This report discusses the need and options to balance consumption with sustainable production, as changing trends in both the production and consumption of land-based products put increased pressure on land resources across the globe. It focuses on land-based products (food, fuels and fibre) and describes methods which enable countries to determine whether their consumption levels exceed sustainable supply capacities. Strategies and measures are outlined with the aim of allowing the adjustment of policy framework to balance consumption with these capacities.

There are 1.4 billion poor people living on less than US$1.25 a day. One billion of them live in rural areas where agriculture is their main source of livelihood. The ‘green revolution’ in agriculture that swept large parts of the developing world during the 1960s and 1970s dramatically increased agricultural productivity and reduced poverty. Many of the productivity gains accrued to smallholder farmers, supported through research and extension services.

This report looks at the ways in which natural resource management—the institutions, policies and practices that govern land, water, forests, minerals, hydrocarbons—interact with violent conflict in Afghanistan.