This report examines the destruction and systematic plunder of Asia's greatest rainforests under former Indonesian president Suharto. The report focuses on the 1997-1998 forest fires in Indonesia that resulted in the burning of 10 million hectares of forests. Many of these fires were deliberately set by plantation owners who take advantage of the dry season to clear the forests and plant export crops like palm oil.

Large areas of the humid tropics are like mosaics, combining features of forests and agriculture and housing hundreds of millions of people. Land uses that store high quantities of carbon, such as agroforestry and other tree-based systems, make up a large part of those mosaic areas. Yet current discussions on reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) within the UNFCCC do not adequately address these land uses as part of a potential mitigation strategy.

Improved governance of natural resources is crucial for building climate resilient livelihoods and economies in Africa’s drylands. This paper looks at why the authority and capacity of customary natural resource management institutions has been weakened, and how this impacts on resource governance and climate resilience. The case study included looks at a new hybrid form of customary/formal institution that is emerging as a response to the stagnation of development and increasing conflict around resource access.

This research paper, published in the international Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, reports on a study of two community forests', Nomedjoh and Nkolenyeng, Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) projects located in south Cameroon. Focus group sessions and household surveys were conducted to examine the relationship between the adaptation of forest communities and the mitigation of forest-carbon conservation, and the impact this has on local vulnerability.

This article disucsses the effects of the last four decades of change in China in relation to traditional Tibetan pastoral production systems.

This policy brief examines the role of forests for climate change adaptation in the region of Asia. It is organized into several sections. Firstly, anticipated changes to precipitation and temperature in Asia under a low and a high emissions scenario, between 2010 and 2039, are outlined. Following on from this, the key elements of Forest-Based Adaptation (FBA) are discussed and the current status of FBA in Asia is highlighted. Finally, recommendations aimed at moving forest-based adaptation forward are made.

Reports on and on-farm evaluation of hedgerow intercropping by the IRA/ ICRAF Programme in the lowlands of Cameroon, which has been in progress since 1988. Throughout the years the biophysical performance of the system was found to be inferior under farmer management on farm to that achieved on station. At the same time, farmers' interest in the technology was far below the expectations.

Environmental degradation arising from the depletion of forest biodiversity and the resulting problems of soil erosion, water shortage, climate change and poverty, have become issues of global concern.

This article discusses what is the best means of managing the commons. The article stresses that these are critical questions in the current wave of decentralisation and tenure reform taking place in many Sahelian states.

The fifth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-5) analyses the state, trends, outlook and responses to environmental change. It assesses progress towards meeting internationally agreed goals and identifies gaps in their achievement.The outlook examines the drivers of environmental change and the overarching socio-economic forces that exert pressure on the environment.

Sets out to examine the question of aid provision. As part of a general study on Finnish aid, the main focus is on two projects in Zanzibar: Zanzibar Forestry Project (ZFP) and Zanzibar Integrated Lands and Environment Management (ZILEM) project. This study centres on initial research carried out in Dar es Salaam (documentary) and Unguja (documentary, observational and in-depth interviews). [author]

This study investigates the relationship between rural poverty, property rights, and environmental resource management in a semi-arid region of Kenya using analysis of survey data. It argues that reduced environmental degradation will increase agricultural productivity, and which will then translate into lower levels of poverty as incomes and consumption expenditures rise.