Livestock are an important component of
rural livelihoods in developing countries, but data about
this source of income and wealth are difficult to collect
because of the nomadic and semi-nomadic nature of many
pastoralist populations. Most household surveys exclude
those without permanent dwellings, leading to undercoverage.
This study explores the use of a random geographic cluster
sample as an alternative to the household-based sample. In

The aim of the rapid assessment is to
support the transition from emergency post conflict recovery
to a development approach. The completion of the water,
sanitation, and hygiene, or WASH strategic framework in 2011
was intended to mark the beginning of this transition in the
water resources sector. Among other things, the transition
involved the adjustment of policy and strategy and possibly
a rethinking of approaches as the government shifts from

The island of La Gonave lies northwest of Port-au-Prince and is representative of the subsistence Haitian lifestyle. Little is known about the land cover changes and conversion rates on La Gonave. Using Landsat images from 1990 to 2010, this research investigates landscape dynamics through image classification, change detection, and landscape pattern analysis. Five land cover classes were considered: Agriculture, Forest/Dense Vegetation (DV), Shrub, Barren/Eroded, and Nonforested Wetlands. Overall image classification accuracy was 87%.

Pollination is a key ecosystem service as many crops but in particular, fruits and vegetables are partially dependent on pollinating insects to produce food for human consumption. Here we assessed how pollination services are delivered at the European scale. We used this assessment to estimate the relative contribution of wild pollinators to crop production. We developed an index of relative pollination potential, which is defined as the relative potential or relative capacity of ecosystems to support crop pollination.

Urban areas are directly or indirectly responsible for the majority of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In this study, we characterize observed atmospheric CO2 mixing ratios and estimated CO2 fluxes at three sites across an urban-to-rural gradient in Boston, MA, USA. CO2 is a well-mixed greenhouse gas, but we found significant differences across this gradient in how, where, and when it was exchanged. Total anthropogenic emissions were estimated from an emissions inventory and ranged from 1.5 to 37.3 mg·C·ha−1·yr−1 between rural Harvard Forest and urban Boston.

A one year field trial was carried out on three adjacent unfertilised plots; an 18 year old grassland, a 14 year old established Miscanthus crop, and a 7 month old newly planted Miscanthus crop. Measurements of N2O, soil temperature, water filled pore space (WFPS), and inorganic nitrogen concentrations, were made every one to two weeks. Soil temperature, WFPS and NO3− and NH4+ concentrations were all found to be significantly affected by land use.

This book analyzes the risks to
Nigeria's development prospects that climate change
poses to agriculture, livestock, and water management. These
sectors were chosen because they are central to achieving
the growth, livelihood, and environmental objectives of
Vision 20: 2020; and because they are already vulnerable to
current climate variability. Since other sectors might also
be affected, the findings of this research provide

This report focuses on one specific
interaction: the role of forests, and particularly protected
forests, in maintaining quality of drinking water for large
cities. There are many reasons for this focus: many city
dwellers already face a crisis of water quality, and
contaminated water spreads a vast and largely unnecessary
burden in terms of short and long-term health impacts
including infant mortality, with knock-on effects on ability

A major section of over 720 million
rural poor in India continue to depend on biomass sources
for meeting their energy requirements. Most of these poor
people continue to burn biomass in energy-inefficient
devices, locally called Chulhas. This study report is based
on an evaluation of the National Program for Improved
Chulhas (NPIC) conducted as part of a larger Bank study
entitled India : household energy, indoor air pollution and

Soil carbon is important for soil structure and related nutrient and water holding properties. Increasing soil carbon stocks results in improved crop growth and contributes to enhanced climate resilience. In addition, the increase in soil organic carbon through sustainable agricultural land management (SALM) practices, such as the use of cover crops, residue management and agroforestry, will also reduce the need for synthetic nitrogen fertiliser at a given level of crop production.

This research extends upon land cover change studies by incorporating methodological approaches, which are compatible with heterogeneous ecosystems, are able to link landscape changes to system processes, such as climate change, and provide potential linkages to concepts of ecological resilience. The study region in southern Africa experienced a significant climatic shift in the 1970s, resulting in drier conditions. The state of these ecosystems and their response to such climatic shock is quantified in terms of vegetation amount and heterogeneity.

Estimating deforested areas and deforestation rates have become key steps for quantifying environmental services of tropical rain forests, particularly as linked to programs such as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). In Southeastern Peru, reliable estimates of land-cover change (LCC) are important for monitoring changes in the landscape due to agricultural expansion, pasture creation and other socio-economic influences triggered by the Inter-Oceanic Highway (IOH).