The researchers have used evidence from Mato Grosso, Brazil, to show that changes in agricultural output stemming from the sensitivity of cropland area and cropping frequency to interannual climate variability are of similar magnitude to agricultural output changes associated with the sensitivity of crop yield to interannual climate variability.

This profitability assessment is an early effort to generate baseline information for the Agroforestry and Forestry in Sulawesi: Linking Knowledge with Action project the ‘AgFor project’ , for implementation in two provinces, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi. The study collected information on existing farming systems and estimated profitability for each land use. The profitability indicators used in the study are: net present value NPV , equivalent annuity and return to labour.

This article suggests that communual rangeland management policies in Botswana and Zimbabwe are based on incorrect technical assumptions about the stability of semiarid rangelands, the nature of rangeland degradation, and the benefits of destocking. Consequently, inappropriate policies, stressing the need to destock and stabilise the rangelands, are pursued.Acknowledgement of the great instability but intrinsic resilience of rangeland would encourage the Governments to more favourable regard the opportunistic stocking strategies of the agro-pastoralists of the Communual Areas.

The interfaces between high-altitude rangelands and other ecosystems in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region such as forests, wetlands, and agricultural land are suffering from degradation, desertification, and soil erosion, which are further aggravated by climatic and anthropogenic factors. However, more information is needed on the ecological role of high-altitude rangelands and their interfaces as a basis for developing and implementing plans for conservation and sustainable management of these fragile ecosystems.

KEY MESSAGES

In Mesoamerica, coffee is an important part of agricultural GDP and export revenues which supports about half a million farmers, and employs millions of people on the farms and all along the supply chain. This policy brief summarises the potential risks and impacts of climate change on coffee farming in the region. Traditional coffee agroforests provide important ecosystem services and conserve significant carbon stocks.

Questions about land use are inextricably related to decisions about where and how to engage in extractive industry activities. Latin American countries have dealt with a range of land-related challenges, from land use planning and consent for securing access to land, to special considerations for indigenous peoples and environmental conservation, all of which have important implications for governments and local communities. This selection highlights some of the key publications dealing with issues of extractive industries and land use in Latin America

This policy brief, published by the Centre for International Forestry Research, provides a snapshot of 17 REDD+ pilot projects in Indonesia. It begins by discussing early REDD+ pilots in Indonesia and then provides a comprehensive typology of REDD+ activities in Indonesia. The brief continues with a discussion of the motivation behind different pilot models and the following section outlines research needs and implications of REDD+ design in Indonesia.

This paper discusses the competition for land resources and the issue of land-use change due to the rising demand for food and energy, specifically for the transport sector. The linkages between land, food, and energy become particularly complex within the context of climate change. This is not only because agriculture contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, but also because climate change itself can alter the productivity and availability of land.

Over the past century South Africa has become increasingly reliant on the manufacturing and services industries for its economic development and growth. However, the natural environment continues to play an important role in the livelihoods of particularly the poor, those in rural areas and the agriculture sector – the latter being essential for urban living.

Achieving sustainable food security (i.e., the basic right of people to produce and/or purchase the food they need, without harming the social and biophysical environment) is a major challenge in a world of rapid human population growth, large-scale changes in economic development and in the face of climate change.

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), production on smallholder farms is critical to the food security of the rural poor and contributes the majority of food production at the national level.