La temática relativa a la tenencia y explotación de tierras está de nuevo a la orden del día. Así, son muchos los países que manifiestan un renovado interés por los diferentes modos de acceso a los recursos naturales en un marco de posibles reformas territoriales, ya sea en el contexto de la seguridad alimentaria, de la lucha contra la pobreza en el mundo, de la preservación del ambiente o de la calidad de la vida.

A workable water abstraction licensing scheme is one in which users are able to comply with its provisions and the water authority is able to administer and enforce it efficiently and effectively. Such a scheme aims to formalize users’ water rights in an environment where there are concerns about scarcity, pollution, or competing uses, or where other doubts have arisen because water abstraction is unregulated. In such a system, water can be allocated among diverse users and diverse water use sectors in accordance with the government’s priorities and plans.

In this issue of the NR Newsletter, we welcome 2012 as the UN-declared International Year of Energy for All, an opportunity to concentrate global attention on the challenges facing both developed and developing countries when addressing access to and efficient use of sustainable energy sources. We also take a look at an interesting land tenure project that aims to bring advanced technology land registration systems to developing countries, through low-cost open-source software.

Fisheries around the world make essential contributions to human well-being including the provision of basic food supplies. employment, recreational opportunities. foreign currency and others, providing benefits to hundreds of millions of people. Despite these benefits, our record of managing fisheries so that the benefits can be sustained has been poor; at best, and most fisheries around the world are experiencing serious ecological, social or economic problems and usually all three.

This publication describes the experience of a number of transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union with crafting regulatory frameworks for irrigation water users’ organizations. It also seeks to distil a number of key regulatory requirements. As a result, this study serves as a design/drafting manual for policymakers and for drafters of legislation on water users’ organizations.

This publication explores various aspects of the interface between water rights and land tenure. It is intended to synthetize and assess current learning on this topic, to define salient issues and to propose fruitful approaches for further investigation.

A terra, ao longo da história, simboliza poderio político, económico e sociocultural não só a nível dos Estados como também das comunidades e do indivíduo. No contexto actual, é um dos principais recursos para o desenvolvimento e qualidade da vida das pessoas, não só no meio rural, como também no urbano e/ou peri-urbano, caracterizando-se como factor de exclusão ou inclusão, emancipação ou marginalização social.

The purpose of this paper is examine the notion of tenure in connection with water resources and to explore whether the concept of water tenure has the potential to make a useful contribution towards resolving the world’s water resources challenges. It seeks to provide answers to the following questions: (a) What is water tenure? (b) Does water tenure really exist or is water simply too different from other natural resources? (c) Could the concept of water tenure be useful in terms of the development of natural resources policies and practices?

This paper will contribute to mapping out the area of interface of customary water rights and statutory water rights.

This month, we will be marking the annual World Water Day celebration on 22 March. This years theme is Water for the cities: Responding to urban challenges. In this issue, we look at some of the challenges posed to water resources by rapid migration and we consider one possible solution for improving the use of these resources. In this issue, we are pleased to welcome a new Executive Secretary to the Commission for Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and we spoke with her about the role of the Commission and its main priorities over the next months.

In this issue, we look at a new publication entitled â¿¿Payments for ecosystem services and food securityâ¿¿. This document was produced as part of preparatory process for FAOâ¿¿s participation in the Rio+20 event to be held in 2012. We also look ahead to World Water Week to be held 21-27 August in Stockholm, Sweden, where FAO will participate in a seminar anticipating the theme of 2012â¿¿s World Water Day â¿¿ Water and Food Security.