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Issuesland coverLandLibrary Resource
There are 2, 240 content items of different types and languages related to land cover on the Land Portal.
Displaying 25 - 36 of 2218

The Use of Random Geographic Cluster Sampling to Survey Pastoralists

October, 2013

Livestock are an important component of
rural livelihoods in developing countries, but data about
this source of income and wealth are difficult to collect
because of the nomadic and semi-nomadic nature of many
pastoralist populations. Most household surveys exclude
those without permanent dwellings, leading to undercoverage.
This study explores the use of a random geographic cluster
sample as an alternative to the household-based sample. In

Economic and Spatial Study of the Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change of Coastal Areas in Senegal

February, 2014

The African coastal countries are facing
several environmental and socio-economic challenges, such as
unplanned urban and economic development, fueled by a
growing rural exodus; non-functional or non-existent public
infrastructures to handle the demographic growth along the
coastline; air, water and soil pollution; and alteration of
coastal ecosystems. West Africa, in particular, is facing
severe land losses and major damage due to coastal erosion

Romania : Agriculture and Rural Development Rapid Assessment

April, 2014

Climate change is a huge challenge for
the agriculture and rural development (ARD) sector in
Romania. On the one hand, agriculture is a source of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and must therefore be
expected to contribute towards the climate change mitigation
goals of the Europe 2020 strategy. European farmers,
foresters, rural businesses, and other local people
therefore need to start paying much greater attention to

Ecosystems : Burden or Bounty?

June, 2014

This paper presents a somewhat novel
approach to explore the economic contribution of ecosystems.
It develops linked models to capture connections between
resource stocks and flows and the resulting microeconomic
and macroeconomic impacts. A bioeconomic model is developed
that is imbedded into a computable general equilibrium (CGE)
model. Incorporating imperfect regulation, the bioeconomic
model characterizes optimal policies, while the CGE model

Toward Climate-Resilient Development in Nigeria

September, 2013

This book analyzes the risks to
Nigeria's development prospects that climate change
poses to agriculture, livestock, and water management. These
sectors were chosen because they are central to achieving
the growth, livelihood, and environmental objectives of
Vision 20: 2020; and because they are already vulnerable to
current climate variability. Since other sectors might also
be affected, the findings of this research provide

Bouncing Back : Forests, Trees, and Resilient Households

Reports & Research
October, 2013

This paper examines some of the concepts
surrounding the idea that forests and trees can contribute
to making households more resilient to food insecurity. The
paper begins with a discussion of the widely accepted
definitions of food security, and the implications for our
understanding of the role of forests and trees in
contributing to food security. Authors discuss the origins
of the idea of resilience, adaptability, and transformation

Deforestation Trends in the Congo Basin : Logging

January, 2014

The Congo Basin has the largest forest
cover on the African continent. Of the 400 million hectares
that the Basin comprises, about 200 million of them are
covered by forest, with 90 percent being tropical dense
forests. The Congo Basin's logging sector has a
dualistic configuration. It boasts a highly visible formal
sector that is export oriented and dominated by large
industrial groups with foreign capital and an informal

Deforestation Trends in the Congo Basin : Transport

February, 2014

The Congo Basin is among the most poorly
served areas in terms of transport infrastructure in the
world, and it faces a challenging environment with dense
tropical forests crisscrossed by numerous rivers that
require construction of numerous bridges. Given such
complexities, constructing transport infrastructure as well
as properly maintaining it is certainly a key challenge for
the Congo Basin countries. Recent studies indicate that

Impacts of Climate Change on Brazilian Agriculture

June, 2014

This report evaluates the requirements
for an assessment of climate change impacts on agriculture
to guide policy makers on investment priorities and phasing.
Because agriculture is vital for national food security and
is a strong contributor to Brazil's GDP growth, there
is growing concern that Brazilian agriculture is
increasingly vulnerable to climate variability and change.
To meet national development, food security, climate

Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources and Adaptation in the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in Nicaragua

January, 2014

Climate change is at the top of the
development agenda in Central America. This region, together
with the Caribbean, is highly vulnerable to the effects of
climate change in Latin America. Climate change is
manifesting itself through higher average temperatures and
more frequent droughts that result in higher water stress,
and through the rising frequency of extreme weather events
such as tropical storms, hurricanes, floods and landslides,

Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Wetlands : Impacts and Costs

December, 2013

Scientific evidence indicates that global warming could well lead to a sea-level rise of 1 meter or more in the 21st century. This paper seeks to quantify how a 1-meter sea-level rise that would affect coastal wetlands in 76 developing countries and territories, taking into account how much of wetlands would be submerged and how likely the wetlands would move inland as the coastline recedes. It is estimated that approximately 64 percent of the freshwater marsh, 66 percent of Global Lakes and Wetlands Database coastal wetlands, and 61 percent of brackish/saline wetlands are at risk.

Using Forests to Enhance Resilience to Climate Change : What Do We Know About How Forests Can Contribute to Adaptation?

April, 2014

The global dialogue surrounding the
United Nations framework convention for climate change has
focused on two strategies for addressing challenges
associated with climate change: (1) mitigation (reducing the
accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere);
and (2) adaptation (reducing the vulnerability of societies
and ecosystems to the impacts of climate change). Forests
feature in both of these strategies. The role of forests as