'Growing exports' is for all those who have an interest or stake in what happens to the Amazon forest. It provides a fresh look at developments in the policies and practice of the Brazilian timber trade though the eyes of those in the value chain. Written by independent Brazilian and international forest experts, it aims to provoke further discussion about what is going on and provide accurate information to underpin negotiated consensus between the interested parties. 'Growing exports' describes the ambition of the Brazilian government to more than double timber exports in less than a decade without decimating the remaining natural forests of Brazil, especially in the legal Amazon. Can it be done? Recent trade trends hint at useful options to explore. Extensive surveys of Brazilian timber producers and international buyers provide more practical information about the critical barriers to be overcome. A comparative study from South East Asia is used to draw lessons about what might make exports grow and at what cost to the forest. Will the free market take care of itself, or are major policy and institutional changes needed to provide a framework for the government's ambitions of export growth, and if so, how might this be achieved?

This is a report on a study of the socio-economic effects of four carbon sequestration projects in Brazil and Bolivia. The study examines how these projects contribute to local development processes and the benefits that accrue to local people. It draws a number of lessons relating to project design, social networks, economic impacts and relations with local communities. In particular, it stresses the importance of early information exchange before project formulation to help reflect local social demands. It goes on to make important recommendations for CDM procedures, emphasising that local sustainable development should be a central part of CDM projects’ eligibility criteria and should be given equal weight to those referring to additionality.

Market development is key to raising the living standards of people who live in Vietnam’s uplands.  Policies and development programmes to help farmers improve production and processing of forest and agricultural products will always be limited without parallel support to marketing.  This study shows that efforts to assist farmers (and harvesters of natural produce) to get better and more reliable prices need to take into account full market chains – not just what happens at the “farm gate”.   Market opportunities and prices are constrained by factors that affect traders first, with knock-on impacts on producers.  Constraints range from heavy burdens of formal and informal taxes to a basic lack of information in villages and district market places.  Policy solution lie not in drawing up new policy statements, but rather in better implementation of the many very positive policies that already exist to support poor upland residents.  Fundamentally, better implementation may require some deep-rooted changes in the culture of government and development agencies, to support the individual and group initiatives that small-scale farmers and traders are developing for themselves

Ø Payments for environmental services (PES) is a topic of increasing interest in Ecuador, particularly as a way to leverage funding for environmental protection. Payments systems are emerging, however, since Ecuador’s experience of PES is recent, the implications for national and local well being are not yet clear. Thus, the objective of this study was to provide guidance in order to ensure that policies support payments systems that are beneficial to the poor, as well as to the environment. This report focuses on two case studies of payments for watershed services: Pimampiro and Cuenca. The report recommends inter alia that further understanding of the hydrological functions provided by particular ecosystems is needed, further information is required on the value of watershed services, a tax managed by the municipalities should be levied on water for agricultural use based on consumption, and that household surveys may not be the most effective way to gather information to evaluate social impacts of a compensation mechanism.

The value of annual trade in wildlife is estimated at $200 billion and growing. The precise contribution by individual species is difficult to estimate owing to illegal trades and poor economic information along the trade chain. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an agreement between governments that aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. It works to prevent illegal trade or trans-shipment. CITES recognises that economic incentives could be used to make wildlife trade more responsible through the use of individual transferable quotas (ITQ) system.This study explores the applicability of the ITQ system on the threatened sturgeon population in the Caspian Sea. Numerous case studies are consulted highlighting limitations of the ITQ system and suggesting research necessary to design and implement a more sustainable system. Findings suggest, that an integrated approach is required which incorporates economic, social, political and biological information, adequately reflecting local conditions

Are natural resources in the Sahel under threat? There is widespread concern that current management practices, conflict and competition jeopardise the future of natural resources. But this case study shows how growing awareness of pressure on grazing and farming land and how increasing conflicts between different user groups drove local actors to take steps to regulate access and use of these resources.