Situated at the headwaters of the Yellow River, the sedge-dominated peatlands in the Ruoergai plateau in China, store water and supply it to downstream areas. These peatlands also support endemic and endangered Himalayan species and maintain the special aspects of Tibetan culture. In the 1960-70’s, the Ruoergai peatlands, which had been drained for agriculture, began to be badly damaged by overgrazing. Assessments and field observations indicate that over 70 percent of the peatlands are severely degraded.

Meeting symbol/code: FO:LACFC/2015/4
Session: Sess. 29

Meeting symbol/code: FO:LACFC/2015/7
Session: Sess. 29

Meeting symbol/code: FO:LACFC/2015/Inf.2
Session: Sess. 29

Meeting Name: Near East Forestry and Range Commission (NEFRC)
Meeting symbol/code: FO:NEFRC/2015/8
Session: Sess. 22

Meeting Name: North American Forest Commission
Meeting symbol/code: FO:NAFC/2016/3.5
Session: Sess. 28

Towards effective national forest funds addresses the need for more information on the way NFFs work and how best to establish and manage them. It shares the lessons that have emerged from the establishment and management of NFFs with the aim of supporting countries in designing and operating NFFs effectively according to their specific needs and circumstances. Based on a review of practical experiences, this publication outlines the general architecture and design elements of NFFs, as well as potential approaches and actions that could improve their performance.

A BILL for AN ACT of Parliament to provide a framework for the contracting, exploration, development and production of petroleum; cessation of upstream petroleum operations; to give effect to relevant articles of the Constitution in so far as they apply to upstream petroleum operations; and for connected purposes.

Land and land-based natural resources are the foundation of livelihoods for millions of people and are related to social, cultural and spiritual identity. This is particularly the case for drylands people, who, due to low and variable rainfall and water availability, have developed adaptive strategies in response to seasonal, climatic and environmental change. Gender role norms play an important role in these dynamics, where men and women often undertake different livelihood activities to manage difficult ecological conditions. 

Responding to the immediate challenge of how we sustainably intensify the production of food, fuel and fiber to meet future demand without the further degradation of our finite land resource base, Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), which emerged from the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012, is a potential target to address this challenge.

Forestry policy and practice in Britain has been subject to a series of paradigm changes since the establishment of the Forestry Commission in 1919. Drawing on a documentary analysis of legislation, published policy statements, commentaries and scholarly critiques, this paper argues that British forestry policy has undergone three significant paradigm shifts since it was first mooted in the late 19th century.

Land degradation and desertification reduce the provision of ecosystem services by lands and soils. This constrains development, reduces water, food, and energy security, and triggers resource conflicts. Although biophysical processes and economic impacts are increasingly understood, efforts to combat degradation have been failing thus far to prevent further losses of land productivity, a cost estimated at 42 billion USD/year (Dregne & Chou, 1992; Requier-Desjardins, 2007).