Since 1988 the ejido sector in Mexico has been buffeted by a series of policy changes and exogenous shocks that have brought into question the agricultural viability of the sector as a whole. These changes -trade liberalization, privatization, falling subsidies, the abolition of price controls, macroeconomic shocks, devaluation and momentous changes in the legal framework governing land use in the ejido- have led to a radical reordering of the policy framework and incentive structure under which the farmers of these communal lands operate.

This Law provides for the protection and use of pastures for cattle grazing.The Law identifies two kinds of pasture: specific pasture which exists within the boundaries of villages or towns; and communal pasture which is arid land and does not fall within the bounds of villages and towns. The right to use specific pasture may not be bought or sold, and it shall be forbidden to sell or lease it for expansion of agricultural activities.

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This article explores the breakdown of complementarity between agriculture and livestock in the Kishi Beiga area in the north of Burkina Faso. The article suggests that the the two systems now compete for land and local management systems have broken down.This article discusses a joint GTZ and Government of Burkina Faso initiative to improve natural resource management and people's livelihoods.

This paper initially highlights the general characteristics of rangelands and pastoral production systems of the Tibetan Plateau.The article finds that:given the realities of life in a heterogeneous and marginal environment, the issue of secure resource tenure, both customary and legal, is fundamental for effective rangeland managementa simple shift in tenure from the communal (traditional and subsistence) to individual household level (ranching and commercial) will not be enough to facilitate a change in behaviour toward "rational" livestock operationsmany institutional mechanisms must be

Local governance has become increasingly significant as devolution from central and provincial levels is being attempted in India as a result of the enactment of the 73rd and 74th Amendment of the Constitution in 1993. The essence of local self governance is to enable a small community to maintain access and control over their natural and physical resources, to take collective decisions in the common public good and to provide resources in priority developmental actions. Another dimension of local self governance is to demand accountability from people in public positions.

This article discusses what is the best means of managing the commons. The article stresses that these are critical questions in the current wave of decentralisation and tenure reform taking place in many Sahelian states.

These guidelines contain principles of and rules for the management of hilly and mountainous areas. They define functions and duties of District Environment Committees and other local authorities in respect of management of hilly and mountainous areas duties of land owners in respect to use of grazing of livestock, cultivation, agroforestry and water run-off. Each District Council shall make bye-laws identifying mountainous and hilly areas within their jurisdiction which are at risk from environmental degradation.

This study assesses, in an indicative way, the impact of fodder banks and forage legume technology in countries of West Africa. The economic surplus method is used to estimate the social rate of return to public investment in research on fodder banks and the distribution of that return amongst producers and consumers. Subsequent sections of this report describe the technology of fodder banks, the economic surplus method, sources of data and the results of the analyses.

The major objectives of this workshop are to sharpen the focus of ILRI's ecoregional research, to further identify commonalities in tools and new methods that can enable ILRI to do effective transregional research, and to identify improvements to the way in which ILRI does ecoregional research.