In 2002, mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) was listed on Appendix II of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). This requires that all producing countries define and implement sustainable production systems for mahogany, the most commercially important neotropical timber, which is still harvested from natural forests. The only serious efforts to produce mahogany sustainably from managed natural forests are those of communities in Quintana Roo, Mexico, which control 800,000 of natural production forests.

In recent years, large-scale agricultural investment projects have increased in sub-Saharan Africa as a result of the growing appetites of local and international investors for land resources. Research has so far mainly focused on land issues, but the water implications of these land deals are starting to surface. Taking the Office du Niger (ON), in Mali, as a case study, it is shown that while around 100,000 ha is currently being cultivated, mostly by smallholders, a total of 600,000 ha of land has been allocated in the past ten years to investors in large-scale farming.

The principles and practices for forest harvesting in Indonesia (2000) have been developed to provide a uniform set of minimum standards for logging practices in the production and limited production forests in Indonesia. The provide the standard for WHAT is involved in planning and implementing logging activities in natural forest and WHY certain operations should be undertaken. The Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) guidelines for Indonesia provides the mechanism for HOW the standards will be applied in the field or "how to do the work".

These guidelines form the basis for defining the initial set of activities to be classified as Reduced-Impact Logging (RIL). They have been adapted to and will be tested in the local conditions that occur in the lowland and hill dipterocarp forest of the Bulungan Model Forest project in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

“The objectives of this workshop are to review and discuss the main findings and policy implications of recent research conducted on these topics by IFPRI, Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Mekelle University (MU), the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization (EARO) and other Ethiopian collaborators; to discuss options for improving the development of agricultural markets and land management in Ethiopia, considering different stakeholders’ perspectives; and to develop recommendations for priority policy actions and fu