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This volume deals with land degradation, which is occurring in almost all terrestrial biomes and agro-ecologies, in both low and high income countries and is stretching to about 30% of the total global land area. About three billion people reside in these degraded lands. However, the impact of land degradation is especially severe on livelihoods of the poor who heavily depend on natural resources…

Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) are disadvantaged in a myriad of ways and they have special needs which require special attention. Challenges such as undiversified economies, vulnerability to climate change and climate variability, land degradation and desertification, among others, are undermining the economic potential of many LLDCs. This has been exacerbated by weak export base of…

In developing countries the agriculture sector absorbs about 22 percent of the total damage and losses caused by natural hazards. The study aims to help fill the current knowledge gap on the nature and magnitude of impacts of disasters triggered by natural hazards on the agriculture sector and its subsectors (crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry) in developing countries. Quantifying the full…

Poverty often begins with poor nutrition and health, especially in early childhood: the poor become trapped in vicious circles of hunger, poor nutrition, ill health, low productivity and poverty. Economic growth, especially agricultural development, has been essential for driving down poverty rates.Social protection encompasses initiatives that provide cash or in-kind transfers to the poor,…

Fertile soils are an essential building block for human existence on Earth. The degradation of soils and land, in this regard, poses significant challenges for the well-being and food security of all the people around the world. Moreover, soils provide not only food, fiber, and many types of biomass we use, but also a wide range of other essential ecosystem services, such as carbon…

For Africa, more than any other region of the world, the outcome of these climate negotiations is of vital importance. The reason is simple. While Africa is the region that contributes the least to greenhouse gas emissions, African countries suffer the most from the impact of climate change. From the Sahel to the Horn of Africa, to the south of the continent and the small island nations, African…