Governments in a number of countries are trying to address concerns about land grabbing by closing their borders to foreign investors. Are these restrictions effective?
Not really, says GRAIN. They give the impression that something is being done at the highest level and appeal to nationalist or pro-sovereignty sentiments. But they are very narrow approaches to a complex problem and often full of back doors and loopholes.

The current debate on climate change, its impacts on socio-ecological systems and the role of agriculture has shifted from an emphasis on how to mitigate the effects of increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to how to prepare and adapt to the expected adverse impacts. This follows the recognition that the climate is already changing as a result of mankind’s activities and there is little that can be done to prevent further increases in atmospheric concentrations of GHG in the short term.

The paper argues that the indigenous knowledge of the Herero could provide the basis for better land-use policy and user rights in the communal lands of Namibia.This short article:reviews recent academic literaturelooks at the historical and legal backgound to land management in Namibiareports in 2 village field studies

Discusses the widely help conception that arid shrub-lands in Syria and elsewhere in West Asia and North Africa are degraded. A particular characteristic of such areas is a preponderance of unpalatable shrubs or a lack of overall ground cover with a rise in the associated risks of soil erosion.The article finds that:migrating pastoralists have been the scapegoats for this condition of the range.

This review explores environmental change in northern and south-central Kenya, roughly covering three decades from the 1960s to the 1990s. The report answers three questions:has vegetation change occurred in these districts?if vegetation change has occurred, why and how has this happened?what are the trends for livestock populations?The article concludes that:rangeland sites have been fundamentally altered by woody encroachment over the past 40 years.

There is a general consensus among academics, politicians and social movements, that BRICS as ‘new donors’ are increasing both their quantitative and qualitative role in defining what is considered to be ‘the world economic order’.

This report highlights the potentially significant impacts on the hydrologic cycle and the importance of considering secondary effects, particularly with regard to water, resulting from the widespread adoption of global climate change mitigation measures. It is recommended that the implicit hydrologic dimensions of climate change mitigation should be more formally articulated within the international environmental conventions, and recognized within future UNFCCC negotiations on the CDM-AR provisions.

What factors motivate developing countries to prevent deforestation, which can cause serious environmental damage, such as flooding? Do democratic states take action more effectively than authoritarian states?

Forests potentially contribute to global climate change through their influence on the global carbon (C) cycle. They store large quantities of C in vegetation and soil, exchange C with the atmosphere through photosynthesis and respiration, are sources of atmospheric C when they are disturbed, become atmospheric C sinks during abandonment and regrowth after disturbance, and can be managed to alter their role in the C cycle. The world's forest contain about 830 Pg C (1015 g) in their vegetation and soil, with about 1.5 times as much in soil as in vegetation.

Across vast areas of the world, human activity has degraded once fertile and productive land. Deforestation, overgrazing, continuous farming and poor irrigation practices have affected almost 2 billion hectares worldwide, threatening the health and livelihoods of over one billion people. In this edition of New Agriculturist, a collection of articles explores some of the approaches and policies that can help to successfully rehabilitate degraded land.

This perspective document: 1 Provides examples of ‘no regrets’ approaches, applied in small island countries to cope with current climate variability and adapt to future climate change, at different levels ranging from communities, local administrations and national governments. 2 Demonstrates the need for a sound knowledge base and information system, as well as a better understanding of the relation between water resources, water and health, and climatic extremes.