Such people, land-rich but cash-poor, may now submit their credits to the state treasury for a full cash refund whenever the state budget is in surplus.

ECONOMIST: Clever ways to save land in the newly populous West

Of course perennially land-rich and cash-poor Chesapeake was seeking to talk up its book at the time it was negotiating joint ventures, but that vast discrepancy between the values that the company was touting to shareholders in its presentations compared with ultimate deal realizations should just reiterate how little credibility McClendon has with investors.

FORBES: Chesapeake Settles For Less Than Expected In $1B Deal With Sinopec

"Our first fear is that the Bureau of Land Management has such a poor history of land management, " said Scott Silver, director of the Oregon-based Wild Wilderness organization.

CNN: Nature - Babbitt pushes land protection initiative

Surrounded by Serbian territory and land mines, and only linked to Bosnia by a long and poor-quality road, Gorazde stands on its own, unfairly forgotten by its fellow countrymen.

UNESCO: Culture

This began in 1993 when the city government sold 16 acres of land to a private health-care company for a hospital to serve a poor area in the west of Mexico City.

ECONOMIST: A big step backward for a still-uncertain democracy

In 16 poor countries, 55% of female-headed households own land, but 64% of male-headed ones do.

ECONOMIST: Women and jobs

In many poor countries the number of mobile users has overtaken the number of land-line users in less time than it takes to get a land line installed.

ECONOMIST: The digital revolution is helping the poor, too

Conservationists say there are long-term benefits to the poor if they conserve the forests, as the land retains water and nutrients.

BBC: Lemur

On tiny plots, and often poor-quality soil, without modern equipment or farming methods, and sometimes beset by land disputes, many peasant farmers struggle to feed their family and grow just a little extra to sell in the village market.

ECONOMIST: The problems of plugging a square economy into a round world