This policy brief outlines participatory carbon monitoring (PCM) pilots in Viet Nam. Developing countries undertaking REDD+ activities will need to provide evidence of “results-based action” in order to receive payments for the reduction of carbon emissions or the enhancement of terrestrial carbon stocks. The brief begins by outlining the context of PCM activities in Viet Nam and then goes onto describe the objectives of PCM. Testaments from PCM participants are provided and key steps of PCM are discussed.

This paper presents an overview of pastoral systems and addresses rights issues around access and control of resources in the context of climate change.

Ecosystems are a form of natural capital. Invasions by introduced alien plant species alter ecosystems, often reducing supplies of valuable ecosystem goods and services and imposing substantial costs on South Africa’s economy. Reversing these losses by removing alien plants imposes further costs because clearing and control operations are expensive. However, the high costs can be offset by the benefits of creating employment opportunities through such operations and the livelihood benefits that can be derived from the cleared land.

This paper explores the opportunities for mitigating atmospheric carbon emissions and generating development income in developing countries through a combination of sustainable agricultural practices on existing lands, slowing tropical deforestation, and reforesting degraded lands.The analysis shows that over the next ten years, forty-eight major tropical and subtropical developing countries have the potential to reduce the atmospheric carbon burden by about 2.2 billion tonnes of carbon.

Prepared by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, this in-depth report seeks to shed light on the climate mitigation potential of agriculture. It argues that with an increasing demand for food, global agriculture will soon become the dominant area of greenhouse emissions, with the two main sources being nitrous oxide from the soil and methane from animal farming (of particular concern as developing countries convert increasingly to a high-protein, 'western', diet). The scientific case for the significance of agricultural emissions is presented in parts one to six of the report.

The Forests and Climate Change Programme (FORCLIME) is a collaborative initiative implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry. The project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the forestry sector and improve the livelihoods of Indonesia’s poor rural communities. This report outlines the results of a gender analysis of Indonesia’s forestry sector undertaken to inform the design of a gender strategy for FORCLIME.

This study sought to determine a 22-year past and future land use and land cover trend and its implication on green spaces in an eThekwini Municipal Area’s peripheral settlement. Results show a consistent pattern of decline in land use and land cover types associated with green spaces and an increase in impervious surfaces. The study is taken to confirm recent urban bio-physical transformation and anticipated increased pressure on peripheral urban green spaces in eThekwini Municipality.

Conducted by the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation of the Government of Nepal, this study focus on identifying how forest ecosystems support enhancement of adaptive capacity of local communities. It analyzes win-win roles of forests for climate change mitigation and adaptation (using multi-criteria analysis) and the policy gaps in Nepal to bring forests in the forefront of climate change adaptation while enhancing mitigation performance. It also recommends a policy framework to integrate adaptation roles of forest to mitigation function (how REDD+ and NAPA go together).

This first progress report for the five-year Sida programme provides a comprehensive review of programme activities, progress towards outcomes, risks encountered and lessons learned in the first 18 months – from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2015. It also discusses adjustments required to Year 2 implementation as a result of these findings.

This document presents a framework for identifying and asserting tenure and human rights associated with forests and land use in the context of climate change policies and measures. It argues that clearly defined land rights can help identify which actors are necessary to address drivers of deforestation and can determine shares in benefits from reduced deforestation. Local resource management may even improve forest outcomes.

Reviews the current understanding of the relationship between land use (especially forestry), carbon dioxide emissions and the Kyoto Protocol agreementsTopics cover: how the global carbon cycle operates, and how this relates to forestry activitiesaccounting rulescomparison of the usefulness of models and ground-based assessments of changes in carbon stocksshort term prospects for policy implementationimplications for sustainable development

This paper focuses on extracts from a recent comparative analysis of livestock and land use surveys across a range of agro-climatic conditions in sub-Saharan Africa, based on information from systematic low level aerial reconnaissance and complementary ground studies in Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan and Tchad, between 1980 and 1993.