Agriculture must, literally, return to its roots by rediscovering the importance of healthy soil, drawing on natural sources of plant nutrition, and using mineral fertilizer wisely.

Dans ce numéro, nous examinerons les projets en cours dans le cadre du lancement d’un nouveau partenariat mondial sur les sols, une initiative ambitieuse pour soutenir les efforts entrepris au niveau mondial sur les problèmes communs de gestion des sols. Nous examinerons également un projet régional centré sur l’assistance apportée à quatre pays andins – la Bolivie, la Colombie, le Pérou et l’Equateur – sur les questions d’adaptation au changement climatique et de gestion des risques de catastrophes dans le secteur agricole.

Сельское хозяйство должно в прямом смысле слова вернуться к корням, заново открыв для себя важность здоровой Почвы, использования естественных источников питания растений и разумного применения минеральных удобрений.

农业必须重新审视土壤健康的重要性，利用天然植物营养， 合理施用无机肥，切切实实回归本源。

Most of the terrestrial biodiversity within the Asia-Pacific region is contained within forests. Protected areas are the mainstay for biodiversity conservation although other forest areas are also important. Habitat destruction and extraction of high-value species are major threats to biodiversity. Ecosystem stability is based on interdependence among constituent species and with biodiversity loss, resilience to change is reduced. Awareness raising, stringent environmental impact assessments, and improved law enforcement are required.

The WOCAT-LADA-DESIRE mapping tool is based on the original WOCAT mapping questionnaire (WOCAT, 2007). It has been expanded to pay more attention to issues such as biological and water degradation, it also places more emphasis on direct and socio-economic causes of these phenomena, including their impacts on ecosystem services. It evaluates what type of land degradation is actually happening where and why and what is being done about it in terms of sustainable land management (SLM) in the form of a questionnaire.

This document is the second part of a two part manual on local level assessment of land degradation and sustainable land management: ? Part 1 ? Planning and Methodological Approach, Analysis and Reporting ? Part 2 ? Field Methodology and Tools The two parts should be used together as Part 1 provides the background information for the conduct of the methods and tools that are provided in Part 2.

Addressing the role of women in forestry is central to sustainable resource management and rural livelihood improvement. Improving women’s access to forest resources and effectively including them in decision making leads to greater investment in children’s welfare and has positive effects on economic growth and sustainable resource management. Opportunities for women to adopt new roles and improve their livelihoods are increasing but gender imbalances still threaten sustainable development.

En este nmero es nuestro propsito analizar los planes en curso con vistas al lanzamiento de la Alianza Global por el Recurso Suelo, una iniciativa ambiciosa destinada a apoyar los esfuerzos mundiales encaminados a resolver los problemas comunes relacionados con la ordenacin de suelos. Tambin examinamos un proyecto regional enfocado en la asistencia a cuatro pases andinos Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador y Per que hacen frente a problemas relacionados con la adaptacin al cambio climtico y la gestin riesgos en casos de desastre en el sector agrcola.

With 48% forest cover, the Greater Mekong Subregion still has large areas of forest remaining. The area of primary forest is, however, low and falling, while large tracts of forest are highly degraded and forest planting rates remain low in most countries. Reinvestment in forests is necessary to maintain wood and timber production, support biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, revitalise rural economies and protect against natural hazards and the impacts of climatic alterations. For a greener future, investment in forestry is essential.

This edition of The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture (SOLAW) presents objective and comprehensive information and analyses on the current state, trends and challenges facing two of the most important agricultural production factors: land and water.