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The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has received several requests to conduct research on the causes of conflict and its consequences on development in three African regions (Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes). Preliminary findings indicate that violent conflicts involving pastoral communities have become widespread in many African countries, particularly in the Sahel and the Horn…

This report presents a review of international and regional agroecology (AE) and food sovereignty (FS) policies and assesses the extent of their implementation in selected countries: Ethiopia, Togo and Zambia. The review was undertaken to facilitate provision of high quality policy support to influence policy makers in the region to develop and implement AE and FS. The report also…

Soils are key to sustainable “rural futures”: 2.5 billion people in poor countries derive their livelihoods from the agricultural sector; 1.5 billion people of these are living in smallholder households (FAO, 2012). Therefore, agriculture is the starting point for development – for lifting rural poor out of poverty – and for creating perspectives for young people. The Agenda 2063 …

Land comprises a range of biophysical components such as soil, water, flora, and fauna, embedded in a landscape shaped by its geomorphology and subjected to a climate that is often under different forms of human manipulation. Land provides natural habitats and serves many purposes – for agriculture, forestry, pastoralism, infrastructure development, mining, and tourism. Apart…

The interpretation and operationalization of LDN is still in its early stages. The idea of a “land degradation neutral world” (UNCCD, 2012) was first introduced to the international environmental arena at the Rio+20 conference. Several scholars and organizations have since discussed possible interpretations and implications of this topic (e.g. Welton et al., 2014; Altvater et al…

Fertile soils and productive land are limited—finite—resources. But there is an ever-growing demand for fertile land to feed a growing global population. Meeting this demand is becoming a massive global challenge due to two major factors. There is competition for productive land for other uses, such as wood, fiber, bioenergy, and urban growth. Then there is land degradation and the added risk of…