Land-use planning is an important policy instrument for governing landscapes to achieve multifunctionality in rural areas. This paper presents a case study conducted in Na Nhan commune in the northwest montane region of Vietnam to assess land-use strategies toward multiple ecosystem services, through integrated land-use planning.

Cambodia has recently demonstrated one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. While scholars have long explored the drivers of tropical forest loss, the case of Cambodia offers particular insights into the role of the state where transnational governance and regional integration are increasingly the norm. Given the significant role logging rents play in Cambodia’s post-conflict state formation, this article explores the contemporary regime and its ongoing codependent relationship with forested land.

The land sector in Uganda has attracted a great deal of attention associated with:

An assessment of management effectiveness was carried out for all the protected areas in the Kingdom of Bhutan. During 2014-2016 the Royal Government of Bhutan developed a custom-made tool for assessing management effectiveness: the Bhutan Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool Plus (Bhutan METT +). This was implemented in Bhutan’s 10 protected areas and one botanical park, and the results were verified through field trips and expert reviews.

The Bhutan Forest Note articulates opportunities for supporting Bhutan's sustainable development aspirations, including its constitutional commitment to maintain at least 60 percent of the country's land area under forest cover and to better respond or prepare for vulnerabilities such as climate change and natural disasters. The note presents a forward-looking business case for Bhutan to support an increase in forest utilization without jeopardizing the integrity of forest and non-forest ecosystems.

El siguiente documento detalla el proceso institucional llevado adelante en la República Argentina para establecer las metas voluntarias de Neutralidad de la Degradación de la Tierra a escala nacional. La Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas aprobó, en septiembre de 2015, la “Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible” que define 17 objetivos de desarrollo sostenible (ODS) y una serie de metas entre las que se destaca la meta 15.3 que involucra la neutralidad de la degradación de la tierra (NDT).

This paper presents case studies of two tribal villages - Mendha Lekha and Jamguda - successfully running forest-based bamboo businesses under the community forest rights provisions of Forest Rights Act (2006). We have documented the issues faced by the villagers in claiming community forest rights, issues faced in harvesting and sale of bamboo, and business practices adopted by both the villages.

Indicator 15.1.1: Forest area as a proportion of total land area
 

Indicator 15.1.2: Proportion of important sites for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity that are covered  by protected areas, by ecosystem type

Indicator 15.2.1: Progress towards sustainable forest management
 

Land degradation neutrality (LDN) is increasingly recognized as an effective mechanism to address land degradation and sustain ecosystems. Although this mechanism could accelerate the achievement of SDGs, we should approach with caution many of the policy measures proposed within countries’ LDN target-setting programmes to avoid violating rights to land and resources.