The Mali Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) Baseline Evaluation Survey (MARBES) survey was implemented during May-July 2014 as part of IFPRI’s Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of Africa RISING. The Africa RISING program aims to create-through action research and development partnerships-opportunities for smallholder farmers in Africa south of the Sahara to sustainably intensify their farming systems and to improve their food, nutrition, and income security.

The Tanzania Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) Baseline Evaluation Survey (TARBES) was implemented during February-April 2014 as part of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of Africa RISING. The Africa RISING program aims to create—through action research and development partnerships—opportunities for smallholder farmers in Africa south of the Sahara to sustainably intensify their farming systems and to improve their food, nutrition, and income security.

Land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) represents one of the key drivers of global environmental change. However, the processes and drivers of anthropogenic land-use activity are still overly simplistically implemented in Dynamic Global Vegetation Models

This document addresses the need for explicit inclusion of livelihoods within the environment nexus (water-energy-food security). The authors present a conceptualisation of ‘environmental livelihood security’, which combines the nexus perspective with sustainable livelihoods. The geographical focus of this paper is Southeast Asia and Oceania, which the authors highlight is a region currently wrought by the impacts of a changing climate.

How have Latin American countries been using Environmental Impact Assessments in order to build more sustainable extractive industries? A focus on Peru provides some interesting lessons.

Is it possible to develop extractive industries while preserving the environment? Several Latin American countries have been attempting to improve the environmental sustainability of their extractive industry sectors by developing their legal frameworks, in particular through the use and adaptation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) tool.

The corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda has been a part of the global debate on socio-economic development for many decades. Countless claims have been made that CSR can contribute towards more inclusive development and the alleviation of poverty. This briefing examines the concept and role of CSR in the mining industry of South Africa. The mining case study reviewed here demonstrates that key implementation challenges are a lack of co-ordination and alignment with the government’s development plans, at both national and local level, coupled with weak monitoring and evaluation.

This rapid evidence assessment (REA) investigates how public overseas investments supported by developed country governments respect legitimate land tenure rights, especially in countries without a strong system for protecting existing tenure rights. The REA assesses material from the limited number of studies (20) available about donor-supported investment projects involving land. Most are from African countries, but the evidence also includes cases from Afghanistan, Guatemala and Cambodia.

The Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL) spreads across a vast region that includes remote portions of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China (TAR China) and contiguous areas of Nepal and India. This area is historically, ecologically, and culturally interconnected; it is the source of four of Asia’s most important rivers, and at the heart of this landscape is the sacred Mount Kailash, revered by millions of people in Asia and throughout the world.

The slow progress of the Cadastral Survey Program in the Philippines has been associated with implementation issues that have affected the effectiveness and efficiency of the program. A review of the processes, procedures, and existing institutional set-up in the conduct of cadastral surveys helped identify factors behind the slow progress and delays in implementation.

In South Africa, provision of affordable, well-situated housing close to existing services and work places is hampered by the high cost and scarcity of appropriate land. Consequently, most new low-income housing projects have been developed on the urban periphery. This tends to entrench the spatial differentiation of residential areas by race and class characteristics of the apartheid era and increased the cost of providing services to low-income housing projects inhabitants.

This extensive FAO assessment of global forest resources, describes the extent, uses and value of forest resources covering 229 countries and territories between 1990 and 2005.