This article investigates the encroachment on pastoralist grazing land in Sudan (as a result of the mechanised farming in the Sudan).

Introduction and background.

This paper presents the preliminary results of two hypothetical futures for Vietnam, a High Climate Impact and a High Economic Growth Scenario.

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conserving and enhancing forest carbon stocks, and sustainably managing forests (REDD+) are emerging as a central policy instrument to halt land-use related emissions from developing countries.

This working paper, published by the World Resources Institute, looks at efforts in Cameroon, Indonesia, and Peru to invest in the infrastructure and capacity to track the impacts of changes from from forest and land-use-based climate change mitigation actions. The paper focuses on the development of forest and land-use information systems (FLUIS), specifically the institutional, human resources and financial capacities of the three countries. After introducing the topic, the paper focuses on each of the three country contexts, illustrating examples of FLUIS.

This paper examines how developing countries have attempted to promote rural development through biofuel production, what social outcomes those strategies have created and what lessons can be learned. This is done by comparing the contexts of Brazil, India and Indonesia; three countries with important agricultural sectors that have put large-scale biofuel programmes in place. The analysis indicates a disparity between the social discourse and the adopted biofuel policy instruments.

Water, food and energy are fundamental to African development. However, several crucial issues need to be addressed. Are African resources used to meet African needs or are they being exploited to satisfy the needs of other actors facing food and energy insecurity?

Market solutions based on the trade of carbon offset credits remain a dominant feature in international climate change negotiations. This paper undertakes a preliminary assessment of potential of climate change mitigation projects by evaluating Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects related to agriculture and land use change in Latin America. Results suggest that potential benefits of carbon markets in the agriculture and forestry sectors are often overstated, with failures in the areas of additionality, project accountability and sustainable development.

The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) compares and assesses national and global action against a range of different climate targets across all relevant time frames. This report assesses whether Mexico’s current policies and climate action pledges meet the country's targets and approach the targets required for a global 2°C or lower pathway. According to the report, Mexico is among the countries most advanced in reducing emissions from deforestation and ensuring afforestation through payment for environmental services.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development’s (IFAD) annual report 2011 describes the achievements of its programme of work through 240 projects in 94 countries, as well as its new strategic framework for 2011-2015. The report documents the milestones and indicators towards sustainable rural development, including a number of regional examples. It highlights IFAD’s efforts to support the empowerment of poor rural women and young people, to increase rural financial services and weather insurance, and to address climate change, which is one of IFAD’s most central strategic aims.

Land and forestry-based activities could in principle play important roles as climate change mitigation strategies. In practice, however, several questions have been raised about their feasibility. Therefore, understanding the processes and determinants of land use changes is critical. This paper aims to contribute to such understanding in the larger part of a larger project on sustainable development and economic growth. It begins with a dynamic model of land use.

The advance of the agricultural frontier constitutes the biggest source of deforestation in Central America today. This conversion of tropical forests into agricultural land and pasture is the direct result of individual land use decisions. This paper presents a simple analytical model of household land use, followed by an econometric analysis of household survey data from the Río San Juan region of Nicaragua in order to test for consistency with the model.