Legal And Institutional Aspects Of Urban And Peri Urban Forestry And Greening

Overall, urban and peri-urban forestry and greening (UPFG) receives little interest on political agendas despite its importance to society in terms of the social, economic, aesthetic and environmental benefits. This is even more problematic in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. This publication explores the legal and institutional issues related to UPFG on a global level, using case studies to illustrate the varied nature of its application and concluding that further efforts are required to improve existing legal frameworks

These guidelines - intended for a global audience of decision-makers, civil servants, policy advisors and other stakeholders - promote urban and peri-urban forests as a way of meeting the needs of cities for environmental services. They will also raise community awareness on the positive contributions that urban and peri-urban forests can make to city life and their essential role in global sustainability.

More than half the world's population now lives in cities. Creating sustainable, healthy and aesthetic urban environments is therefore a major policy goal and research agenda. This comprehensive handbook provides a global overview of the state of the art and science of urban forestry. It describes the multiple roles and benefits of urban green areas in general and the specific role of trees, including for issues such as air quality, human well-being and stormwater management. It reviews the various stresses experienced by trees in cities and tolerance mechanisms, as well as cultural techniques for either pre-conditioning or alleviating stress after planting. It sets out sound planning, design, species selection, establishment and management of urban trees. It shows that close interactions with the local urban communities who benefit from trees are key to success. By drawing upon international state-of-art knowledge on arboriculture and urban forestry, the book provides a definitive overview of the field and is an essential reference text for students, researchers and practitioners.

Integrated coastal management (ICM) is widely accepted throughout the world as the best approach to dealing with coastal issues. The 1990s saw a proliferation of legislative reform processes worldwide. This aimed at supporting the implementation of ICM. Despite many international environmental treaties, declarations and other promises of action, the quality of coastal environments continues to deteriorate while the demand for coastal resources has increased in most of the world. This publication, in its practical guidance, will be especially valuable to anyone involved in the development, drafting or implementation of a legal or institutional framework to promote ICM. It is enhanced by illustrative examples from a range of countries that are at various stages of developing and implementing legislation to promote ICM.

Women constitute a large portion of the economically active population engaged in agriculture. International instruments on human rights, the environment and sustainable development reaffirm the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sex or gender. Yet women often face gendered obstacles in realizing their rights and feeding their families. The right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, may thus not be fulfilled. These obstacles may stem from directly or indirectly discriminatory norms or from entrenched socio-cultural practices, or both. This study analyses the gender dimension of agriculture-related legislation in a selection of different countries around the world, examining the legal status of women in three key areas: rights to land and other natural resources; rights of women agricultural workers; and rights concerning women's agricultural self-employment activities, ranging from women's status in rural cooperatives to their access to credit, training and extension services.

In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the need for sound regulatory frameworks for bioenergy. Faced with high petroleum and natural gas prices, and increasingly aware of climate change and environmental concerns, many countries are implementing national policies and legislation to encourage bioenergy production and use. These developments stem from the desire to achieve energy security and self-sufficiency, the need to reduce reliance on foreign fossil fuel reserves and the hope of providing increased trade opportunities for some agricultural commodities. Land use, and the competing needs of energy and food security are key issues in the bioenergy debate. International and national regulatory frameworks will have to establish clear guidelines for the sustainable development of the bioenergy industry. This paper aims to stimulate discussion on the elements of appropriate national legal frameworks for bioenergy, particularly in developing countries. It provides legislators and policy-makers with a tool to assist in identifying areas of law which may affect bioenergy regulation, and in designing key elements of national bioenergy laws.

Rev. ed. of: Mountains and the law / A. Villeneuve, A. Castelein, M.A. Mekouar for the Development Law Service, FAO Legal Office. 2002.