The Government of Indonesia (GOI) is in
the process of designing a national REDD+ mechanism to allow
it to access donor funding in the medium term, and funding
from a potential performance based mechanism in the long
term. This policy brief is focused on the broad question of
how REDD+ can address underlying community issues such as
lack of access to forest land, and does not deal with the
more specific questions of legal and institutional

International migration has increased
rapidly in recent decades and this has been accompanied by a
remarkable increase in transfers made by migrants to their
home countries. This paper investigates the effect of the
rural economic growth brought about by migration and
remittances on Nepal's Himalayan forests. The authors
assemble a unique village-panel dataset combining remote
sensing data on land use and forest cover change with data

Vietnam's forests remain dependent
on public resources, including international development
assistance, for the delivery of public and private services
that include timber production, state forest management,
forest protection and biodiversity conservation, and
extension and research. Public subsidies are also provided
to smallholder forest owners to stimulate investments into
the sector. For the Government it is important to

Miombo woodlands stretch across Southern
Africa in a belt from Angola and the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) in the west to Mozambique in the east. The
miombo region covers an area of around 2.4 million km. In
some areas, miombo has been highly degraded as a result of
human use (southern Malawi and parts of Zimbabwe), while in
others, it remains relatively intact (such as in parts of
northern Mozambique, and in isolated areas of Angola and the

This paper provides evidence from one of
the poorest countries of the world that the property rights
matter for efficiency, investment, and growth. With all land
state-owned, the threat of land redistribution never appears
far off the agenda. Land rental and leasing have been made
legal, but transfer rights remain restricted and the
perception of continuing tenure insecurity remains quite
strong. Using a unique panel data set, this study

This report presents policy, market, and
agriculture transition in the Northern Uplands of Lao
People's Democratic Republic aims to contribute to such
a dialogue by providing: (a) a policy-relevant typology of
the structural characteristics and transition patterns of
the principal small-holder agriculture systems in the
Northern Uplands; and (b) recommendations to strengthen
Government's facilitation of a more sustainable and

This history illustrates a number of
themes encountered in Swaziland that faces developing
countries and their external partners in Africa and beyond.
Firstly, the history relates the experience of a small and
comparatively insular country in addressing complex
challenges deriving from rapid urbanization and, as a
result, the growing need to adapt governance systems and
structures. A second key issue is the challenge that small

Forest in Kenya is an important source
of livelihood, environmental services, and economic growth.
In November of 2005 the Government of Kenya (GOK) ratified a
new Forests Act. The act contains many innovative provisions
to correct previous shortcomings, including a strong
emphasis on partnerships, the engagement of local
communities, and promotion of private investment. The
purpose of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is

This forest policy note was prepared to
provide input to the ongoing forest sector reform in Kenya
on participation in sustainable forest management. It offers
recommendations on possible priority forest policy actions
within the forthcoming Natural Resource Management (NRM)
Project. The latter focuses enhancing the capacity of
Kenyans to manage the natural resource base and resources
available to poor and vulnerable communities. By outlining

The important role of biomass fuels
today. Timor Leste is a relatively small country located in
the eastern part of Timor Island with an area of about 1.5
million ha and an estimated 2007 population of 1.0 million.
At about US$550 GDP per capita, it is one of the least
developed countries in the world, with an estimated 40
percent of the population in poverty. However, the
development of offshore oil and gas resources in partnership

The World Bank's revised forest
policy came into being in 2002 and covers all types of
forests. It has the following key objectives: (i) harnessing
the potential of forests to reduce poverty in a sustainable
manner; (ii) integrating forests effectively into
sustainable development; and (iii) protecting vital local
and global environmental services and values. The policy
enables the bank to fully engage in forestry throughout the

The report identifies the challenges,
and opportunities the forestry sector faces in Turkey, where
twenty five percent of the country's land area is
covered by forests, with significant economic,
environmental, and cultural functions. The challenges
identified in the review include poverty, land tenure, the
need to establish multi-purpose, participatory forest
management planning, and, to control soil erosion in