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The "tragedy of the commons" is a central concept in human ecology and the study of the environment. It has had tremendous value for stimulating research, but it only describes the reality of human-environment interactions in special situations. Research over the past thirty years has helped clarify how human motivations, rules governing access to resources, the structure of social…

The proposed English-French-Spanish-Russian glossary contains principal terms dealing with the investigation and development of arid lands. The terms have been included on desert environment, several regional terms, terms on land melioration, pasture management and desertification control. The terms have been arranged alphabetically. By selecting terms the author used the terminology…

The remit of this paper is to identify and examine “success” stories in combating desertification. It is worth clarifying at the start the working definitions of “land degradation” and “success” to be used in the paper. The UNCCD defines Land degradation as: “reduction or loss, in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of…

The Pernambuco coastal forests occupy an 80 km-wide strip along the Atlantic coast of northeastern Brazil in the states of Pernambuco and Alagoas. The forests extend from near sea level to 600–800 metres (2,000–2,600 ft) in elevation, on the windward slopes of the Borborema Plateau. The Goiana River of Pernambuco marks the forests' northern extent, and the Mundaú River of Alagoas the…

Politics matter for human development. Reducing poverty depends as much on whether poor people have political power as on their opportunities for economic progress. Democracy has proven to be the system of governance most capable of mediating and preventing conflict and of securing and sustaining well-being. By expanding people's choices about how and by whom they are governed, democracy brings…

After the devastating dust storms that swept across Northern China in 2000, there was much interest in examining and analyzing experiences with dust storm mitigation, prevention, forecasting and control. There was a need to document the nature, extent, causal factors associated with the severe sand and dust storms experienced in China itself and which threatened the lives and livelihoods of…