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Over the next few years, Tunisia will face a growing scarcity of water. The concept of a food consumption water footprint has been recently applied to expand knowledge about water management and to respond to problems of food insecurity. In this study, following the Water Footprint Network (WFN) method, we assessed and analysed the food consumption water footprint of Tunisian households by geographical location and by group of food products. We used results from national food surveys to collect the quantities of food consumed and the WFN database containing water footprints of food products specific to Tunisia. We found that the average water footprint for the main consumed food groups has increased by 31% during recent decades, from 1208 m3/capita/year in 1985 to 1586 m3/capita/year in 2010. Despite the decline in cereal consumption in Tunisia, the food water footprint has continued to rise as a result of increased consumption of animal source products. This increase is associated with regional variations in food choices that imply large differences in water footprints. Urban diets present higher water footprints than rural diets proportionally to higher standards of living. This study provides a new perspective on the water footprint of food consumption in Tunisia by using dietary data at the household level and demonstrated significant variability in water footprints due to different food consumption modes, and socio-economic and geographic characteristics. Future food consumption trends will likely create more pressure on water resources, especially in Tunis city and coastal areas of Tunisia. Special measures related to price policies, sensitization of consumers, and changes in production systems may have to be taken by policy makers to reduce the water footprint in order to improve food security strategies and water management in Tunisia.

In Tigray, northern Ethiopia, land degradation has generally undermined the environmental goods and services (EGS) those local communities depend on for their livelihoods. Massive sustainable land management programs (SLMP) to restore degraded land have temporarily ceased to be accessible free of charge to communities because human and animal interference were seen as the main drivers of the problem. The SLMP deals with agricultural productivity and land degradation through integrated watershed and landscape management where exclosures are key components. As a result, the expected translation of restoration outcomes into meaningful economic benefits for local communities is critical to the sustainability of the program. The current research deviated from previous studies by focusing on tangible benefits extracted by local communities from exclosures. A survey to understand the actual economic impacts of exclosures on the local communities was conducted in five villages of Tanqua-Abergele district of Tigray. We interviewed 331 households, 43 key informants and five focus groups each composed of 12–16 participants. Regression analysis revealed that the role of household heads in the village, governance and distance to the nearest exclosure were significantly associated with higher contribution of exclosure to household (CEHH) income. While gender showed positive but no significant effect on CEHH income, level of education was significantly against. A binary logistic regression showed that role of household heads in the village, governance system and gender had statistically significant association with higher benefit–cost ratio (BCR). While exposure to several sustainable land management training has positive but no significant effect, education levels were significantly against BCR. Discussions revealed that exclosures brought benefits to the local communities with increased water, enhancement of plant biodiversity and recovery of degraded lands. However, local communities are not making maximum tangible benefits and the contribution to household income is minimal which could counter exclosure expansion and sustainability. Maximizing benefits through designing of new irrigation sites to utilize the increment of water, planned harvest of grass for construction and animal feed, deployment of modern bee hives inside and near exclosures and creation of opportunities to collect wild fruits remain to be crucial.

Range exclosures have been used as a tool to restore degraded communal grazing lands in Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia. Although there seems to be ecological evidence of success in rehabilitation of degraded rangelands in Tigray, there is unclear translation of these achievements into socio-economic benefits. It was hypothesized that this could be partly attributed to poor governance of the range exclosures occasioned by low participation and weak rules. This paper tried to characterize the exclosure governance system in Tigray Region of Northern Ethiopia to understand the key and interconnected exclosure governance elements of public participation and rules at the grass-roots level. Tanqua-Abergele located in the lowlands of Tigray was systematically selected from districts under Sustainable Land Management Programmes (SLMP). Five Tabias were selected from the district for the governance study. Data was collected from 331 surveyed households, 43 Key Informants and 72 Focus Groups. The results of binary logit regression showed that public engagement in exclosure governance was determined by gender, age, training in SLMP, Tabia and administrative role (p< 0.05). Participation of local community during exclosure selection varied significantly with respondents’ administrative roles (p= 0.026), age group (p= 0.001), SLMP training (p< 0.001), and gender (p= 0.007). The main challenges reported to undermine sustainability of the exclosure programme were illegal grazing and encroachment of exclosures. Communities were not adequately involved in decisions on establishment, formulation of bylaws, and benefit distribution. This has led to incidences of forceful access to resources within exclosures, often resulting in conflicts among guards and community members. Institutionalizing exclosure management at village level is necessary to provide ownership and responsibility to the communities and for the sustainability of the rangeland rehabilitation programme.

A study examines Spanish designation of origin (DO) wine consumer behavior by the use of a choice experiment technique based on the four attributes that include designation of origin, price, wine aging, and grape variety. Empirical results indicated the importance of DO and wine aging attributes on wine selection.

The livestock sector plays an important socioeconomic role in the Somaliland economy, particularly through revenues from exports. The partial ban on livestock imports from Somalia imposed by Saudi Arabia due to animal health concerns has resulted in significant negative economic impacts for the government and the value chain actors involved. In previous years, the ban was lifted during the Hajj season to meet the increased demand for sheep and goats. However, given the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Saudi government decided to suspend Umrah visits in 2020 and only allowed a very restricted number of persons to attend the Hajj pilgrimage, thus obviating the need for livestock imports. This study quantified the economic losses associated the current partial livestock ban (started in November 2016) on Somali imports and the added impacts associated with COVID. We estimate that the cumulative losses for the Somaliland livestock sector and the government are US$ 770 million over a five-year period. The additional losses imposed by the COVID pandemic, which restricted participation during the Hajj season, were estimated at US$ 42 million. Livestock producers, who are mainly pastoralists, are the most affected stakeholder group, incurring around 54% of the total losses. Our study highlights the multifaceted, and often overlooked, socio-economic and socio-cultural impacts faced by the livestock sector and general economy in the wake of public health restrictions.