This note has been prepared for the plenary session of the European Forest Week on “Forests and Water” taking place on Thursday, 23 October 2008 1 . Its objective is to stimulate a lively and well informed discussion by providing the reader with background information and proposing questions which participants in the session may wish to address during the discussion. The note presents linkages between the forest and water sectors, discusses collaboration between the communities and presents international legal and policy frameworks.

One of the guiding mandates within the FAO Constitution is the following: “The Organization shall promote and, where appropriate, shall recommend national and international action with respect to: … the conservation of natural resources and the adoption of improved methods of agricultural production ...”. In many African countries, in addition to low yields, food production is limited by the availability of land and water resources.

This special issue of Unasylva has two main objectives. It brings to our readers an edited selection of some of the position papers of the important 4th Session of the FAO Committee on Forestry Development in the Tropics and, in doing, this, it emphasizes FAO's principal concern in the field of forestry: how to make the best and wisest use of man's least understood ecological formation, the moist tropical forest.

Meeting Name: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA)
Meeting symbol/code: CGRFA-16/17/15
Session: Sess.16

In light of so many challenges threatening global food security - population growth, high food prices, outbreaks of disease, increased occurrences of natural disasters, climate variability - safeguarding biological diversity for food and agriculture is more important than ever. What are some of the key areas where preserving biodiversity is crucial to ensuring food security for future generations?

A quarterly news bulletin dedicated to the exchange of information relating to wildlife and national resources management for the Asia-Pacific region.

A quarterly news bulletin dedicated to the exchange of information relating to wildlife and national resources management for the Asia-Pacific region.

Meeting Name: Committee on Forestry (COFO) (16th Session)
Meeting symbol/code: COFO 2003/6

An international journal of forestry and forest industries

A quarterly news bulletin dedicated to the exchange of information relating to wildlife and national resources management for the Asia-Pacific region.