All publications and documents

The annual costs of land degradation are thought to be in the order of 10-17% of global gross domestic product. The very high costs of land degradation makes large-scale ecological restoration a global imperative. This paper documents the areas wherein, and manners whereby, large-scale ecological restoration has the potential to be an integral component of the sustainable management of natural…

Although the name “drylands” can diminish people’s appreciation of them, under different guises this land is often well-known and valued. Few doubt the importance to biodiversity of the world’s savannahs for example, or the value of fine fibers such as cashmere and alpaca wool, which are produced on dry grasslands. In countries of Central Asia, southern Europe and in the United States the…

The agrifood business (production, processing, transportation, and commercialization to final consumers) has changed dramatically in the last fifty years. Rather than being carried out via linear supply chains, agrifood business is now conducted in complex networks spanning the globe. It can, in other words, be said that modern agrifood business is conducted under the form of Global Value…

This working paper examines the role of rural-urban linkages in the context of sustainable development and environmental protection, analyzing how harnessing linkages between urban and rural areas can potentially reduce spatial disparities. Emphasis is placed on examining the flows of people, goods, money and information between rural and urban areas, as well as upon the linkages that form…

Protected areas (PA) are critical tools in maintaining biodiversity and, if well managed, are proven to be effective for both conservation and maintaining the ecosystem services on which human livelihoods and welfare depend. The modern protected area system was developed largely during the latter part of the twentieth and in the twenty-first century, and can be maintained under a range of…

The state of the environment, taken as a complex whole, fundamentally impacts the stability of human societies; it can enable or hinder peace and security through composite and interconnected dynamics. Most often, land acts as the catalyzing element. The security-environment relationship exists within the bounds of both planetary geographical interconnectedness, and global systemic…