The Encyclopedia of Global Warming and Climate Change includes more than 750 articles that explore major topics related to global warming and climate change-ranging geographically from the North Pole to the South Pole, and thematically from social effects to scientific causes. It contains a 4-color, 16-page insert that is a comprehensive introduction to the complexities of global warming.

The World Trade Indicators (WTI) database and ranking tool cover country level indicators of trade performance and policies and institutions that affect trade. This publication summarizes patterns in world trade policy and trade outcomes revealed by the WTI database, focusing mainly on regional and income level variations and providing the context to help evaluate individual country progress. It is hoped that this initiative, by benchmarking country performance in various policy and outcome areas, will enhance the ability of policy makers to design and implement needed trade-related reforms.

This publication is the result of a joint effort by the FAO and the IFAD to address the linkage between water and rural poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. It takes stock of past experiences and demonstrates that there are many opportunities to invest in water in support of rural livelihoods. Its aim is to help decision-makers make informed choices on where and how to invest. It emphasizes the need for an approach where investments in infrastructure are matched with interventions in institutions, knowledge and finance in ways that yield optimal returns in terms of poverty reduction.

"Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment" provides compelling evidence of the extent and severity of such dramatic change over the past 30 years on the region's environment due to both natural processes and human activities. The atlas is the first major publication to depict environmental change in all of Africa's countries using satellite imagery. By telling a vivid, visual story of the dramatic impacts on the continent's landscapes, the atlas is a resource for remedial action at local, national, and regional levels.

An outbreak of desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) in Sudan could intensify and spread along both sides of the Red Sea in winter this year. "This could give rise to a potentially dangerous

Rats eat our crops, contaminate our stored food, damage our buildings and possessions and spread dangerous diseases to people and livestock. Compared to insect pests, controlling rats and mice can seem difficult. Experience has shown, however, that armed with the right knowledge and tools it is possible to sustainably reduce pest rodent populations in a cost-beneficial way. In recent years, applied research on ecologically-based rodent management (EBRM) has taken place in many countries throughout Asia and Africa. Dec 2007

Concern over the possible impacts of physical and economical displacement from protected areas is widespread and growing. Partly as a consequence of this there is now an increasing tendency to promote only voluntary displacement from protected areas. There are, however, good reasons to be cautious before welcoming this policy shift. In the first instance we should note that the extent of past evictions is far from clear, but that the demand for future displacement is likely to rise. Second, it is not always easy to distinguish voluntary from forced displacement.

For drylands with low inherent levels of biological productivity, coping with climate change presents particular problems. The world’s drylands cover over 40 % of the global terrestrial area and house more than 2 billion inhabitants MEA, (2005). The world’s poorest people live in these areas and they will be hit hardest by the adverse effects of climate change. The effects will manifest themselves not through increased temperatures per se but rather via changes in hydrological cycles characterised by both increased droughts and paradoxically, increased risks of flooding.

a vaccine against malaria, responsible for over a million deaths in the world annually, has shown some promise in tackling the disease in Africa. A study conducted in Mozambique showed that

Twenty-one African countries, often referred as the meningitis belt, will be hit by the worst epidemic of the disease by the end of this year's rainy season, said who at an emergency meeting of un

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