This study analyzed the financial attractiveness of Clean Development Mechanism Afforestation and Reforestation (CDM A/R) in irrigated agricultural settings. The Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of CDM A/R were estimated by analyzing the case of Khorezm region in Uzbekistan, where a mixed-species tree plantation was established on marginal cropland. The dual purposes of carbon sequestration and production of fruits, leaves as fodder, and fuelwood were studied over a seven-year rotation period.

This paper presents an assessment of smallholder farmers’ perceptions of climate change, its impacts on agricultural production and adaptive responses in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The findings show that increased temperature and decreased rainfall are widely held perceptions; all respondents stated that they had observed increase in temperature and decrease in annual and seasonal rainfall amounts.

In light of impending water and arable land shortages, population growth and climate change, it is more important than ever to examine how forest tree domestication can be accelerated to sustainably meet future demands for wood, biomass, paper, fuel and biomaterials. Because of long breeding cycles, tree domestication cannot be rapidly achieved through traditional genetic improvement methods alone. Integrating modern genetic and genomic techniques with conventional breeding will expedite tree domestication.

The implementation of an international programme for reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) can help to mitigate climate change and bring numerous benefits to environmental conservation. Information on land change modelling and carbon mapping can contribute to quantify future carbon emissions from deforestation. However limitations in data availability and technical capabilities may constitute an obstacle for countries interested in participating in the REDD programme.

Canada's forests will be affected by climate change to a greater degree than many other regions. The ability of the Canadian forest sector to successfully adapt to climate change, i.e. its adaptive capacity, was assessed through a series of group discussions and interviews with a variety of forestry stakeholders across Canada.

Coral reefs are threatened globally by the climatic consequences of rising atmospheric CO₂ levels; in many regions they are also threatened locally, for example, by reductions in the water quality of runoff from adjacent catchments. Interaction between global and local pressures makes it possible to use local actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change. To this end, managers and policy-makers are seeking to implement agricultural land management regimes that improve runoff water quality and thereby reduce risks to the Great Barrier Reef.

Ecosystem goods and services have been brought to the forefront of policy making all over the world. It is acknowledged that these goods and services underpin human well-being. The provision of water resources is amongst those services that have raised more attention, given its unquestionable value and global threats like climatic change. Nevertheless, the biophysical basis that determines the land-use/water interactions has been often ignored. For the formulation of sound decisions, it is necessary to extend the empirical basis that determines these complex relations.

Capsule The bioclimatic zone and habitat type within which birds winter are the most important determinants of population trends.Aims To investigate whether regional factors on wintering grounds, phenological mismatch, or habitat on breeding or wintering grounds show relationships with population changes of Afro-Palaearctic migrant birds.Methods We modelled breeding bird survey trends of 26 species of Afro-Palaearctic migrant birds that breed in Britain, and assessed the most important variables.

The nation's family forest lands can be an important contributor to carbon sequestration efforts. Yet very little is known about how family forest landowners view programs that enable them to sell carbon credits generated from the growth of their forest and the compensation that would be required to encourage a meaningful level of participation. To address this information gap, we conducted a study to identify and quantify family forest landowner interest in participating in a voluntary carbon market trading program in the Lake States, USA.

For the past 160 years, the prior appropriation system of the Western United States has adapted to changing water uses and shifting societal priorities. This paper argues that prior appropriation creates sufficient certainty to allow for economic development and facilitate water markets, yet is flexible enough to adapt to changing priorities and water supplies. Because it possesses both flexibility and certainty, it is a strong enough framework for the Western United States to weather the possible effects of climate change on water supply.

An attempt is made here to shed light on how water legislation could address the climate change challenge. Although climate change legislation provides a framework for the integration of climate change issues into government policies on several topics, it does not cover water resources as such. Therefore, water legislation must provide for such integration. The challenge is to find a balance between well-defined water rights, duties and administrative functions on the one hand and, on the other, the flexibility required to respond to the vagaries of a changing climate.