One of the main issues regarding the implementation of REDD+ in Latin America has been the growing concern that such projects may infringe upon the rights and negatively affect the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. Various indigenous and civil society organizations are ardently opposed to the initiative. Such is the case in Ecuador, where indigenous opposition to REDD+ represents a considerable obstacle in the creation of a national strategy since more than 60% of the country’s remaining forest cover is on indigenous land or under indigenous occupation.

The Forest Stewardship Council initiated a Forest Certification for Ecosystem Services (ForCES) project from 2011 to 2017 to improve and promote sustainable forest management addressing a range of ecosystem services. Three sites in Indonesia were included in the pilot. Whilst the development of the certification standard was largely the result of a partnership between the certification standard organization, civil society and research organizations, implementation and monitoring of the impact of this sustainability standard will entail interactions with state regulations.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) aims to achieve its purpose by working across multiple sectors and involving multilevel actors in reducing deforestation and forest degradation in tropical countries. By contrast, the European Union (EU) Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) and its Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) focus on forestry and functions at a bilateral state level. The FLEGT Action Plan specifically aims to tackle illegal logging and improve forest governance in countries exporting tropical timber to the EU.

Over the past decade, countries have strived to develop a global governance structure to halt deforestation and forest degradation, by achieving the readiness requirements for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). Nonetheless, deforestation continues, and seemingly intact forest areas are being degraded. Furthermore, REDD+ may fail to consider the crucial ecosystem functions of forest fauna including seed dispersal and pollination.

Achieving forest conservation together with poverty alleviation and equity is an unending challenge in the tropics. The Makira REDD+ pilot project located in northeastern Madagascar is a well-suited case to explore this challenge in conditions of extreme poverty and climatic vulnerability. We assessed the potential effect of project siting on the livelihoods of the local population and which households would be the most strongly impacted by conservation measures.

Despite strong expectations regarding the role that forestry, with its multitude of potential benefits, could and should play in the ‘bio-economy’, little research has been done on the actual perceptions of influential actors on how to best address future forest land-use disputes. We want to shed light on whether and in which contexts expectations regarding the bio-economy, e.g., the strong role of markets, are likely.

A recent policy response to halting global forest deforestation and degradation, and any resulting greenhouse gas emissions is REDD+, which also includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. Although still in its infancy, the success of REDD+ will depend significantly on whether it can be economically viable and if any resulting payments are sufficient to cover the opportunity cost plus any transaction cost.

Background and Objectives: Plantation forests remain a highly contested element of rural development. Successive reviews of large-scale plantations established under land concessions identify predominantly negative impacts on local farmers’ livelihoods. Although concession models of plantation development have been common in the global South, other models characterised by different forms of land tenure, labour arrangements, and plantation design have also emerged. The impacts of these models on the livelihoods of local farmers are likely to be more varied.

Leadership helps to build strong organizations with resilient cultures. It is established that leadership needs a transition powered by digital technologies to tackle the shift from workplace culture to remote work, which is being practiced even after the pandemic to reduce operational costs and improve flexibility. The transition from leadership to e-leadership requires a profound understanding of the critical success factors (CSFs).

Land Registration: Global Practices and Lessons for India has been authored by B. K. Agarwal,  having extensive knowledge and first-hand experience in land administration. It contains a comparative analysis of land registration systems of Germany, UK, Australia, USA, France, and the Netherlands.​ Laws regarding maintenance of land title records in four Indian states Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, and West Bengal have also been analyzed. In the end the author has given his  evidence-based recommendations on reforms required in the Indian land registration system.​

The severity of the population dislocation and destruction of housing, land and property (HLP) in the Ukraine war has driven efforts for starting reconstruction planning prior to the war's end. This comes with the realization that re-covery will entail considerable preparation, including ef-forts at using seized Russian assets to finance it. Engaging in HLP restitution and compensation will be a primary re-covery challenge, with the Ukrainian government moving forward with legislation for facilitating this.

ILC and Welthungerhilfe with support from GIZ celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Guidelines’ endorsement by launching the VGGT+10 Initiative with the goal to take stock and assess to which degree the Guidelines have been used as an orientation for national -level tenure reform processes and as a tool to contribute to tenure security. We also aimed at mobilizing and renewing concrete political commitments and to identifying the next steps for the further application of the Guidelines.