Poverty alleviation

The Livelihoods and Landscapes Strategy (LLS) was a five-year program implemented by IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and funded by DGIS (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands). The Strategy focused on four main themes: poverty reduction, natural resource-based markets and incentives, forest governance, and landscape transformation. LLS, originally set to finish in December 2010, was granted a no-cost extension and came to a close in December 2011.

It is commonly claimed that forest tenure reform that provides rural people with rights to access and use of forest resources can contribute to improved forest management and poverty alleviation. But, at least with respect to poverty alleviation, there are few experiences with formal forest tenure reform that have demonstrated this to date. Given how difficult it is to achieve pro-poor tenure reform, an important question is whether modest informal changes can achieve results.

This paper examines how interventions intended to improve functionality and productivity of forested landscapes to improve livelihoods of the poorest populations, might actually yield co-benefits in terms of biodiversity conservation. It argues in favour of a ‘landscape’ approach to achieve these co-benefits.

The Doi Mae Salong watershed in the north-west of Thailand is the headwater of the Mae Chan River, a tributary of the Mekong River. As such, it is an extremely important landscape for the economy of the region. The landscape has the particularity of being designated a Military Reserved Area and coming under the control and command of the Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTAF).

This paper describes Livelihoods and Landscapes Strategy interventions in the Wassa Amenfi West Landscape in the western region of Ghana. The landscape extends over an area of about 120,000 ha. It is a mixed landscape with a variety of agricultural uses; the most important is cocoa farming.

Le Rapport préliminaire sur l'état de l'environnement en Afrique Centrale fait une description des ressources naturelles encore existantes, identifie les opportunités d'utilisation de celles-ci en vue de la lutte contre la pauvreté et le développement durable. En prenant en compte les principaux défis qui sont associés à la réalisation de ces opportunités, il définit des politiques et des mécanismes permettant de les capitaliser.

This DVD includes the full length versions of two movies by John D. Liu: "Hope in a Changing Climate" (29 minutes) and "Rwanda -- Back to the Garden" (27 minutes).

This report is part of a series of investigations to determine whether pro-poor environmental fiscal reform can be designed and implemented in key sectors in the district of Abbottabad. This preliminary study aims to assess the current status of drinking water services in the district. It provides a baseline to guide pilot activities, and to serve as a basis for focused investigations in the future.