The present Ordinance implements the Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources of 23 April 2009. In particular, the Law lays down provisions relating to building technology and building equipment, as well as to special environmental, health and energy requirements of buildings. Furthermore, the Law also applies to parcel of lands and other constructions and facilities subject to requirements of the present Law.

This U4 Issue discusses the corruption risks faced by mining companies in Guatemala, with a particular focus on the risks faced by small, “junior” mining companies primarily engaged in exploration.

In recent years, there has been growing attention and effort towards securing the formal, legal recognition of land rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Communities and Indigenous Peoples are estimated to hold as much as 65 percent of the world’s land area under customary systems, yet many governments formally recognize their rights to only a fraction of those lands. This gap—between what is held by communities and what is recognized by governments—is a major driver of conflict, disrupted investments, environmental degradation, climate change, and cultural extinction.

This report focuses on the promotion of economic growth and improving ecosystem protection within Brazil’s rural landscape.

This article explores the issues and concerns of grassroots stakeholders with regards to REDD+ policy and program development.

This paper reviews the current state of the literature on Indian urbanisation to analyse existing urban development trajectories at the state level.

This paper focuses on pastoralism in the country of Turkana in northwest Kenya.

It highlights that an increase in drought frequency associated with global climate change and intensifying violent conflicts between pastoral groups, poses significant challenges for local communities. It points out that significant oil reserves have been discovered in the region which may compound the problem.

With 2015 representing a year of unprecedented opportunity with regard to the landmark intergovernmental conferences on development and climate action, the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate have produced this substantial report which makes the case for all parties to forge new and improved strategic partnerships for economic growth and a better climate.The first part of the report focuses on new opportunities and challenges for low-carbon growth and international cooperation, examining recent trends and developments, and international cooperation both within and without the UNFCC

This study compares the contributions of climate change and socioeconomic development to potential future changes of agricultural land use in West Africa.

It uses a prototype land use projection (LandPro) algorithm which is based on a balance between food supply and demand, and accounts for the impact of socioeconomic drivers on the demand side and the impact of climate-induced crop yield changes on the supply side. It considers the impact of human decision-making on land use.

This paper argues that stakeholder groups – specifically indigenous and local communities living in or directly dependent upon forests – can often offer an important source of knowledge and capacity.

It highlights that these people can support data gathering for safeguard information needs, especially in places where existing monitoring systems cannot do so comprehensively. The paper argues that their involvement is important for protecting their rights, and critical for minimising the risk that REDD+, or the safeguards, could fail to meet their objectives.

This book is a challenge to those who see the drylands as naturally vulnerable to food insecurity and poverty. 

It argues that improving agricultural productivity in dryland environments is possible by working with climatic uncertainty rather than seeking to control it – a view that runs contrary to decade of development practice in arid and semi-arid lands.

Across China, Kenya and India – and most other dryland countries – family farmers and herders relate to the inherent variability of the drylands as a resource to be valued, rather than a problem to be avoided. 

This case study examines eight equity dimensions in sustainable forest management through the case study of Na Ot Village, Na Ot Commune, Mai Son District, Son La province in Viet Nam.

It highlights that securing forest tenure and resource rights is a critical cornerstone and a first prerequisite for promoting community forestry through mobilising local communities to manage and benefit from forest sustainably, to participate in the democratic decision-making process, and establish their own customary practices of forest management in Viet Nam.