PLECserv is a free electronic list managed by Harold Brookfield and Helen Parsons. Its objective is to inform the scientific and professional community concerned with rural development and conservation in smallholder farming regions of the developing world, by calling attention to recent publications, new research methodology, and developments in agrobiodiversity, in the study of farmer innovation and farmers' technical knowledge, and in development practice and thinking generally.

Although the United Nations University (UNU) and the Australian National University (ANU) sponsor the list, the content of the messages sent out reflects only the views of the authors of the original research and the list managers. They are not the official views of UNU or ANU as institutions.

We will send out about two messages per month. Each message includes a summary in about 400-600 words of some recent research or other document, with information on how to obtain single personal copies of the document and/or contact its author. Recipients are reminded that subsequent preparation of multiple copies, for example for use by students, requires the prior permission of the copyright holder, commonly the journal in which the article was first published. We do not post announcements about meetings, job opportunities, or institutional issues. We try to maintain a balance with regard to topic and geographical region covered.

This is not a discussion list. It is a channel to help keep you informed about research relevant to work among the small farmers in the developing world. Interesting dialogues may develop between list members and the authors of the documents discussed, but we do not post these dialogues.

We wish to get your feedback about the list serve itself, and your suggestions with regard to documents that we should promote. Please send them to the list managers (Harold Brookfield at hbrook@coombs.anu.edu.au and Helen Parsons at hpar@coombs.anu.edu.au ).

Harold Brookfield and Helen Parsons are Co-Editors of the PLECserv for United Nations University (UNU) Project on People, Land Management and Ecosystem Conservation (UNU/PLEC), and Visiting Fellows at Department of Anthropology, Division of Society and Environment, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University (ANU). For further information on the UNU/PLEC project, please visit the project home page at http://www.unu.edu/env/plec/ All issues of the project periodical, PLEC News and Views (half-yearly since 1993), can be accessed through this page. For further information on the Department of Anthropology, RSPAS, ANU, please visit the Department home page at http://rspas.anu.edu.au/anthropology/