringing together all partners, most importantly donors. The article on page 8 traces the history of this effort and provides an overview of the current status of collaboration.

Om inzicht te krijgen in de behoefte aan geo-informatie over het functioneel bodemgebruik onder potentiële gebruikers is een ondersteunend beslismiddel ontworpen. Het betreft een zogenaamde kaartenwaaier, die zowel op papier als op internet beschikbaar is gemaakt. De indeling van de kaartenwaaier is gestructureerd rond de invalshoek, de basisgeometrie en de functiegroep (of kaartlaag) en gaat uit van de bestaande basisgeometrieën LGN, TOP10-vector en CBS-bodemstatistiek.

Voor de Commissie Waterbeheer 21ste eeuw zijn drie scenario's voor de grondgebruiksvormen land- en tuinbouw en natuur in Nederland opgesteld. Als basis voor de meest waarschijnlijke ontwikkeling is daarbij het Europesecoördinatiescenario van het Centraal Planbureau gebruikt. Dit is uitgewerkt naar de eisen die deze vormen van grondgebruik aan het watersysteem in de komende decennia zullen stellen.

The Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 shall: preserve, sustain, and restore the condition of coral reef ecosystems; promote the wise management and sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems to benefit local communities and the Nation; to develop sound scientific information on the condition of coral reef ecosystems and the threats to such ecosystems; to assist in the preservation of coral reefs by supporting conservation programs, including projects that involve affected local communities and nongovernmental organizations; to provide financial resources for those programs and projects; and

This issue of Unasylva focuses on the special challenges concerning the conservation and use of trees outside forests.

Este nmero de Unasylva se ocupa de los desafos especiales que plantean la conservacin y utilizacin de los rboles fuera del bosque.

The Project was created as a result of an urgent need to protect cultivated land against the severe degradation caused by wind and water erosion in the Korqin Sandy Lands, to improve the socio-economic well being of the inhabitants of the region and for the need to sustainable produce wood for all sorts of uses.