Bamboo and rattan bring a wealth of practical options, but countries are not tapping into the many economic-environmental benefits of these strategic forest resources. A new global initiative will address this, providing a knowledge base of practical information, tools and policy guidance designed to help countries meet their sustainable development goals and develop green economies. […]
The world’s tropical forests are in trouble, confirm new satellite-based data from the University of Maryland and Google, and released today on Global Forest Watch. The world lost more than 18 million hectares (45 million acres) of tree cover—an area twice the size of Portugal—in 2014. Tropical countries lost 9.9 million hectares (24.5 million acres) […]
In June I attended the Global Landscapes Forum: The Investment Case meeting in London. Many good ideas were shared, networks strengthened and many new contacts for our company Nature Services Peru made. But overall, the meeting left me worried. Worried about the growing disconnect between financiers and the 100 million+ land use projects they are […]
Side event: Toward a roadmap for sustainable landscapes investments at scale — Inputs from forestry science The capital is ready. The project ideas are there. It’s time to scale up. Don’t miss out on this side event at FAO World Forestry Congress in Durban: On the 9th of September, from 12:45 until 14:15 in the 11CDE […]
In Spanish the word for politics and policy is the same – ‘política’ – reminding us that policy is always political. Although in Spanish the adjective ‘pública’ can be added to distinguish the senses that English tries to maintain, it can serve us well to focus on their overlapping meanings. There is no policy truly […]
A growing number of producers, traders and retailers have over the past few years made zero-deforestation pledges aiming to decouple production of palm oil, soy, beef and other commodities from deforestation impacts. The financial sector, however, has largely remained absent even though it is an important stakeholder as capital is a fundamental component of agricultural […]
Forget about finding the needle in the haystack. An even more complicated task might be counting all the hay on the farm. A new study documents the results of just such a search, undertaken across the globe, to count the number of tree species found in the planet’s tropical forests. By the authors’ estimate—all 143 […]
Farming and ranching remain the main drivers of deforestation in Brazil, a new study from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) has found. But any new government policy to combat the problem may be undermined by lack of coordination and communication, says one of the study’s authors, Monica Di Gregorio, a senior CIFOR associate. […]
With the world’s appetite for chocolate at an all-time high, producers are looking for new places to grow cacao—the raw ingredient in cocoa and chocolate. Some are turning to South America, where satellite images show one cacao plantation encroaching dramatically on the Amazon rainforest. Historically, much of the world’s cacao has come from West Africa, […]
The Amanalco Valle Bravo Basin in central Mexico provides vital water and forest resources to millions of people. But recently the land has suffered due to population pressures and unplanned development. CCMSS has built the capacity of 1,500 families of smallholder farmers for sustainable agriculture and forestry management over 15,200 hectares. They also are piloting […]
A study published last year indicates the potential for the growth in livestock production and demand in Africa to contribute greatly to the continent’s employment and economy as well as to the resilience and productivity of its many livestock keepers. David Nabarro, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Food Security and Nutrition and […]
This past April, a team of ecosystem management practitioners came together in Nairobi, Kenya. Their mission? To put the Ecosystem Management of Productive Landscapes project on the map. Demand for food, energy, and fiber is projected to increase 40-60%, a strain on industry and agriculture that will also be exacerbated by stresses from climate change. Considering the future of […]
The latest episode of the Thrive podcast takes a close look at the ground beneath our feet. Soil, on which terrestrial life depends, is often ignored precisely because it is everywhere and yet invisible. Healthy soils contribute so much to human well-being, from nutritious food to clean water, and yet the soils of more than […]
BOGOR, Indonesia – Indonesia’s mangroves are a massive storehouse of carbon and a key bargaining chip for the country in the upcoming climate change negotiations in Paris, according to the authors of a new study published in Nature Climate Change. “Indonesian policymakers should see protecting and sustainably managing mangroves as a potential solution for climate […]
SAMPLES is a framework which aims to fill the gap in current greenhouse gas emissions monitoring in tropical developing countries. Climate change is a hot topic in Paris this year. The City of Light not only hosted the Our Common Future Under Climate Change science conference in June, it will also be anchoring the United […]
