Includes Sierra Leone: open for business, land use and land tenure in Sierra Leone, land deal in Sierra Leone: four case studies, responsible agro-investment? Found a lack of transparency and public disclosure in all aspects of the four land deals, an extremely weak regulatory framework, confusion around ‘availability’ of land, lack of environmental protection, conditions ripe for exploitation and conflict.

Includes Mali – a welcoming climate for investors, the regulatory framework – bending it to suit investors?, the Office du Niger, case studies of four investments, large land deals in Mali. Found more than 40% of land deals involve crops for agrofuels, violent and flagrant abuses of human rights in the agricultural zones of the Office du Niger, a serious lack of public disclosure and transparency from government, an alarming lack of environmental protection.

Scientists predict that global warming will cause suitable habitat ranges to shift for many plant species, including blue oak in California. If proximity to particular land cover types significantly affects human welfare, any such shifts will affect household welfare, resulting in an indirect cost that is currently unaccounted for in the climate change literature. Using a hedonic pricing model, the marginal values of blue oaks and the land cover types most likely to replace them are estimated at multiple spatial scales using single family residences sold in Kern County from 1997 to 2003.

This paper analyzes the optimal policy choice for the conservation of privately owned openspace when future land cover types are uncertain. Policymakers must use land use policies tomake conservation decisions under uncertainty over the social benefits of future vegetation, dueto the uncertain effects of climate change on suitable habitat ranges. If policymakers fail toaccount for future information gains when designing land use policies, expected social welfaremay not be maximized.

O Desenvolvimento Agrário tem sido desde sempre uma prioridade para Moçambique. Em 1998, o Governo em colaboração com os principais parceiros desenhou o Programa de Desenvolvimento da Agricultura (PROAGRI I) com o objectivo de melhorar a coordenação das intervenções públicas na agricultura e orientar os investimentos..

Since the publication of the Report of the Brundtland Commission (Our Common Future) in 1987, and the consequent Earth Summit on sustainable development, global attention on natural resource scarcity and degradation has been increasing, because of climate change and rising food and energy prices. This awareness, in turn, has led to growing interest in land investments by the private and public sectors. Despite this interest, however, land degradation has not been comprehensively addressed at the global level or in developing countries.

Recognizing the important role that people living in and around forests play in forest management for poverty reduction and environmental sustainability, RECOFTC conducted a study for the ASEAN Social Forestry Network and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to provide a general overview of social forestry in the ASEAN region and its potential to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Special attention is given to Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Recognizing the important role that people living in and around forests play in forest management for poverty reduction and environmental sustainability, RECOFTC conducted a study for the ASEAN Social Forestry Network and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to provide a general overview of social forestry in the ASEAN region and its potential to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Special attention is given to Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Mongolia was hit hard by the global economic recession, notably the fall in commodity prices. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 1.6 percent in 2009 after growth of 8.9 percent in 2008. The country is narrowly specialized in production of a few primary goods with minerals comprising 70 percent of total exports. Since mid-2008, the prices of main export goods, including copper, zinc, crude petroleum, combed goat-down and cashmere dropped by close to or more than 50 percent, though prices of coal and gold held strong.

Includes situation prior to acquisition, contract negotiations, employment, environmental impacts, crop production, ancillary services, responsibilities of key actors – the international community, national governments, local governments, communities and civil society, domestic and international investors.

Examines 3 case studies of proposed biofuel developments in Mozambique and Sierra Leone in terms of social displacement. More mitigation measures could provide livelihood restitution and avoid negative food security impacts.