Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) as predators of many pests and weeds in every crop are significant elements of integrated pest management. Worldwide studies show that ground beetles reflect different soil tillage methods, crop rotation, chemical and genetic pollution, usage of fertilizers and landscape fragmentation. All these factors are the parameters based on which it is possible to assess agriculture whether it is sustainable or not. Ground beetles also can indicate different farming systems and potentially serve as keystone indicators of pest abundance. Thus ground beetles can be good indicators of sustainable agriculture, but rove beetles have a good potential to do it. Researches on crop dwelling ground beetles and rove beetles have been done infrequently in Latvia. Mainly these are faunistic studies not paying attention to agricultural environmental factor effect to ground beetles and rove beetles. For using ground beetles and rove beetles as indicators of sustainable agriculture in Latvia, studies on these beetles reaction to different farming activities should be done. These studies must occur in different crops and different places of country, because ground beetle and rove beetle reflection to changes of agricultural environmental factors may be crop- and site - or even field-specific. Overview of literature on ground and rove beetles’ ecology in agroecosystems recorded in Latvia, other European countries and Northern America has been used for this study.

The research paper discusses the growing importance of rural tourism and community based development as a means of sustainable regional development. Growing number of international visitors in Georgia, as well as high agriculture dependence of local population, requires the Government to have a clear long-term strategic vision for tourism and rural development policies. Understanding of the local community role in the sustainable tourism development will enhance the decentralization processes. Experience of developed countries like Italy and German, Check republic, New Zealand, etc. shows that in the wake of the emergence of rural tourism, many countries changed and harmonized policies that reflected modification in national regulations and development strategies. The Georgia’s favorable climate and soil have historically shaped agriculture one of its most productive economic sectors. Nevertheless, nowadays the sector does not provide favorable economic benefits to the local population. As a promising component, research paper identifies rural tourism as a central stimulator for agriculture sector adding strength to a traditional poor rural economy. Analysis of various existing policy initiatives in Georgia shows urgent need for harmonization of policy documents and local community involvement.

Vietnam aims to transform its food systems in a transparent, responsible and sustainable manner. To help achieve this, the new CGIAR research initiative “Sustainable Healthy Diets through Food Systems Transformation” (SHiFT) is working with the emerging multi-stakeholder platforms in the country in order to support the planning and implementation of specific activities. This article demonstrates success already achieved.

Unlike Southeast Asia and the Amazon regions, where large-scale agricultural operations play an important role, most of the deforestation in the Congo basin is attributed to smallholder agriculturalists using extensive slash-and-burn techniques. Improved rural livelihoods are the key to poverty reduction and sustainability of landscape mosaics at the forest-agriculture interface of the Congo basin region. The issue has become more complex with globalisation and the situation therefore calls for an innovative approach that would look at trade offs between sustainability and productivity growth. On this basis, a collaborative partnership uniting research institutes, non-governmental organisations and universities members of the Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn national Consortium in Cameroon work with local communities to identify and develop policy, institutional and technological land-use options that can improve rural livelihoods while preserving the country's remaining forests. During the first three Phases of the programme (1994 to 2003), the global objective has been to: characterise and evaluate existing land use systems; modify or develop alternative technologies to the practice of slash-and-burn cropping system; identify, assess and design policy tools and mechanisms through which they could be implemented with the aim of protecting the environment by reducing the rate of deforestation. So far, the Project main outputs include: baseline environmental, agronomic, economic, and social datasets compiled and assessed in 6 landscape mosaics of the Forest Margin Benchmark; different resource management options for increased productivity of annual crop-based systems, perennial crop-based systems, and community-managed natural resource systems tested with farmers in the benchmark area; integrative landscape-level models and participatory community action methodologies developed; local capacity built in the use and interpretation of the models and methodologies and their outputs/outcomes; and mechanisms for policy formulation and dialogue improved at the local, provincial and national levels, targeting landscape mosaic and natural resources management.From the ASB experience, it is concluded that there is no single ‘best bet' solution to rural poverty alleviation at the forest-agriculture interface of Congo basin region. Only by integrating technology development, policies and institutional innovation can the question “are sustainable landscape mosaics feasible at the forest-agriculture interface in the Congo Basin region?” be addressed objectively.