This book creates a scientific base for the development and testing of sustainable production and land use systems in ecologically fragile and economically disadvantaged mountainous regions in Southeast Asia; to develop concepts for rural institutions that can reduce rural poverty and food insecurity, and improve livelihoods in mountainous regions in Southeast Asia; and to explore methods for analyzing complex ecosystems and their interactions with the socio-cultural, economic and institutional environment.

The SFB 564 "Research for Sustainable Land Use and Rural Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia" (also known as "The Uplands Program") is a long-term collaborative research program, cooperating with 9 universities and research institutes from Thailand, Vietnam and Germany. The objectives of The Uplands Program are (i) to create the scientific base for developing and testing sustainable production and land use systems with increased productivity in ecologically fragile and economically disadvantaged mountainous regions in Southeast Asia; (ii) to develop concepts for rural institutions that can contribute to a sustainable reduction of rural poverty and food insecurity, and (iii) to advance methods for analyzing complex ecosystems and their interactions with the socio-cultural, economic and institutional environment. The research activities integrate the priorities of stakeholders involved in the management of natural resources and in rural development processes. Participation, sustainability and interdisciplinarity are central components in The Uplands Program