Farmers struggle to combat uncertain climate issues while encountering pressure on conventional farming practices that lead to carbon emissions, water and soil pollution, and other environmental harms. A growing body of literature investigated circular economy and sustainable practices to support environmental-friendly agriculture activities while providing opportunities for farmers to improve their farm income. Therefore, a study synthesizing previous literature while identifying actual policy to boost farmers’ implementation of sustainable agriculture is worthwhile. Using the Systematic Literature Review analysis, this paper aims to identify farmers’ views on climate change adaptation and mitigation, challenges in implementing circular economy and sustainable practices, and policies to support farmers’ transition toward sustainable agriculture in developed and developing countries. We found that (1) farmers’ awareness of climate change, knowledge and skills are prominent for adapting and mitigating climate change in both types of countries, (2) farmland size, risks of income loss, and training and extension services influenced farmers’ adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate change in developing countries, (3) farmers in both types of countries experienced uncertainty in economic profits and legislative issues when adopting sustainable practices, while farmers in developing countries issued significant up-front expenses to acquire technology to adopt sustainable practices, (4) financial access and incentives through policy can be valuable to develop sustainable livelihoods, especially for farm households.

The destructive impacts of oil exploitation on the natural environment, which the inhabitants of the Niger Delta depend on for their livelihood, pose major threats to food security. Environmental damage alienates the local people from their ancestral lands and erodes their sources of livelihood. This study examines the effect of oil exploitation on the local people's access to sufficient, safe and culturally acceptable food. The study is based on data collected through interviews with key informants and Focus Group Discussions in the oil communities in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States. Environmental and livelihood sustainability are intricately interconnected. They have significant implications for food security of people in the oil-rich region. Nutritional adequacy is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for food security because cultural acceptability is also required. This study addresses the interplay between these factors and their implications for household food security in the Niger Delta.

The ‘livestock revolution’ has seen the lives and livelihoods of peri-urban peoples increasingly intertwine with pigs and poultry across Africa in response to a rising demand for meat protein. This ‘revolution’ heralds the potential to address both poverty and nutritional needs. However, the intensification of farming has sparked concern, including for antibiotic misuse and its consequences for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These changes reflect a micro-biopolitical conundrum where the agendas of microbes, farmers, publics, authorities and transnational agencies are in tension. To understand this requires close attention to the practices, principles and potentials held between these actors. Ethnographic research took place in a peri-urban district, Wakiso, in Uganda between May 2018 and March 2021. This included a medicine survey at 115 small- and medium-scale pig and poultry farms, 18 weeks of participant observation at six farms, 34 in-depth interviews with farmers and others in the local livestock sector, four group discussions with 38 farmers and 7 veterinary officers, and analysis of archival, media and policy documents. Wide-scale adoption of quick farming was found, an entrepreneurial phenomenon that sees Ugandans raising ‘exotic’ livestock with imported methods and measures for production, including antibiotics for immediate therapy, prevention of infections and to promote production and protection of livelihoods. This assemblage – a promissory assemblage of the peri-urban – reinforced precarity against which antibiotics formed a potential layer of protection. The paper argues that to address antibiotic use as a driver of AMR is to address precarity as a driver of antibiotic use. Reduced reliance on antibiotics required a level of biosecurity and economies of scale in purchasing insurance that appeared affordable only by larger-scale commercial producers. This study illustrates the risks – to finances, development and health – of expanding an entrepreneurial model of protein production in populations vulnerable to climate, infection and market dynamics.

The relationship between the socio-economic status of working equine owners and the welfare status of their animals is yet to be documented. The aim of this study was to provide an approach to understanding socio-economic status, quality of life and working aspects of working horse owners, in order to establish their social vulnerability index and to determine how these measures correlate with the welfare state of their horses. Seventy-two owners and their urban working horses (n = 122) were studied. Owners’ socioeconomic and educational status was established together with their quality of life perception and multi-dimensional poverty index. The animal welfare index was constructed using animal-based measures. Whilst over 90% of owners were considered vulnerable, only 28.3% of horses were classified as being in a poor welfare state (eg presence of lesions and morphology not adequate for draught type). There were no significant correlations between owners’ factors and the animal welfare index. We conclude, therefore, that social vulnerability of owners does not necessarily imply that their animals will be in a poor welfare state.

Inaccessibility of veterinary and livestock extension services, and shortages of labour and forage could potentially impact the welfare of yaks (Bos grunniens) in Bhutan. The objective of this study was to assess practices relating to the welfare and management of free-ranging yaks in Bhutan and explore variations between different yak-farming regions. We interviewed herders and observed the behaviour and health status of their animals, using an adaptation of the Welfare Quality® protocol, in three yak-farming regions (east, central and west) of Bhutan between October 2018 and January 2019. In total, for 567 cows and 549 calves, integumentary condition, body cleanliness, ocular and nasal discharge, diarrhoea, signs of damage, and gait were scored. In addition, we assessed 324 cows and 272 calves for avoidance distance and examined 324 cows for subclinical mastitis. The behaviour of the herds was observed in six consecutive 20-min blocks with each block divided into two stages. The first stage (5 min) consisted of counting the number of animals eating, lying down, standing idle and walking. The second stage (15 min) consisted of counting the number of events of agonistic, allogrooming, flehming, self-licking, rubbing/scratching and playing behaviour. Avoidance distance differed between regions for calves, but not for lactating cows. Integumentary lesions, dirty body areas, nasal discharge, ocular discharge, signs of diarrhoea, subclinical mastitis and lameness were virtually absent. A few instances of agonistic behaviour (6% of all counted behavioural events) and flehming behaviour (5% of all counted behavioural events) were observed. Yaks in the central and western regions exhibited more scratching and rubbing behaviour than those in the eastern region. Herders perform a variety of painful management practices (castration, ear tagging, nasal septum piercing) without analgesia, which is a prominent welfare issue. Furthermore, mortality among yaks is relatively high and water sources often dirty, creating a health risk. Nevertheless, the welfare status of yaks living in various regions of Bhutan was assessed as good at the time of visit.

Payments for environmental services have been popularly used in environmental management and an increasing number of studies assesses their contribution to local livelihoods. This study employs propensity score matching with a dataset of 404 indigenous households in the Central Highlands of Vietnam to evaluate the effect of payments for forest environmental services (PFES) on their livelihoods. Participating in PFES increased households' employment and income from activities related to natural forests. Income from PFES allowed households to enhance productive investment and promote income from cultivation activities. All of this, in turn, increased their annual income, job satisfaction, living expenditures, and reduced the amount of any loan. Additionally, PFES enhanced opportunities to participate in training courses and traditional community activities. This confirms that PFES is not only a good initiative for forest management but also a livelihood policy for communities.

We investigated how the socio–political and ecological environment are associated with the conservation management strategies for two rare, endemic and almost identical Australian white-tailed black-cockatoos: Baudin's (Calyptorhynchus baudinii) and Carnaby's black-cockatoo (C. latirostris). Substantially less investment and action has occurred for Baudin's black-cockatoo. Interviews with key informants revealed that this disparity has probably arisen because Baudin's black-cockatoo has long been considered a pest to the apple industry, lives primarily in tall forests and has had little research undertaken on its biology and threats. By contrast, Carnaby's black-cockatoo has been the subject of one of the longest running research projects in Australia, is highly visible within the urban environment and does not appear to affect the livelihoods of any strong stakeholder group. We suggest the social context within which recovery efforts occur could be an important determinant in species persistence. We argue that social research is fundamental to a better understanding of the nature of efforts to conserve particular species, the factors associated with these efforts and their likelihood of success.

Assam is a region in the North–East of India and is known for the different groups of indigenous ducks reared by farmers under traditional systems (Islam et al., 2002). Previous surveys (Mahanta et al., 2001; Islam et al., 2002) have shown that the Pati breed constitute the majority (85.6%) of the duck population in Assam, but has poor egg production, with only 80-90 eggs per duck per year (Islam et al., 2002). In order to improve productivity and profitability from duck farming, a field study was conducted in 2003 in association with the Centre for Advance Studies in Poultry Science, Kerala Agricultural University regarding the duck production system in Kerala. Following this study, Chara-Chemballi ducks from Kerala were introduced by the State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) for feasibility studies and performance evaluation under a range of conditions in Assam. These studies showed that the agro-climatic conditions of Assam are highly suitable for the Chara-Chemballi Ducks. SIRD implemented a special project for rearing Chara-Chemballi ducks by 1600 self help groups (SHGs) especially those involving women, in different districts of Assam. It has been reported that the average annual income from the SHGs involved was increased through back yard duck farming (Anon, 2005-2006). Following the successful implementation of this project for rearing Chara-Cemballi Duck, the Government of Assam has sponsored similar projects with all-women SHGs since 2006. The overall objectives of these projects were to improve the socio-cultural dimensions of poverty and the livelihood of the rural masses, especially women, in a sustainable manner through scientific management of Chara-Chemballi ducks of Kerala. The following paper reviews these projects and the milestones they represent.

Efforts to promote popular participation in forest management in Sub-Saharan Africa have faced many obstacles and disappointments. Although promises of improvements in relation to forest management, rural livelihoods and local enfranchisement have been achieved in some cases, accounts of frustration outnumber those of success. Focusing on participation through democratic decentralization (namely the transfer of meaningful discretionary powers to local representative authorities), this paper reviews recent empirical studies on the outcomes of popular participation in forest management. The implementation of decentralization of forest management, and ecological, livelihood and democracy outcomes are examined, and misconceptions in analyses of decentralized forestry are explored. The expected benefits of democratic decentralization within forestry are rarely realized because democratic decentralization is rarely established. In most cases, local authorities do not represent the local population or their space of discretion is so narrow that they have little effect on management. There is little official local management taking place, even under so-called decentralized or participatory management arrangements. If ever significant space for local discretion under democratic authorities is created, researchers will have the opportunity to study whether democratic decentralization can deliver the theoretically promised positive outcomes. Nevertheless, some cases shed light on effects of local decision making. Three general observations are made on effects of decentralization. First, environmental, livelihood and democracy objectives are not always mutually reinforcing, and under some circumstances they may be at odds. Second, environmental effects of improved forest management often result in benefits accruing to distant or higher-scale aggregate populations, while local communities carry the costs. Third, poor peoples' use of natural resources to maintain their livelihoods often conflicts with profit and revenue interests of local elites, national commercial interests and governments. A negotiated minimum social and environmental standards approach to decentralization of forest management may safeguard essential ecological functions and at the same time protect essential livelihood and economic values of forests at all scales of society. The remainder of decisions, such as how forests are used, by whom and for what, could then be safely placed at the discretion of responsive local representatives.