A healthy ecosystem can provide a variety of crucial services for public goods, such as clean water, nutrient cycling, climate regulation and food security — services that contribute directly or indirectly to human well-being. Yet today, many ecosystems are in decline; this is of particular importance to agriculture, which depends on ecosystem services. Loss of healthy ecosystems will seriously affect the production of food, both today and in the future. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) is an economic instrument designed to provide positive incentives to users of agricultural land and those involved in coastal or marine management. These incentives are expected to result in continued or improved provision of ecosystem services, which, in turn, will benefit society as a whole.

Land Tenure Working Paper 20. This document presents an overview of the distinctive features of communal tenure in different community-based land and natural resource management systems. Two models of communal tenure are presented in the paper; these models differ in terms of the function of the state, the length of tenure and the characteristics of the resource system concerned.

In this issue, we discuss the Global Bioenergy Partnership and the important work it is undertaking – in collaboration with governments and international organizations - to establish sustainability indicators for bioenergy projects. We also report on the Food for the Cities Initiative, an integrative approach to coordinating FAO’s activities in urban and peri-urban areas and sharing best practices with other international and civil society organizations. Finally, we introduce the new water report: Climate change, water and food security.

This volume demonstrates the possibility of harmonizing agricultural production

with the wellbeing of the biosphere – and that this can be achieved in Africa, our biosphere’s least developed continent, and the continent which is likely to suffer most from climate change. The work presented in this volume stems from a Conference on Ecological Agriculture held in Ethiopia in 2008. Through the discussions held during this Conference and field visits to Tigray, a region struck by hunger in the eighties and largely food secure today, participants shared insights on Africa’s potential for intensifying its agriculture through a better use of natural resources and ecosystem services.

In assessing the anticipated impacts of climate change on agriculture and agricultural water management, it is clear that water availability (from rainfall, watercourses and aquifers) will be a critical factor. Substantial adaptation will be needed to ensure adequate supply and efficient utilization of what will, in many instances, be a declining resource.