This paper examines the intersections between youth access to land, migration decisions and employment opportunities using nationally representative and multi-year data from multiple African countries. We document evidence on the evolving dynamics in land distribution and ownership patterns, the effect of land access on youth livelihood choices and development of rental and sales market in the region.

A narrative on rural youth in Africa has continued to evolve in policy circles around the world. Much of it is driven by population statistics that point to an imminent youth bulge in Africa and concerns about a poor economic outlook (stagnation) for African productivity and growth. Fears of massive unemployment, social unrest and undesirable migration due to limited economic growth drive the bulk of the discourse. This is juxtaposed with the promise of a youth dividend for the continent, which is highlighted by some quarters of the policy debate.

Countries of the Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia (NEN) region face a myriad of social, economic and political challenges that have stalled their structural and rural transformation processes. This has had a detrimental impacton rural youth, who, as a result, face limited economic opportunities. The NEN region has the highest youth unemployment rates in the world. Weak education systems are failing to provide youth, especially in rural areas, with the cognitive and non-cognitive skills they need to compete in a global economy.

This article offers a general picture of the situation of rural youth in Latin America and the Caribbean(LAC). The population is described through its demographic dynamics, its socio-economiccharacteristics, the situation of priority groups (women and indigenous peoples) and subjects ofinterest for these particular population groups (use of IT, sexual and reproductive health, violence andsocial participation).

We cannot live without healthy land and soil. It is on land that we produce most of our food and we build our homes. For all species — animals and plants living on land or water — land is vital. Soil — one of the essential components of land — is a very complex and often undervalued element, teeming with life. Unfortunately, the way we currently use land and soil in Europe and in the world is not sustainable. This has significant impacts on life on land.

Policymakers and land managers around the world are struggling to use our finite land and resource base to increase agricultural production, ensure resilient ecosystems and improve livelihoods. Many are turning to integrated landscape management (ILM) as a framework for inter-sectoral planning and investments to reduce potential trade-offs and realize inherent synergies.

Agriculture influences and shapes the world’s ecosystems, but not always in a positive way. More than 2.5 billion people are globally involved as stewards of land and water ecosystems that constitute the natural resource base for feeding the current and future world population. Yet, conventional agronomic interventions based on ‘hard’ agricultural engineering compromise various eco-services that are required for sustainable agricultural development.

Removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) combined with emission reduction is necessary to keep climate warming below the internationally agreed upon 2°C target. Soil organic carbon sequestration through agricultural management has been proposed as a means to lower atmospheric CO2 concentration, but the magnitude needed to meaningfully lower temperature is unknown. The authors show that sequestration of 0.68 Pg C year−1 for 85 years could lower global temperature by 0.1°C in 2100 when combined with a low emission trajectory [Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 2.6].

Global food security and agricultural land management represent two urgent and intimately related challenges that humans must face. The authors quantify the changes in the global agricultural land footprint if the world were to adhere to the dietary guidelines put forth by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), while accounting for the land use change incurred by import/export required to meet those guidelines. The authors analyze data at country, continental, and global levels.

Cette publication d’Options Méditerranéennes (OM) réunit les travaux du réseau Foncimed présentés au séminaire de Cargèse d’octobre 2011 et de Montpellier de juillet 2013. Foncimed est un réseau méditerranéen pluridisciplinaire et interinstitutionnel d'échanges et de comparaisons d'expériences sur la question foncière. Il fonctionne depuis 2007 animé conjointement par le CIHEAM-IAMM et l'INRA-SAD.

This publication introduces SLM and its principles and presents how good SLM practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina were documented, evaluated, selected and scaled through participatory land use planning processes. High demand for agricultural products and raw materials produced on land is under adverse social and economic conditions and a lack of adequate investment.

The failure of rural economies to deliver decent work to their young people affects national economies, threatens political stability, nurtures extremism and causes socially and economically disruptive migration. Globally, youth are two to three times more likely than adults to be unemployed.