This note has been prepared for the plenary session of the European Forest Week on “Forests and Water” taking place on Thursday, 23 October 2008 1 . Its objective is to stimulate a lively and well informed discussion by providing the reader with background information and proposing questions which participants in the session may wish to address during the discussion. The note presents linkages between the forest and water sectors, discusses collaboration between the communities and presents international legal and policy frameworks.

L’outil cartographique WOCAT-LADA-DESIRE est fondé sur le questionnaire original WOCAT sur la cartographie (WOCAT, 2007). Celui-ci a été développé de façon à accorder plus d’attention aux problèmes de dégradation biologique et de l’eau. Il met davantage l’accent sur les causes directes et socio-économiques de ces phénomènes incluant leurs impacts sur les fonctionnements des écosystèmes.

Document de travail sur les régimes fonciers 6. Ce document établit un état des lieux de la gouvernance foncière et des ressources naturelles en Afrique de l’ouest en confrontant les politiques, les législations et les pratiques des Etats avec des principaux standards et critères de bonne gouvernance. L’étude identifie les enjeux auxquels les Etats doivent faire face ; elle reconnaît également les bonnes pratiques et les initiatives entreprises en matière de la gouvernance de la tenure des terres et des ressources naturelles.

Метод картирования ВОКАТ-ЛАДА-ДЕЗИРЕ основывается на исходной анкете картирования ВОКАТ (WOCAT, 2007). Она был расширена чтобы уделить большее внимание таким вопросам как биологическая и водная деградация и придает большее значение непосредственным и социо-экономическим причинам этих феноменов включая их влияния на услуги эко-системы. Она оценивает в форме анкеты какие типы деградации земли в действительности происходят, где и почему и что нужно сделать по этому поводу с точки зрения Сбалансированного ЗемлеУправления (СЗУ).

Does forest tenure matter? In what way does it matter? What are the links among tenure, sustainable forest management (SFM) and poverty alleviation (PA)? This paper presents the main findings of research that was conducted by FAO and partners from the Asia Forest Partnership with the aim of analysing and understanding the role of tenure arrangements, their enabling impacts and their limitations. The paper presents a summary of different tenure instruments’ performance in supporting SFM and PA, and provides recommendations for more effective forest tenure systems.

подготовлена для пленарного заседания на тему " Леса и вода", которое состоится в четверг, 23 октября 2008 года, в рамках Недели европейских лесов1. Она призвана стимулировать оживленную и содержательную дискуссию. С этой целью вниманию читателей будет представлена справочная информация и предложены вопросы, которые участники заседания, возможно, пожелают рассмотреть в ходе обсуждения.

La présente note a été établie en vue de la sessio n plénière de la Semaine européenne des forêts intitulée «Les forêts et l’eau», qui se tiendra le jeudi 23 octobre 2008 1 . Elle a pour objet de promouvoir un débat nourri et éclairé en donnant au lecteur de s informations générales et en soulevant des questi ons que les participants à la session souhaiteront peut -être examiner au cours du débat.

Our unsustainable way of life is causing a crisis in our environment at a global scale. Climate change is threatening the future of our planet. The crisis is largely our own doing, and we also have the means to solve it, if we are willing to act on it. Farmers, fishers, and indigenous peoples, who live close to nature for their survival, are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. But they also have a special role to play in addressing climate change. What they need for survival - sustainable and ecological friendly practices - are also what are needed to heal our planet.

Executive Summary:
"A team of Karen researchers from the Karen Environmental and Social Action
Network has undertaken this study to begin documentation of the rich
biodiversity of Khoe Kay, a bend in the Salween River that is part of their
homeland. They also want to document and expose the severe threats faced by this
stretch of the Salween, both from large dams and ongoing militarization.

El presente documento es un summary del Informe de síntesis: Todos los países que asistieron a la sesión plenaria intergubernamental final llevada a cabo en Johannesburgo (Sudáfrica) en abril de 2008 reciben con agrado la labor de la IAASTD y el carácter singular de este proceso independiente y multidisciplinario en el que participan múltiples partes interesadas, así como la magnitud del desafío de abordar una gran variedad de cuestiones complejas.

Quando do Ministério da Planificação e Desenvolvimento veio a solicitação para que apresentasse uma palestra sobre os desafios do desenvolvimento rural, foi-me dito que deveria usar uma abordagem que provocasse a reflexão e a discussão crítica. Evidentemente, sem que eu próprio reflectisse criticamente sobre os desafios do desenvolvimento rural estaria incapaz de ajudar quem quer que fosse a fazer o mesmo. Lancei-me, então, na tarefa de construir um quadro analítico provocador e crítico que servisse para construir esta conversa. É este raciocínio que aqui pretendo apresentar.

Since 1996, the Centres for Agriculture in the Tropics and Subtropics of the Universities of Hohenheim and Göttingen and of Berlin's Humboldt University have organised a conference, the ''Tropentag'', once a year to present and discuss recent findings in research on agriculture and rural development. Other universities, like Kassel-Witzenhausen, have joined in, and the number of participants, papers and posters presented has more than doubled.