How does the amount of land that youth expect to inherit affect their migration and employment decisions? We explore this question in the context of rural Ethiopia using a 2014 cross-sectional dataset indicating whether or not youth household members from a previous 2010 survey had migrated by 2014,…

Inclusive businesses (IBs), embodying partnerships between commercial agribusinesses and smallholder farmers/low-income communities, are considered to contribute towards rural development and agricultural sector transformation. Structured as complex organizational set-ups consisting of, and…

By 2050 we would need to double global food production to keep up with the projected population increase. Meanwhile the land from which our food comes from is decreasing in quality. Land degradation is a major global concern as our demands for food, fodder, and fuel continue to accelerate. Drylands…

Ecosystems are essential to human life, livelihoods and wellbeing. Many national policies and international agreements include goals to protect ecosystem services. A new guide – commissioned by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme and written by Professor James Bullock of…

Pathways to increase access to land for the realization of development, peace and human rights

The protection and sustainable management of soils is a precondition for sustainable development and moreover for the survival of humankind. Degraded soils, in particular in Africa, cause famine, poverty, migration and, under certain circumstances, even wars. Although insufficient protection and…

Studies show that women disproportionately bear the adverse impacts of land commercialization in the global South. Investments in agribusiness, mining, or logging have resulted in loss of land and displacement of local communities, loss of livelihoods, and loss of communal assets—and the effects are…

This report focuses on the emergence of new fringe activities that have transformed the relationship involving pastoralism, the State and the traditional national and transnational mobility of pastoralists. The phenomenon is multifaceted in nature and has been embraced by only a minority of…

Investing in agriculture is widely recognised as one of the most effective ways to alleviate poverty, improve food security and reduce hunger and malnutrition. Paradoxically, both overseas development aid and domestic investment in agriculture have been declining since the 1990s. The total share of…

This brief was produced by EcoAgriculture Partners and the FAO Liaison Office for North America following the presentations and discussion at the first in our newest event series for policymakers and conservation and development professionals in Washington, D.C. and beyond, “Towards Sustainable…

Data and information on land are fundamental for enabling smallholder farmers to gain secure access and control over their land, which provides the basis for investing in their operations. This briefing paper outlines the importance and benefits of increasing the availability and accessibility of…

FAO report calls for a more pro-active and long-term planning to become more resilient against droughts

Increasing global demand for natural resources is intensifying competition for land across the developing world, pushing companies onto territories that many Indigenous Peoples and rural communities have sustainably managed for generations. These communities, who collectively hold at least half the…

Quantified information on land degradation and restoration is needed to support policies for sustainable ecosystem management and socioeconomic development. The arid and semiarid zones of China (ASZC) have experienced significant land degradation, and in response to such degradation, multiple…

A new report analyses how the transition to a low-carbon economy – and the minerals and metals required to make that shift – could affect fragility, conflict, and violence dynamics in mineral-rich states. Could the pursuit of one Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) jeopardize the success of another?…

Scenarios that limit global warming to below 2 °C by 2100 assume significant land-use change to support large-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) removal from the atmosphere by afforestation/reforestation, avoided deforestation, and Biomass Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). The more ambitious…

An EEA briefing published today proposes an analytical framework that aims at developing a strategy for monitoring and integrated assessment of the state of land and its key resources

The biannual Living Planet Report published this week shows a 60% decline in wildlife populations over the past 40 years driven largely by the pressure placed on habitats by the food system and in particular western diets high in meat and processed foods. The report, produced for WWF by the…

The European Commission calls for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. On 28 November 2018, the Commission presented its strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate-neutral economy by 2050. The strategy shows how Europe can lead the way to climate neutrality by…

Land and other natural resources in many developing countries remain a fundamental part of people’s cultural identity, social relations, livelihood strategies and economic well-being. However, great setbacks are still experienced in terms of tenure security, natural resources governance and…

The OECD Development Centre’s Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) is a cross-country measure of discrimination against women in social institutions (formal and informal laws, social norms, and practices) across 180 countries. Discriminatory social institutions intersect across all stages of…

Biodiversity damage mapped by global land-use study. Researchers found that the worst-affected areas had lost one in three of their species, enough to substantially impact the functioning of those environments.

Reorienting land degradation towards sustainable land management: Linking sustainable livelihoods with ecosystem services in rangeland systems

LandMark is the first online, interactive global platform to provide maps and other critical information on lands that are held and used by Indigenous Peoples and communities

This discussion paper examines the importance of water in ensuring food security