This study has benefited from a large number of background documents prepared by several scientific institutes and not-affiliated individuals. Contributors to these background reports include Drs. D. Barton, M.A. Conroy, R. Crawshaw, All. Frost, M. Gill, C.R.C. Hendy, U. Kleih, C. O'Reilly, M. Phillips, L. Reynolds, D. Thomas, and R.T. Wilson, of the Natural Resources Institute of the UK; Drs. V. Bruzon, M. Carrière, P. D'Aquino, P. Lhoste, A. Le Masson, J.M. Pierre, and B. Toutain of CIRAD-EMVT of France; Drs. J.F.F.P. Bos, P.J. Brandjes, J. De Wit, L.W. Hulshoff Pol, J.C.M. Jansen, A.J. Nell, H.G. van der Meer, H. Van Keulen, L.A.H.M. Verheijen, P.T. Westra and D. Wiersema of the International Agricultural Center of the Netherlands; Dr. M. Gibbs of the ICF Incorporated of the United States; Drs. R. Conner, W. Hamilton, D. Sheehy, J. Simpson, and J. Stuth of the Grazingland Management Systems Inc. of the United States; Drs. S. Bauer, J.-P. Abresch, A. Schmidt, J. Steinbach, and C. Willeke-Wetstein, of the University of Giessen, Germany; Carlos Sere; and E.P. Cunningham.
This report has been prepared by a Coordinating Group of the Steering Committee for this Study composed of Cees de Haan (Chair of the Steering Committee, World Bank), Henning Steinfeld (Implementing Agency for the Study, FAO) and Harvey Blackburn (USAID).
Background material was prepared by Clare Narrod (World Bank) and Takuo Sukigara (FAO) and editorial work was undertaken by Christine Ellefson-Tavella (FAO).
Detailed reviews were carried out by a specialized peer review group with Mike Young (CSIRO), C. Ford Runge (University of Minnesota) and Peter Oram (IFPRI, Washington D.C.), in a workshop held as an associated event of the 4th Annual World Bank Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Development in Washington D.C. on September 27 and 28, 1996. The Study was guided by the Steering Committee composed of the representatives of the sponsoring agencies, which, in addition to the Coordinating Group, included Flemming Winther Olsen (Denmark), Michael Dale and Amos Tincani (EU), Christophe Crépin and Laurent Bonneau (France), Hermann Grell and Annette von Lossau (GTZ, Germany), Henri Jorritsma (Netherlands), Guy Freeland (ODA, United Kingdom) Joyce Turk (USAID, USA), Mark Orlic (USEPA, USA) and Ahmed Sidahmed (IFAD).
However, the analysis and conclusions are those of the main authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the reviewers, the donors and the collaborating institutes.
Cover photograph by J. Van Acker, WFP from an Egyptian tomb painting.
All pictures supplied by FAO with the exception of the photographs which appear on pages 9, 41 and 49 which were taken by Michael Pickstock/WRENmedia.
Designed and produced by WRENmedia, Fressingfield, Eye, Suffolk, IP21 5SA, United Kingdom.