Mexico, Costa Rica, and Ecuador have substantial experience with implementing payments for ecosystem services (PES) and conservation incentive programs. Yet, many aspects of their experiences remain poorly understood and will require special attention in any new or expanded use of these types of incentives.

This paper provides an overview of land reform in South Africa from 1994 to 2011, with the focus on the land redistribution. The government policies and associated implementation since 1994 have not generated expected social and economic results for a number of reasons. Even where land has been transferred, it appears to have had minimal impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries, largely because of inappropriate project design, a lack of necessary support services and shortages of working capital, leading to widespread underutilization of land.

Reforestation measures for degraded lands, strategies for the sustainable management of forest resources, and agroforestry practices that incorporate trees into farming systems are increasingly demonstrating their promise for producing commercialized tree products. Although the level of investment so far has remained modest, the challenge is to find ways to scale up promising investments in a way that will have a clear impact at the landscape level.

An appropriate rural investment climate (RIC) is essential for rural businesses to be successful and generate employment and income in their communities. Improving the investment climate could facilitate income-generation activities in both farm and nonfarm sectors, thus reducing rural poverty. Nonfarm sector focused growth, combined with agricultural growth, and has been shown by Delgado et al. (1998) to have a significant impact on the local economy through the generation of employment and income.

Land change in Kigali, Rwanda, is examined using Intensity Analysis, which measures the temporal stationarity of changes among categories. Maps for 1981, 2002 and 2014 were produced that show the land categories Built, Vegetated and Other, which is composed mainly of croplands and bare surfaces. Land change accelerated from the first time interval (1981–2002) to the second time interval (2002–2014), as increased human and economic activities drove land transformation.

This note offers policy makers and practitioners an overview of the key aspects of land use planning used to manage flood risks in cities across the world. It includes examples from developed and developing countries to provide insight into what has worked in different contexts.

The importance of the agglomeration process in facilitating growth and productivity increases in Indonesia's manufacturing sector cannot be ignored. The agglomeration process is associated with improved productivity as firms enjoy external benefits from either urbanization or from the sharing of inputs available in certain locations. Evidence suggests that Java remains the main corridor for manufacturing activities, with large cities attracting manufacturers that are looking for externalities from urbanization.

Thailand needs to avoid the high-carbon growth path of many developed countries and, instead, take a low-carbon growth path. A green low-carbon growth path is in Thailand's own interest as it can simultaneously tackle local environmental degradation, global climate change, and energy security challenges. It can also position Thailand as a regional leader in green, sustainable growth.

Developed at the request of the Mexican G20 Presidency for consideration by the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors at the G20 Leaders' Summit in Mexico, and jointly prepared with the Asian Development Bank, this policy paper positioned green transport in the context of cities development. Urban transport determines the shape of a city and its ecological footprint. Many cities in low and middle income countries are at a crossroads.

The Malaysian economy decelerated as solid domestic demand was not sufficient to offset a weakening external environment. Private consumption growth continued at a healthy pace. Favorable rubber and palm oil prices drove up incomes of smallholders while continued employment and wage growth supported urban incomes. In contrast, fixed investment was more volatile, with private investment showing signs of picking up while public investments lagged.

Vietnam's rapid and sustained economic growth and poverty reduction in the last two decades benefitted from the policy and legal reforms embodied in the Land Laws of 1987, 1993 and 2003 and subsequent related legal acts. This note outlines reforms related to four main themes. The first relates to the needed reform for agriculture land use to create opportunity to enhance effectiveness of land use as well as to secure farmers' rights in land use. Prolonging the duration of agricultural land tenure would give land users greater incentives to invest and care for the land.

By the year 2020, Ha Long will be a city of tourism, a center of seaborne commerce, a commercial capital and playing the role of a core urban area in the Northern region of Vietnam. It will be a place that will attract investment and tourism from all over the world with a growing, dynamic, stable economy which is environmentally friendly. Ha Long city will become an urban development co-existing harmoniously with the Ha Long Bay World Heritage Site.