This paper evaluates the future impact of soil degradation on national food security and land occupation in Ethiopia. It applies a spatial optimization model that maximizes national agricultural revenues under alternative scenarios of soil conservation, land accessibility and technology. The constraints in the model determine whether people remain on their original site, migrate within their ethnically defined areas or are allowed a transregional migration.

Decades of research have led to substantially improved understanding of the nature of food insecurity. A combination of economic growth and targeted programs resulted in a steady fall (until the food crisis of 2007/08) in the percentage of the world’s population suffering from undernutrition (from 20% in 1990/92 to 16% in 2006). Yet over a billion people still face both chronic and/or transitory food insecurity due to long-standing problems of inadequate income, low-productivity in agricultural production and marketing, and related problems of poor health and absence of clean water.

Agriculture production in developing countries must be increased to meet food demand for a growing population. Earlier literature suggests that sustainable land management could increase food production without degrading soil and water resources. Improved agronomic practices include organic fertilization, minimum soil disturbance, and incorporation of residues, terraces, water harvesting and conservation, and agroforestry. These practices can also deliver co-benefits in the form of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and enhanced carbon storage in soils and biomass.

In Cameroon and elsewhere in the Congo Basin, the majority of rural households and a large proportion of urban households depend on plant and animal products from the forests to meet their nutritional, energy, cultural and medicinal needs. This paper explores the likely impacts of climate-induced changes on the provisioning of forest ecosystem goods and services and its effect on the economic and social well-being of the society, including the national economy and the livelihoods of forest-dependent people.

There is increasing interest in Zimbabwe in developing a biofuels industry based on the production of biodiesel using Jatropha as the main feedstock. This has led to the introduction of Jatropha as a commercial energy crop in the country. There are plans to grow 1220 km2 of Jatropha which will supply about 365,000 t of seed. This will provide about 110 dam3 of biodiesel required to achieve a blending level of 10% with petro-diesel.

In recent years, the concept of ‘food sovereignty’ has gained increasing ground among grassroots groups, taking the form of a global movement. But there is no uniform conceptualization of what food sovereignty constitutes. Indeed, the definition has been expanding over time. It has moved from its initial focus on national self-sufficiency in food production (‘the right of nations’) to local self-sufficiency (‘the rights of peoples’). There is also a growing emphasis on the rights of women and other disadvantaged groups, and on consensus building and democratic choice.

During the past three decades, the Pisque watershed in Ecuador's Northern Andes has become the country's principal export-roses producing area. Recently, a new boom of local smallholders have established small rose greenhouses and joined the flower-export business. This has intensified water scarcity and material/discursive conflicts over water use priorities: water to defend local-national food sovereignty or production for export.

In the year 2000 the government of Zimbabwe launched the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) as part of its on-going land reform and resettlement programme. The main premise of the programme is to address the racially skewed land distribution pattern inherited at independence in 1980. While the programme has been accompanied by an overall reduction in agricultural production which has created widespread food insecurity throughout the country, empirical research on the impact of the programme on the agricultural productivity of its beneficiaries has been limited.

Modeling human–environment systems presents many challenges, including incorporating structure and agency and addressing uncertainty in system components and relationships. Exploring perceptions not only gives us insight into decision-making (agency) but also reveals structural constraints influencing those decisions (including perceived constraints). This study focuses on the human–nature dynamics of Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve (FNNR) in China, a biodiversity hotspot and the only habitat for the Guizhou golden monkey (Rhinopithecus brelichi).

Agricultural land is a complex system that combines natural ecology and social economy, and the health of agricultural land directly influences regional economic development and national food security. Emergy analysis is an effective method for value analysis of ecosystems, assessment of the health of ecosystems, which is based on principles of systems ecology and energy. And fuzzy logic is a generalization tools to operate with vaguely defined parameters or concepts, which has been extensively applied in the quality evaluation of soil and land.

The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), a global network organization with 106 member countries in its fold, is dedicated to the promotion of best practices in water for agriculture, and addresses water supply and management for food production, including drainage and flood control. While striving to improve water and land management, and enhancing the world supply of food and fibre, ICID takes on board environmental concerns and seeks sustainable solutions.