The development of agricultural technologies and a better appreciation of the existing but under-utilised knowledge of resource management will be crucial in meeting the ecological needs and in achieving the anticipated food demands of the growing population in the future. The greatest challenge for the coming decades lies in the fact that the production environments are unstable and degrading. Land degradation is proceeding so fast that unless policies and approaches change, many countries will not be able to achieve sustainable agriculture in the foreseeable future.

Reliable subsurface drainage systems for groundwater table and salinity control are needed to

maintain or enhance the productivity of irrigated lands and to contribute to the rural development

of lowlands in the humid tropics.

The purpose of this Paper is to provide this practical information to drainage engineers and

contractors. This Paper is based on the current knowledge of water flow into drainpipes and

envelopes, their properties and applicability.

A report of the proceedings of the October 2001 regional consultation on the above theme, the document explains the urgent need for arresting and reversing the decline in investment in land and water development in Asia-Pacific countries. Land and water investment priorities include coping with worsening land degradation, increasing productivity of the region’s large rainfed areas and modernising wasteful water delivery and irrigation systems.

The papers presented here formed a part of the background documentation of an Expert Consultation on Land Evaluation for Rural Purposes, which was convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in co-operation with the University of Agriculture and the International Institute for Land Reclamation and Improvement, Wageningen, Netherlands. The meeting was held at the International Agricultural Centre, Wageningen, 6-12 October 1972.

This guide on Leasing agricultural land is designed to provide information on leasing arrangements in a format that can be used by grassroots organizations that work with small farmers and others in rural communities. Fair and secure leasing arrangements that balance the interests of the tenant and the land owner can lead to improvements in access to land for farming, better agricultural production and improved access to food.

In collaboration with UNEP, FAO has developed an improved planning framework for land resources development and management that addresses the problems recognized during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)This document is the last in a series of three publications which introduce these new concepts and propose an integrated planning approach for sustainable management of land resources based on an interactive partnership between governments and people.

This publication explores various aspects of the interface between water rights and land tenure. It is intended to synthetize and assess current learning on this topic, to define salient issues and to propose fruitful approaches for further investigation.

This paper discusses the natural resource implications of the latest FAO food and agriculture baseline

projections to 2050 (FAO, 2006a). These projections offer a comprehensive (food and feed demand,

including all foreseeable diet changes, trade and production) and consistent picture of the food and

agricultural situation in 2030 and 2050. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an indication of the

additional demands on natural resources derived from the crop production levels in 2030 and 2050 as

Concentration of land ownership, lack of access, insecurity of tenure and lack of efficiency and transparency in land administration services, are among the obstacles towards responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources in Latin America. These issues have been the subject of discussions and policy recommendations during many international forums, such as the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD) held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in March 2006.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its partners will hold consultations on various issues relating to the voluntary guidelines on responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources. The voluntary guidelines aim to provide practical guidance for State governance bodies, civil society and the private sector. The voluntary guidelines will provide a basis, which interested parties can use when developing their strategies and activities.

This guidelines booklet is addressed to the LADA partner countries and, more in

general, to the increasing number of countries which are expressing their interest in

implementing the LADA approach for mapping Land Degradation.

The specific objective is to provide guidelines for the identification, selection and

description of nationally based indicators of land degradation.

The LADA approach is well defined by a range of specific documents and manuals.

The National indicators common to all countries are based on the LADA-Wocat QM

Increasing women’s access to land is crucial to fight hunger and poverty. However, gender disparities in land access remain significant in most countries, regardless of their level of development. A new FAO database helps to understand the factors that prevent women from accessing land; and to design better policies to effectively address this situation.