This report examines a range of business models that can be used to structure agricultural investments in lower- and middle-income countries, and that provide an alternative to large-scale land acquisitions (plantations that are wholly owned by, or on long leases to, investors without inclusion of smallholders or small enterprises in the value chain).

Cost-benefit analysis has important uses

For the rapidly urbanising developing world, safe and affordable water is key to health and livelihoods, as well as meeting the Millennium Development Goals. But providing it demands innovative models. Where the context allows and the approach is

Areas of land and sea are increasingly being marked out for protection in response to various demands: to tackle biodiversity loss, to prevent deforestation as a climate change mitigation strategy, and to restore declining fisheries.

This paper is intended to provide some guidance to the policy-oriented researchers

This paper explores the pros and cons of biomass and the logistics of switching to other fuels in developing countries. Calculations
reveal that there is more than sufficient biomass, not only to maintain present consumption,
but also to expand its use considerably. A principal cause of global warming is the increased
use of fossil fuels.

One of the promises emerging from the confusion of the Copenhagen climate talks focused on climate finance. Ramping up to US$100 billion a year starting in 2020, the promised finance would support developing countries in adapting to climate impacts and adopting low-carbon pathways.

This paper explores the broad contours of climate resilient industrial development paths. It defines development as an increase in local capacities for production and innovation and argues that the overarching goal of development is the generation of sustainable livelihoods.

This report explores the evidence of whether payments for watersheds can be good for ecosystems and for reducing poverty too. It describes what the protagonists in a range of watershed sites around the world have learned in their efforts to set up such payment schemes.

The focus of this special issue is communitybased adaptation to climate change. Its publication is timed to coincide with the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) to be held in December, in Copenhagen, Denmark, and events surrounding it.