Building on data that is more comprehensive and reliable than ever before, covering 234 countries and territories, the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 shows encouraging signs of improved forest management and a global slowdown in deforestation. However these trends need to be strengthened, especially in countries that are lagging behind.

This book is intended to support the forestry institutions in the tropical countries in the planning, assessment and systematic observation of forests required to fulfill their obligations as laid in international conventions such as the CBD and UNFCCC. Following the Rio Conference, a number of countries, donors and international organizations have implemented capacity-building projects with varying degrees of success. One main reason for the varying success rates seems to lie in the design of technical assistance programs, which have been formulated on the traditional lines of mainly generating forest resources information or transferring technology; whereas Agenda 21 requires fundamental changes in countries’ institutions and approaches to planning and implementing the conservation and sustainable development of forests through a process of continuing research and analysis. The book is intended to serve the basic needs of national planning strategies and international and donor support.

This book proposes a comprehensive conceptualization of policy integration and negotiates pertinent theoretical, methodological and applied issues from the perspective of selected EU policies - rural development, regional development, transport, social, economic, environmental, water resources, and biodiversity policy.

There have been significant changes to farming and forestry, and new strategies for agriculture, forestry and biodiversity have been launched. The influence of farming and forestry on Scotland's landscapes is seen as increasingly important, and new access rights have been put in place by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. Although these changes bring uncertainty and challenges, they also bring a major opportunity to move decisively towards integrating landscape, biodiversity and recreational objectives in land management. This book takes stock of the changes taking places and considers a number of case studies, which together suggest that progress is being made, looks ahead at future research and advisory needs, and highlights some key challenges to achieving better integration in the future.