The CAP reform 2014 – 2020 maintains the two pillars and introduces a new architecture of direct payments; better targeted, more equitable and greener, an enhanced safety net and strengthened rural development. In order to highlight the gap between CAP implementation and pastures sustainable management, a case study was done in the area of Tzoumerka Mountain.

After reviewing the main causes and effects of land degradation and erosion in the uplands of mainland Southeast Asia, this chapter presents several case studies of recent land-use changes governed by economic, political and institutional transitions, the expansion of teak and rubber tree plantations in northern Laos and southwest China, respectively, and of monocropping coffee in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam. We explain how these environmental disturbances are altering water and soil resources across different geographic scales, from the agricultural plot to the headwater catchment.

The island of Sri Lanka is free from serious natural hazards such as volcanic activity and earthquakes resulting from climatic extremes, but there are impacts of many natural disasters, such as landslides, floods and droughts, the intensity and frequency of which are increasing due to human interventions. Some areas of Sri Lanka are also periodically subject to cyclones that occur due to climatic conditions and geographical locations. Land degradation denotes all natural or anthropogenic processes that diminish or impair productivity of land.

Context: Various species of forest trees are commonly used for ornamental purposes and are therefore frequently found in nonforest ecosystems. They constitute an important component of the so-called trees outside forests (TOF).