Discusses the historical context of ILCA's research, the principal types of animal production systems and the stages in ILCA's farming systems research. Describes the smallholder farming in the Ethiopian highlands & humid zone, the agropastoralists of the sub-humid zone, systems research in pastoral areas of eastern Africa (Kenya & Ethiopia), characteristics of the arid and semi-arid zones of West Africa and the role of modelling in the system. Ends with a summary of past experience.

In July 1996, with assistance from FAO, USAID, and the USDA Forest Service, CIFOR offered its first International Research Training Seminar on Reduced-Impact Timber Harvesting and Natural Forest Management. Participants were drawn from ten countries and represented disciplines ranging from silviculture and hydrology to wildlife biology. Throughout the workshop, field exercises were integrated with classroom activities, initially in the experimental forest plantation near CIFOR's headquarters, and later at an industrial timber concession in East Kalimantan.

This publication is a collection of the abstracts of in-house and external publications produced in the year 2000 by CIFOR scientists and their collaborators. It also abstracts several publications produced in 1999 that were not able to be included in the 1999 research abstrats. The abstracts are grouped into six themes that represent CIFOR's research activities. Indexes are provided by author and subject.