SUMMARYIn this article we discuss the two largest reforestation and forest conservation programmes in China, the Natural Forest Protection Programme (NFPP), and the Slope Land Conversion Programme (SLCP, also called Grain for Green), introduced in 1998. The NFPP reformed the state forest enterprises to reduce deforestation, increase the amount of forestland to be protected, and increase the sustainability of logging, while improving their financial viability. The SLCP reformed collective (i.e.

A major reason given for the decline in per capita food production in Nigeria over the last two to three decades is the gradual decline in land productivity. Available information shows that in southern Nigeria, for example, there was recorded a consistent decline in yield per hectare of major food crops between 1995 and 2000. Evidence from the literature suggests that the main reason for this persistent decline in soil productivity is the perpetuation of unsustainable soil management practices by small food crop farmers that dominate the food production landscape in the country.

Through investigating the reactions of commercial farmers to land and water reforms in the Trichardtsdal-Ofcolaco area, Limpopo Province, Olifants Basin, South Africa, from 1997 to 2006, it is shown that water claims are key to land redistribution processes, and that commercial farmers make strategic use of arguments for nature conservation and ecological stewardship to defend their claims to water.

Spanish rangelands occupy more than 90,000km² of land grazed by millions of domestic and wild animals. Organic matter content of soil is an essential component for fertility and productivity in both, natural and human-induced ecosystems. Despite its importance to soil quality, soil organic carbon has been little studied in these rangelands. The main goal of this study is to assess the amounts and characteristics of soil organic matter in grazed open woodlands of SW Iberia as influenced by vegetation cover and land management.

The dominant corporate structure of South Africa's agro-food system has led many to suggest there is limited value in redistributing land as a scarce economic resource, or in providing support to black small-scale farmers when large agribusinesses are capable of meeting food needs. Agrarian reform (land reform plus black small-scale farmer support) is not a necessary component of the existing economic system in South Africa. Yet it has tremendous political importance, especially in the context of a stagnant or declining job market.

Despite continued efforts to eradicate black‐backed jackals (Canis mesomelas), they are considered an abundant mesopredator on agricultural land across South Africa, resulting in ongoing human–wildlife conflict and concern for farmers and wildlife managers. We conducted a questionnaire survey and semi‐formal interviews with farmers throughout KwaZulu‐Natal, examining farmers’ livestock husbandry, land‐use changes and perspectives towards jackals as a perceived threat to livestock.

Given the regional geographic specificities of Central Andean valleys, the social and environmental impact of dispersed urbanization on smallholder farmers is particularly high in the new urban peripheries of Peruvian mountain cities.

This article aims at testing whether the ecosystem services framework helps in understanding the link between local management and biodiversity conservation. Tourism was analysed in Camargue (France), a wetland area of high biodiversity value, via semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders. Three types of stakeholders were interviewed: protected area managers, livestock farmers and public institutions. This was done to examine whether they manage the land to enable tourism and/or maintain or restore the ecological state of ecosystems.

Biomass will play a role in the UK meeting EU targets on renewable energy use. Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) and miscanthus are potential biomass feedstocks; however, supply will rely on farmer willingness to grow these crops. Despite attractive crop establishment grants for dedicated energy crops (DECs) in the UK, uptake remains low. Drawing on results from an on-farm survey with 244 English arable farmers, 81.6% (87.7%) of farmers would not consider growing miscanthus (SRC), while respectively, 17.2% (11.9%) would consider growing and 1.2% (0.4%) were currently growing these crops.

This paper examines the changing profile of water traders (both allocation and entitlement traders) in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District in Australia, and examines the efficiency of the water allocation and entitlement markets from 1998-99 to 2003-06. The results suggest that the profile of traders in the early and mature stages of the water allocation market differ greatly. In addition, the profile of allocation traders is significantly dissimilar from that of water entitlement traders at all stages of water market development.