Originally published by World Agroforestry Centre. Rural farmers in many parts of the world are already using ‘smart’ agricultural practices like intercropping, agroforestry and rainwater harvesting. But what if those practices benefitted the livelihoods and landscapes of millions more? Climate-smart agriculture, the raft of sustainable agricultural practices designed to help farmers overcome hunger, adapt to […]
Originally published by Yale Environment Review. Financial institutions like banks historically have played a critical role in the face of global challenges, from restructuring industry after World War II to the financing of the industrial revolutions. A new study argues that banks can play a similar role in helping society transition to a low-carbon footprint […]
Earth is in a land degradation crisis. If we were to take the roughly one-third of the world’s land that has been degraded from its natural state and combine it into a single entity, these “Federated States of Degradia” would have a landmass bigger than Russia and a population of more than 3 billion, largely […]
We may be what we eat, but our dietary choices also affect the health of the environment, and farmers’ back pockets. Energy and water use, native habitat cut down for crops and grazing, and emissions that exacerbate climate change, are just some of the profound effects agriculture has on Earth. And, there are more and […]
Originally published by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. Current agricultural interventions will only deliver 21-40% of target, indicating need for transformative technical and policy options. The Paris Agreement, signed in 2016 by 177 countries and counting, indicates a global commitment to limiting climate change to 2°C. In parallel to […]
Soya: a hot commodity The soya industry is booming across the world. Since April 2011 the global production of soya has risen 35% in response to widespread demand for the hardy, protein-rich bean. It may come as a surprise to some that it is a common ingredient in chocolate and soap, in addition to its […]
Most people want to do the right thing in life. But sometimes doing what’s right can be costly or inconvenient. So additional incentives are needed to encourage good behavior. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the palm oil industry. Producing palm oil sustainably requires producers to, among other things, reduce biodiversity loss and deforestation, […]
Conservationists and environmental scientists are used to bad news. So when there’s some really good news, it’s important to hear that as well. While the battle is far from over, there has been a series of breakthroughs in the long-running battle to protect the imperilled Leuser ecosystem in northern Sumatra, Indonesia – the last place […]
Integrated planning for sustainable development gets more complicated as you move toward population centers, but it also gets more critical. Last year at the 12th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Degradation, I heard a number of examples, especially during a series of side events held in the Rio Conventions Pavilion, of […]
A year has passed since an inception workshop was held in Addis Ababa to economically value Ethiopia’s forests. Now a validation workshop has ushered in the final phase of the initiative. The full studies are expected to be launched in June at a high-level event. The validation workshop, opened by H.E. Ato Kebede Yimam, State […]
Man-made climate change and large-scale alteration of the landscape are affecting the planet and the ecosystem services upon which humans depend. These alterations include loss of forests that were once large carbon sinks, loss of pollination services provided by bees, loss of ecosystem resilience in the face of natural disasters, and many others. While ecologists […]
Your parents were wrong: money does grow on trees. Cities routinely rake up tens of millions of dollars from their urban forests annually in ways that are not always obvious. Leafy canopies lower summer air conditioning bills, but more shade also means less blade to maintain thousands of acres of grass. Health-wise, trees contribute to […]
By Meghna Krishnadas. Originally published by Yale Environment Review. South-east Asia hosts some of the world’s most biodiverse forests. In addition to their spectacular species richness, many of these forests also provide vital ecosystem services related to carbon storage, climate regulation, water security, and soil health. However, global market forces coupled with a strong push […]
Just as the world gets to grips with the urgency of limiting global warming to beneath 2°C, the official UN body charged with climate science (the IPCC) has been charged with understanding potential impacts if temperatures rise 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and how we might limit emissions to stay beneath this threshold. For those familiar […]
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the centre of the world’s decades-long palm oil boom. Between them the two countries have planted more than 15 million hectares of oil palm, employ about 4 million workers, and produce 84% of the world’s palm oil. It is the biggest and fastest rural transformation the countries have seen. Palm […]
