Doing business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 10 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business,…

Background Pastoralists have long inhabited vast areas of western China, including the Tibetan Plateau region. Their traditional land use practices and cultural conservation ethic have helped to protect the natural resource base upon which they depend and the wildlife that co-exist with them in…

This comparative study highlights that rainfall variability and food insecurity are key drivers for human mobility. The empirical research is based on eight country case studies, including a 1,300 household survey and participatory research sessions involving 2,000 individuals. The results…

This handbook summarises the guiding principles, tools and practice in key economic sectors that can facilitate the implementation of resilience concepts into decisions related to infrastructure investments and general urban management as a means of reducing disaster and climate risks. It is…

This brief discusses Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) safeguards in the context of Vietnam and makes recommendations for future action. It begins by outlining the Vietnamese context and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defined…

This policy-brief examines a two year moratorium on new permits for primary natural forest and peat land that came into force in Indonesia on May 20th 2011. The brief aims to inform a range of decision-making actors in developing countries about the nature of improved forestry management in the…

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have published this annual report on joint projects financed during 2011 on ecosystems and biodiversity preservation, green development strategies, and sustainable use of water and ocean resources, among other topics.…

The adaptation of land-use patterns is an essential aspect of minimising the impact of climate change at regional and local scales; for example, adapting watershed land-use patterns to mitigate the impact of climate change on a region’s hydrology. The aim of this study is to simulate and assess…

This document discusses the outcome of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) 17th Conference of Parties, with an explicit focus on implications for the forestry sector in the Asia-Pacific region. The report’s content is the product of a specialist workshop held in…

This policy brief examines the role of forests for climate change adaptation in the region of Asia. It is organized into several sections. Firstly, anticipated changes to precipitation and temperature in Asia under a low and a high emissions scenario, between 2010 and 2039, are outlined.…

This study aims to investigate the effect of climate change on transportation flows and inland waterways in the Mississippi River Basin due to climate-induced shifts in crop production patterns in 2050 using two large scale modeling systems, an Agricultural Sector Model (ASM) and an…

Mangroves are an imperilled biome whose protection and restoration through payments for ecosystem services (PES) can contribute to improved livelihoods, climate mitigation and adaptation. Interviews with resource users in three Solomon Islands villages suggest a strong reliance upon mangrove…