This month, we invite you to participate in the e-consultation on Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources. Following a lengthy regional consultation process, additional input is being requested prior to the drafting of the Zero Draft Guidelines. FAO Headquarters marked World Water Day 2011, examining the urgent need for safe water supplies for the world’s rapidly growing urban populations. Finally, we proudly announce the Chinese-language version of a disaster preparedness project web site, outlining the findings of a two-year project that took place in China’s Juye County. The site is now fully available in English and Chinese.

For the past year, the Voluntary Guidelines Secretariat has been carrying out an extensive consultation process with stakeholders in all the regions. Participants from governments, civil society, private sector, academia and international organizations have provided valuable contributions that have contributed towards the First Draft of the Voluntary Guidelines. The Secretariat is eager to solicit contributions from participants who may not have been able to be present at the regional consultations. For this reason, an e-consultation is being held 18 April – 16 May. Participants are welcome to leave their comments on the e-consultation web site.

The Bioenergy Impact Assessment (BIAS) framework summarizes the major issues related to impact and process based environmental assessments related to bioenergy development and attempts to bring together and evaluate the best available, tested and untested methodologies. It is part of a larger effort of FAO to facilitate decisions at various levels that take their wider impact into consideration, above all their impact on food security and the environment. In an climate of rapid development, many investment and land use decisions have already been taken, often in a vaguely defined policy environment and without due consideration of environmental consequences. This framework is intended as a step towards practical decision making tools and to perhaps serve as a benchmark or reference for new methodologies, other evaluation approaches and for future standards development.