Welcome to the first issue of the Natural Resources and Environment Newsletter. Each month, we will be bringing you information about important issues and events, new publications and projects, and interviews with experts on various issues related to bioenergy, climate change, genetic resources and biodiversity, land resources, land tenure and water resources

Water statistics at all levels are crucial for sustainable development and management. They shape policy, decision-making, and act as a proxy for development. Integrated Water Resources Management plans around basic information on water resources and use. Unfortunately, the nomenclature surrounding water information is often confusing and gives rise to different interpretations and thus confusion.

The AgWater Solutions Project aimed at designing agricultural water management (AWM) strategies for smallholder farmers in sub Saharan Africa and in India. The project was managed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and operated jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) and International Development Enterprise (IDE).

This report presents the outcomes of the training workshop organized around the MASSMUS application presented is the first application in Shanxi Province in China in 2010.

This report presents the results of the expert consultation and the testing of the MASSMUS module of MASSCOTE methodology in Bac Hung Hai irrigation scheme in Viet Nam. The MASSMUS module was applied in two administrative districts in the BHH: Luong Tai district, and Kim Dong district.

The present document is a follow-up to previous FAO technical assistance efforts in the sustainable development and management of the fishery and aquaculture sector in Georgia. It aims to call attention to and provide evidences of the fact that fisheries and aquaculture have substantial development potentials in Georgia. The country is rich in both marine and inland water resources, but the potentials of the fishery and aquaculture sector are far from being exploited.

Presentamos el principal asunto del Boletín de Recursos Naturales y Medio Ambiente. Todos los meses, ofreceremos información sobre importantes asuntos y eventos, nuevas publicaciones y proyectos, y entrevistas con expertos sobre varios asuntos relacionados con la bioenergía, el cambio climático, los recursos genéticos y la biodiversidad, los recursos de tierras, la tenencia de la tierra y los recursos hídricos.

Bienvenue dans ce premier numéro du Bulletin d’information sur les ressources naturelles et l’environnement. Il vous apportera chaque mois des informations sur les évènements importants, les nouvelles publications et les projets. Il vous proposera également des entretiens avec des experts sur diverses thématiques comme la bioénergie, le changement climatique, les ressources génétiques et la biodiversité, les ressources en terres et en eau, les régimes fonciers.

What’s the future for Africa’s livestock herders as our climate changes, becomes less predictable, heats up? How can scientific research help remote pastoral communities? Among the poorest of the world’s poor, herders supply milk and meat not only for themselves but for large numbers of other poor people. Although their animals produce few of the greenhouse gasses harming the earth, these people will be among those most hurt by the climate changes we expect. Population growth and land degradation are already causing problems over much of the continent’s traditional rangelands.

The rapid sustainability assessment of Mekong electricity planning in Cambodia using Section I of the 2009 Draft Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (2009 HSAP) was conducted by a group of Cambodian assessors from March to May 2010. A multi-stakeholder consultation and trialing was conducted in Phnom Penh on April 8, 2010.

We conducted a rapid assessment of the sustainability performance of the Thai power development plan and a number of related planning processes, focusing on the Thai plan’s implications for development of hydropower in the Mekong region. We used the August 2009 draft Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP), which is a qualitative multi-criteria audit tool designed to be used by a wide range of interested parties.

The CPWF Project PN67 “Improving Mekong Water Allocation” was a key, collaborative

activity of the Mekong Program on Water, Environment and Resilience (M-POWER). The

goal of contributing to water allocation policy and practice which results in a more

optimal and equitable use of water by society has been pursued by research across the

Mekong Region and active engagement with policymakers. The project team have

examined the use of a wide range of decision-support tools, in many decision-making