Access to land is essential to food production and income generation. It is also a key social and economic asset, crucial for cultural identity, political power and participation in decisionmaking. Social and cultural beliefs often discriminate against people because of gender, social class or ethnic group.

Women and childrens' insecure rights to property and inheritance in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa is not a new issue. The extended family support systems that used to function as social safety nets for widows and orphaned children have weakened as a consequence of societal changes such as economic development, migration and urbanization. This situation has clearly been exacerbated by the AIDS epidemic. Though prevalence is starting to level off, or even decline, in several high prevalence countries, this comes after years of increasing prevalence.

Le prsent numro d'Unasylva examine les dfis que doit relever la vulgarisation forestire et les efforts dploys actuellement en ce sens.

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This Issue of Nature & Faune puts forward the case of “African Youth in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development”. It comprises twenty one articles from authors of various backgrounds, including: policy makers, conservation NGOs; the private sector; civil society groups; research and academia as well as youth groups.

Ce double numéro d’Unasylva se propose de sonder les relations complexes existant entre les forêts, les arbres et les catastrophes, et d’examiner comment il est possible de gérer au mieux les forêts et les arbres à la fois pour résister aux chocs et pour protéger contre les chocs. Les forêts et les arbres peuvent servir de tampons naturels contre les catastrophes et les chocs. Ils ont un rôle déterminant à jouer dans la protection contre les catastrophes et la réduction de leur impact.

Ce numéro de Nature & Faune met le focus sur « La place de la jeunesse africaine dans l’agriculture, les ressources naturelles et le développement rural ». Il compte vingt et un articles contribués par divers auteurs experts dans les secteurs suivants : les politiques, les ONG travaillant dans le domaine de la conservation ; le secteur privé, les groupes de la société civile, la recherche et le milieu universitaire ainsi que les associations de jeunes.

This guide on Gender and access to land has been prepared to support land administrators in governments and their counterparts in civil society who are involved in land access and land administration questions in rural development. It is frequently the case that gender issues are left out or misunderstood in such situations, often with negative results. This guide is designed to show where and why gender inclusion is important in projects and programmes that aim at improving land tenure and land administration arrangements.