Significant forest change in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) has resulted in deforestation of primary forests and expansion of plantation forests. Although plantation forest development benefits rural communities through income generation and employment opportunities, there have been negative impacts, including reductions in livestock grazing land and collection of non-timber forest products. This study analysed the association between primary forests, plantation forests, grazing areas and large ruminant populations in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam. The report showed that livestock populations in the GMS are dynamic and have been under pressure due to enhanced trade and demand in red meat in China and Viet Nam, with a generally positive association between planted forest areas and populations of cattle and buffalo in Lao PDR and Viet Nam indicated. Tree plantations were an important source of income and generally perceived as having a positive impact on rural livelihoods, despite negatively impacts in grazing land availability. It is recommended that integrative approaches that include the collection of household level data to assess the impact on smallholder livelihoods and the collection of regional level data to capture forest changes in future forest assessments, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of the association between primary forests and planted forest on smallholder livestock production. Silvopastoral models have the potential to provide more viable and sustainable alternatives to the current forestry and livestock production models, supporting the transformation to more sustainable agriculture for better production, better environment, and sustainable development goals in GMS countries and beyond.

Restoring Forests and Trees for Sustainable Development utilizes a multidisciplinary perspective to analyze and discuss the various opportunities and challenges of restoring tree and forest cover. It examines forest restoration commitments, policies and programs, their implementation at different scales and contexts, and how forest restoration helps to mitigate environmental, societal, and cultural challenges. This book explores how restoration affects forest ecosystem services, contributes to biodiversity conservation, and generates benefits and synergies, while recognizing the considerable costs, tradeoffs, and variable feasibility of its implementation.

This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2021 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition

This report looks at both negative and positive drivers that affect forest change in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) in the last 25 years (1990-2015) in order to have a better understanding of their influence on forests in the region. It evaluates policies and measures in relation to drivers of forest change. Agricultural expansion, infrastructure development particularly hydropower dams and road construction, logging, mining operations and forest fires are the most dominant drivers of fores t loss in GMS. At a positive note, almost all countries in the region have adopted policies that support SFM and balance the social, economic and environmental aspects of forestry. Furthermore, there seems to be a movement towards sustainable policies which influence the shift towards SFM, forest conservation and afforestation and reforestation. Although it seems the policies addressing the drivers of deforestation exist at local, national and international level, their effectiveness has been mi xed. T his report presents forest changes in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) over a period of 25 years between 1990 and 2015. It describes key drivers that have affected these changes. Some drivers influenced forests negatively in that they resulted in deforestation and forest degradation. On the other hand, positive drivers promoted sustainable forest management (SFM), afforestation and reforestation and forest conservation.

"The assessment builds on the work of the Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative"--Pref.

Document from the year 2010 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Regional Geography, University of Hohenheim, course: -, language: English, abstract: Southwest China has undergone serious changes in recent years. In this respect, it is representative of large areas in South Asia and in particular the ‚Greater Mekong Subregion’ (GMS) with its 300 Mio inhabitants. The GMS is an informal cooperation of Thailand, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia, Viet Nam, and the P.R. China (Yunnan and Guangxi Province) to promote the development of the region. While being far off from global developments and characterized by subsistence economy in the past, the region turned out to become one of the most dynamic areas worldwide. A new highway system connects the countries of the GMS, and the area is opened up to international markets. Cash crops such as rubber, which plays already a significant role in local economy, will become even more attractive and speed up land-use cover change (LUCC) with all its consequences for man and his environment. As a consequence of the dynamic development, socio-economic and cultural traditions are challenged, leading to a rapid change or even disappearance of traditional land-use systems. The consequences are manifold and affect people and their livelihood, as well as the century-old cultural landscape with its high (agro-)biodiversity.

The Farmer Field School (FFS) has been one of the most successful approaches developed and promoted by FAO over the past three decades, empowering farmers to become better decision makers in their own farming systems. Initiated by FAO in 1989, and subsequently adopted by many other organizations and institutions, the FFS programs constitute one of the most important “results of the collective action of millions of small-scale farmers” that FAO has supported. FFS is an interactive and participatory learning by doing approach that offers farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolks, foresters and their communities a place where they can learn from each other,share experiences, co-create knowledge and try new ways of doing. Participants enhance their understanding of agro-ecosystems, resulting in production systems that are more resilient and optimize the use of available resources. FFS aims to improve farmers’ livelihoods and recognize their role as innovators and guardians of natural environments. FFS has attained plenty of outstanding achievements in all aspects of agriculture and rural development.

On top of a decade of exacerbated disaster loss, exceptional global heat, retreating ice and rising sea levels, humanity and our food security face a range of new and unprecedented hazards, such as megafires, extreme weather events, desert locust swarms of magnitudes previously unseen, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Agriculture underpins the livelihoods of over 2.5 billion people – most of them in low-income developing countries – and remains a key driver of development. At no other point in history has agriculture been faced with such an array of familiar and unfamiliar risks, interacting in a hyperconnected world and a precipitously changing landscape. And agriculture continues to absorb a disproportionate share of the damage and loss wrought by disasters. Their growing frequency and intensity, along with the systemic nature of risk, are upending people’s lives, devastating livelihoods, and jeopardizing our entire food system. This report makes a powerful case for investing in resilience and disaster risk reduction – especially data gathering and analysis for evidence informed action – to ensure agriculture’s crucial role in achieving the future we want.