The need for new criteria and indicators for the assessment of biodiversity conservation as part of sustainable forest management of tropical forests has been identified as a priority by many international organisations. Those biodiversity criteria and indicators which formed part of a much broader initial assessment by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) (Prabhu et al. 1996) were found to be deficient. This Working Paper contains specific proposals for biodiversity criteria and indicators.

This book contains a number of commissioned background papers presented at the workshop on ‘Research on Non-timber Forest Products’ (Hot Springs, Zimbabwe, 28 August - 2 September 1995). Bringing together experiences from different regions and professional backgrounds, the book attempts to analyse the complexity of multiple use of forests from a multidimensional perspective that incorporates environmental, social, economic, technological, political, historical and cultural factors. Current topics of discussion are reviewed.

Projects implemented as part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol will have the dual mandate of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to sustainable development. It is not yet clear what, if any, forestry activities will be eligible for CDM. Nor is it known what rules will guide the implementation of CDM projects. These decisions have important implications for poor people who live in and around forests in developing countries.

Agriculture is the main sector of the Ethiopian economy, as is the case in many sub-Saharan African countries. In this region, rainfall distribution is extremely uneven both spatially and temporally. Drought frequently results in crop failure, while high rainfall intensities result in low infiltration and high runoff, causing soil erosion and land degradation, which contribute to low agricultural productivity and high levels of food insecurity.