Drawing on experience in Europe and wider literature, this paper offers some critical reflections on how—and under what conditions—the EU might support the development of innovative participatory approaches for the management of agricultural biodiversity in Europe.

This report aims to inform forest and energy decision makers in non-OECD countries of key issues surrounding the biomass energy boom.

Costa Rica’s pioneering programme of payments for environmental services (PES) which began in the 1990s was a unique experiment in developing countries at that time. Under the PES programme, economic recognition of forests moved from a ‘timber-only’ approach to a wider concept of ecosystem services that feeds directly into human and industrial functions of production or consumption.

El Programa de Pagos por Servicios Ambientales (PSA) de Costa Rica fue en su inicio, en la década de los 90, un experimento pionero en países en desarrollo.

China was still a predominantly rural society as late as the 1970s. Beginning with the economic reforms of the late 1970s, however, the last three decades have witnessed an extraordinary turnaround in China’s perspective on urbanization, as well as massive urban growth.

Housing finance remains a major obstacle to home ownership in countries such as Malawi, especially among low-income earners.

Over 150 large dams have been built in West Africa over the last 50 years. Many more are in the planning stages to meet the region’s demands for energy, water and food and their reservoirs will displace many thousands of local people. Success in resettling affected people and in rebuilding their livelihoods has been mixed in the region.

Au cours des cinquante dernières années, plus de 150 grands barrages ont été construits en Afrique de l’Ouest.

In Senegal, migration has long been a key strategy to escape poverty and remittances are an important component of household budgets. This report describes how the impacts of climate change contribute to increasing these already high levels of mobility.

This paper discusses the many limitations of the official poverty lines applied in Sri Lanka (and many other nations).

Development and environmental management have, for too long, been treated as separate objectives in Viet Nam – as in most countries. Viet Nam’s extraordinarily rapid development has brought immediate and major benefits. But it has also led to poor people suffering pollution, climate change and soil infertility. It is time for development and environment

Supplies of good clean water where, and when we need it – this is taken for granted by some, and is a pipedream for others. For most it depends in part on what people are doing up in the hills. The land in the hills may be used in ways that reduce the quantity and quality of water we get downstream. To get the water we want, we have traditionally relied on regulation, exhortation, cooperation or just keeping our fingers crossed.