This paper investigates the factors associated with private sector smallholder livestock and the associated income of the poor in the Indian States of Andhra Pradesh. The data used are drawn from the Livelihood Options Study led by the Overseas Development Institute, London, specifically the Census Survey 2001/2 and Panel Survey of early 2005. Poorer households depend disproportionally on livestock. Important changes were noted; the average size of any single species declined considerably in the five year period beginning from 1996/7, the number of farms keeping the species rose in the 1996/7 to 2001/2 period but dropped in the recent 2001/2 to 2003/4 period. The poorer households kept fewer small ruminants and poultry in the latter period but richer households kept more. This might suggest that the technology is shifting towards what the better off can afford like the intensive poultry keeping, and that they have better access to certain resources such as crop residues. On the other hand, policies such as the ban on grazing by goats will also have affected the poor more since they rely on open-grazing methods. Farmers identified shock/stress variables and natural environment as important for the decrease in livestock population. Livestock act as a very real means of smoothing income by allowing debts to be repaid, farm inputs and medical treatment to be purchased, and dowry to be paid. More than 22% of the farmers mentioned disease problems as a cause of the decline in livestock population. This problem needs to be addressed, possibly through public-private partnership arrangements as are being tried in other countries.

Forest is the ecosystem which consists of different related components and fulfils important environmental, economic, and social functions. Each of these components is of particular value in public perception. In the beginning of September, 2007 social research was carried out in Latvia in order to understand the meaning and importance of forest value on the questionnaire base. This survey focuses on how people, whose everyday life is related to forest sector, perceive forest values. The forest values were divided into thirteen factors. To determine the most important forest value, the participants’ answers significance was evaluated basing upon the concordance coefficient and using descriptive statistic methods. The research revealed that despite the multifunctional use of forest the basic value is granted to timber and forest land. As well as respondents were not shown significant differences expressing their opinions when they were divided into different groups (forest owners, forest sector employees and other). Results of the survey have shown that the public in Latvia are not able to value and calculate forest environmental and social functions.

The necessity of the research is to determine by the fact in Latvia there is a strong growth in bank credit to the private sector like in several transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Its implications for macroeconomic development and financial stability can be ambiguous. The aim of the research is to find possible scenarios for positive credit (to private sector) growth implications for macroeconomic development and financial stability in Latvia. Attainment of the objective comprises analysis of available statistical data about Latvia, identification of factors affecting bank credit growth following up some recent researches and modelling scenarios how the credit growth could facilitate further economic development in Latvia. This paper presents only recent trends in bank credit to the private sector in Latvia and evaluates some of the factors affecting these trends. It does not provide updated practical models and scenarios because the research has been started only recently.

Land consolidations in Slovakia are regarded as an instrument for solution of ownership fragmentation in accordance to rural development. In the introduction of this paper, we describe problems in Slovakia associated with the ownership fragmentation. Country, rural areas were significantly influenced by the period of collectivization. The benefits of land consolidation project are shown in a case study area for Kanianka cadastre. We compare ownership relations before and after the land consolidation. Statistical values as number of resolved ownerships by LC, number of plots and average size of plots are shown. New infrastructure, water management and ecological elements are discussed. In conclusion, we give the reason why activities related to land consolidation in Slovakia stagnates despite positive response.