Deforestation and forest degradation account for 12-15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The largest driver of deforestation is the conversion of land for agriculture, the produce of which is for a large part traded internationally. In the absence of formal regulations, private sector...

Palm oil production is currently the focus of contentious debate. On the one hand, it yields positive socio-economic impacts and can be a powerful engine for rural development. On the other hand, it can generate severe negative impacts regarding ecological and social sustainability....

The cotton sector in different countries of sub-Saharan Africa shows different organisational models, ranging from atomistic competition to monopolistic structures. Each model differs in its type of service provision and purchase agreements offered to smallholder farmers, who are the main...

Le coton est l’une des cultures de rente les plus importantes en Afrique subsaharienne où il est presque exclusivement cultivé par de petits exploitants agricoles. On y dénombre environ 1,7 million de cotonculteurs, qui plantent du coton en rotation avec des cultures vivrières. La plupart...

The concept of sustainable development and the idea of an integrated approach that satisfies the complex linkages between water, energy and land should be part of a post-2015 development agenda. Water, energy and land are essential for many lifesupporting functions and key for satisfying basic...

It was at the climate change conference in Bali in 2007 (COP 13) that developing countries first agreed to initiate “nationally appropriate mitigation actions” (NAMA) in accordance with their respective capacities. At COP 15, in Copenhagen, developing countries submitted emissionreduction...

Auf der Vertragsstaatenkonferenz der Klimarahmenkonvention auf Bali im Jahr 2007 (COP 13) vereinbarten Entwicklungsländer zum ersten Mal nationale Minderungsmaßnahmen (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions, NAMAs). Auf der COP 15 in Kopenhagen legten Schwellenländer erstmals...

Although the need for adaptation to climate variability and change is increasingly recognized, identifying and implementing adaptation options on the ground still presents a challenge. Especially for Africa, which is regarded as being particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability...

Palm oil production is currently the focus of much contentious debate. On the one hand, palm oil production has a substantial, positive (socio-) economic impact in countries which produce it, like Indonesia, and is a powerful engine of rural development. On the other hand, palm oil production...

Climate change will have increasingly negative impacts on agricultural activities through fluctuations – and in many world regions a permanent reduction – in crop yields. Through their direct dependence on agriculture, smallscale farmers in developing countries are hit particularly hard by...