ABSTRACTED FROM THE OBJECTIVES SECTION: These Voluntary Guidelines seek to improve governance of tenure of land*, fisheries and forests. They seek to do so for the benefit of all, with an emphasis on vulnerable and marginalized people, with the goals of food security and progressive realization of the right to adequate food, poverty eradication, sustainable livelihoods, social stability, housing security, rural development, environmental protection and sustainable social and economic development.

Several countries in Africa including Tanzania have committed to live to Maputo Declaration that requires AU member states to allocate 10% of national budget to agricultural sector. It is assumed that sustained ten percent allocations into the sector would translate into 6% percent sector growth. However there are arguments whether the 10% percent allocation alone can contribute to food security and reduced poverty levels. The biggest challenge would be where should the government spend money in agriculture sector? How should the government spend the money?

This case study is part of a Harvard Kennedy School CSR Initiative workstream on systemic approaches to creating business opportunity and development impact at scale. An initial framing paper, “Tackling Barriersto Scale: From Inclusive Business Modelsto Inclusive Business Ecosystems,” was published in September 2011. This document is one of several in-depth case studies subsequently conducted to generate knowledge and provide practical guidance on what such systemic approaches look like and how to structure and implement them.

The 2011 Global Food Policy Report is a new annual IFPRI publication that provides a comprehensive, research-based analysis of major food policy challenges at the global, regional, national, and local levels. It highlights important developments and events in food policy that occurred in 2011, discusses lessons learned, offers policy recommendations, presents IFPRI’s food policy tools and indicators, and takes a look forward into 2012. The Report reflects perspectives from across the globe.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), through Resolution 64/236 of 24 December 2009, decided to organize the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3 to 6 June 2012 (UNCSD, also referred to as Rio+20). The two main stated themes decided by the UNGA for UNCSD are: a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; and the institutional framework for sustainable development. The preparatory process foresees three sessions of the preparatory Committee and three inter-sessional meetings.

In the present report, submitted to the Human Rights Council in accordance with Council resolution 13/4, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food discusses the threats to women's right to food, identifying the areas that demand the most urgent attention. The report examines successively the obstacles women face in access to employment, social protection and the productive resources needed for food production, food processing and value chain development.

Most women in Zambia do not enjoy the same land rights as men. Zambia’s Lands Act provides support for women who hold statutory land, but the law does not apply to customary land. Most land is held under custom and most customary tenure systems do not provide women with significant land rights — even when they do, traditional institutions often do not effectively implement the rules.

This report presents experiences discussed at a workshop on the use of collaborative business models in agricultural investments, which aimed to facilitate the exchange of experiences and lesson and to generate lessons from local initiatives to be fed into international processes. The focus was on agriculture defined broadly to include agri-food, biofuels, timber plantations and other agricultural commodities. Experience from other sectors, such as tourism, was included to the extent that they provided insights for agricultural investments.

FAO published its Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security in 2012. The purpose of these guidelines is to serve as reference and to provide guidance to improve the governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forest with the overarching goal of achieving food security for all and to support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security.

Climate change and the HIV/AIDS epidemic are two of the most critical long-term global challenges, especially for Africa and even more so Southern Africa.

A policy brief reviewing the important contribution of muncipal commonage to the livelihoods of poor househoods and proposing approaches to better utilise this resoource

The UNEP foresight report contains a description of the 21 emerging environmental issues identified through the UNEP Foresight Process. The process resulted in a list of 21 emerging environmental issues tagged 21 Issues for the 21st Century covering the major themes of the global environment including food, land, freshwater, marine, biodiversity, climate change, energy, waste, and technology, as well important cross-cutting issues ranging from the need for better environmental governance, to the need for human behavioral change towards the environment.