Established in 1994, the United Nations to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.

La cuenca del río Kilca es uno de los principales sistemas hidrográficos de la región antecordillerana, ubicada en el centro de la provincia de Neuquén. En esta zona, de clima subhúmedo, el uso de suelo dominante es el de "veranada", que consiste en una de las tres etapas anuales de un tipo de ganadería trashumante, basado en el aprovechamiento forrajero de pastizales naturales. Dada la constitución fisiográfica de estos paisajes, existe en ellos una gran propensión al desarrollo de procesos geomorfológicos de erosión y remoción en masa.

This paper examines the impact of land reform on agricultural productivity in Tajikistan. Recent legislation allows farmers to obtain access to heritable land shares for private use, but reform has been geographically uneven. The break-up of state farms has occurred in some areas where agriculture has little to offer but, where high value crops are grown, land reform has hardly begun. In cases where collectivized farming persists and land has not been distributed, productivity remains low and individual households benefit little from farming.

El objetivo de este artículo es llamar la atención sobre la ocupación de la zona marítimo-terrestre (ZMT). En estos territorios coexisten situaciones legítimas, anómalas y anárquicas respecto con la tenencia de la tierra. La ingobernabilidad de la ZMT es producto de la inadecuada aplicación del marco legal y la ausencia de conocimiento sistematizado. La información sobre esta temática está muy dispersa, es escasa y además, poco accesible.

La presente Estrategia MERCOSUR de Lucha contra la Desertificación, la Degradación de la Tierra y los Efectos de la Sequía se inscribe en el marco de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas de Lucha contra la Desertificación y la Sequía y, en particular, en su Anexo III de Aplicación Regional para América Latina y el Caribe. El documento fue elaborado por el Grupo Ad hoc de Lucha contra la Desertificación y la Sequía que fuera creado en 2005 durante la IV Reunión de Ministros de Medio de Ambiente del MERCOSUR.

Land is very important natural resource to the human being as it provides the basis for more than 95% of human food. On the broader context, land has many other functions, e.g. provision of biological habitats and physical and connective space; regulation of hydrology and climate; storage of minerals, raw materials and historical/pre-historical records; and as a buffer to control waste and pollution. Expanding human requirements and economic activities are placing ever increasing pressures on land resources, creating competition and conflicts and resulting in suboptimal use of land.

Résumé

About 88% of the population is concentrated in the highlands, which constitute less than half of the national territory; here the population density is 141 persons km-2. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood and national income in the country. Over 85% of the population directly depends on it and about half of the GDP is generated from the sector. However, agriculture is small-scale and subsistence oriented, and it is in a very low state of development.

This Toolkit has been prepared to support the design and implementation of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) programs. The specific purpose of the Toolkit is: to inform the user of the approaches that can be followed to analyze and value the economic costs of land degradation and the benefits of sustainable land management. ‘Land’ is interpreted broadly in the Toolkit, also including wetlands and coastal zones. The Toolkit contains five Tools that together present a detailed description of the various relevant ecological and economic assessment methodologies.

La reforma agraria y las invasiones a fincas privadas o del gobierno son temas tratados desde hace mucho tiempo en Guatemala; se han discutido desde la fallida reforma agraria impulsada por el ex presidente Juan Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán hasta la actualidad. Este artículo inicia con una sucinta referencia a la evolución histórica del tema de la tenencia de la tierra en Guatemala y analiza el papel desempeñado por los gobiernos de turno.

The objective of this research was to assess the multiple effects of land-use change in a high populated steepland environment on land degradation processes and farmers' coping strategies. A case study was conducted at Pakha Sukcay village (located in Thailand's northern most Chiang Rai province). Erosion processes were monitored during a period of 3 years, and informal interviews were conducted to elucidate farmers' opinions.

This report presents descriptive statistics derived from the survey data. It simply describes the situation in the
Badia in spring 2005. Further ecological and economical analyses and conclusions will be reported in
another document.