Beyond the obvious catastrophic effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on mortality, demographicchanges, and the suffering of individuals and their families, we are still only learning about thecomplex longer-term effects of the pandemic on poverty and vulnerability. For example, theHIV/AIDS pandemic has substantially increased the number of widow-headed households inAfrica. A huge number of conceptual and qualitative studies highlight gender inequalities inproperty rights, and the difficulties that widows and their dependents face in retaining access toland after the death of their husbands.

Over the last three decades, many soil and water conservation projects have been implemented in various parts of eastern and southern Africa to control land degradation, and improve land productivity, especially under ‘catchment approach’ initiatives of the 1980s. In Ethiopia, many of these soil conservation projects were implemented following the severe drought of 1974.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia encompasses an extraordinary number of ecological zones and plant diversity. However, the diversity of plants is highly threatened due to lack of institutional capacity, population pressure, land degradation and deforestation. An adequate documentation of these plants also has not been conducted. The farmers in Ethiopia face serious and growing food insecurity caused by drought, land degradation and climate change. Thus, rural communities are dependent on underutilized wild edible plants to meet their food and nutritional needs.

BACKGROUND: Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) addresses the challenge of meeting the growing demand for food, fibre and fuel, despite the changing climate and fewer opportunities for agricultural expansion on additional lands. CSA focuses on contributing to economic development, poverty reduction and food security; maintaining and enhancing the productivity and resilience of natural and agricultural ecosystem functions, thus building natural capital; and reducing trade-offs involved in meeting these goals.

[Formula: see text] [ Martin A. J. Parry ] The balance between the supply and demand of the major food crops is fragile, fueling concerns for long‐term global food security. The rising population, increasing wealth and a proliferation of non‐food uses (e.g. bioenergy) has led to growing demands on agriculture, while increased production is limited by greater urbanization, and the degradation of land. Furthermore, global climate change with increasing temperatures and lower, more erratic rainfall is projected to decrease agricultural yields.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) remains the only ‘Rio Convention’ that is not well served by the scientific community and lacks the equivalent of an IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) or the proposed IPBES (Intergovernmental Science–Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services).

Although the traditional rice–fish co-culture system (RF) efficiently uses water and land resources, provides food security, and does not harm the local environment, it requires improvement because of its small scale and low fish yield. We therefore determined whether fish yield in RF can be increased without increasing nitrogen (N) loss into the environment (i.e., the risk of N pollution) by management of N inputs.

This article reviews the level of current scientific understanding regarding the impact of future change in the large-scale climate-earth system on ecosystem services. Impacts from sea level rise, ocean acidification, increases in ocean temperature, potential collapse of the thermohaline circulation; failure of the South Asia monsoon; the melting of sea ice, the Greenland Ice Sheet and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet; changes in water availability; and Amazonia forest dieback, are considered.

In Bangladesh, agriculture is the most significant source of economic growth, it plays a fundamental role in the fight against poverty. The earning potential of most people is limited by their lack of skills, assets, and access to credit. The only lasting way is to ensure sustainable economic growth by implementing policies to promote financial stability and the efficient use of resources.

The transition to commercial agriculture is investigated in two communes from three ecological zones (mountain, plains, coastal) in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam. Field investigations were undertaken in late 2006 - early 2007 and again in 2008. One commune in each zone had good road infrastructure and associated market access, while the other had poor road access and was more distant from the market. Two rural households were selected from poor, medium and high wealth categories in each commune, providing 36 case households.

This paper explores the major interactions between the transformation of swidden farming and the pursuit of rural livelihoods in the uplands of Southeast Asia. The paper draws on selected literature, workshop reflections, and six case studies to describe the causal processes and livelihood consequences of swidden change.