Access to affordable modern energy services may not be a Millennium Development Goal (MDG) but without it, sustainable development, indeed the MDGs themselves, cannot be achieved. Yet energy access remains an area of great global inequity.

Payments for watershed services (PWS) are an increasingly popular conservation and water management tool in developing countries. Some schemes are thriving, and are pro-poor. Others are stalling or have only mixed success. Most rely on public or donor finance; and other sources of funding are unlikely to play a significant role any time soon.

This report provides an analysis of the tools and tactics advocacy groups use to influence policy responses to climate change at international, regional, national and sub-national levels.

Nepal has abundant natural assets which underpin the economy and a very diverse ethnic and cultural heritage. These provide a strong platform for sustainable development. But the country suffers from the pervasive degradation of its environment and there is widespread poverty.

The agricultural sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for up to 30 per cent of the global total. Agriculture is itself also affected by climate change, with overall impacts predicted to be negative, particularly in poor countries.

In developing countries, millions of people depend on land for their food and livelihoods. But a global ‘land rush’ — moves to acquire large tracts of land across the world — is increasing competition for this vital resource. A growing

Recent years have seen ‘land grabbing’ emerge as a big issue in media houses across the world, with reporters quick to write about deals involving millions of hectares, particularly within Africa. Yet large-scale land acquisitions are not a purely African phenomenon. Other parts of the world are also subject to the global land rush.

The majority of the world’s population now live in urban centres, which will also absorb virtually all population growth in the next century.

ISO 26000 is a new international standard on social responsibility developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Ensuring that the poor or the most vulnerable sections of society benefit from REDD+ projects is crucial to building both national and international legitimacy and to fostering successful delivery of conservation and social objectives.