By Mark Foss, originally published at CIFOR’s Forests News It’s time to get serious about the social dimensions of REDD+ projects, say the authors of a new study. The paper, published recently in the journal Forests, surveys the evolution of multi-level policy frameworks to develop “social safeguards” for REDD+ — an international policy mechanism to offer incentives for developing countries […]
T20Q, a project run by the Evidence-Based Forestry initiative, is calling for people around the world to cast their votes in the project’s second phase, launched on 14 November. The project aims to identify 20 key research and policy questions for forestry and landscapes, as written and selected by the general public, with the goal of […]
At the Global Landscapes Forum’s Youth Session, Ivonne Lobos Alva and Ayesha Constable will be facilitating a discussion on “landscapes and the Post-2015 Agenda.” Global youth are key stakeholders and future leaders of society, and they need to be given the platform and to actively take the opportunity to set up the agenda for the […]
The World Parks Congress 2014 in Sydney, Australia, has drawn attention to the problems of indigenous peoples and protected areas and to the nexus of food security and protected areas. The organizer of the World Parks Congress, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said in a press release that significant work remains to be done, particularly […]
Consumers around the world are expressing high expectations for the quality of products they consume. More than at any other point in history, we prefer goods produced in an ethical and environmentally-friendly fashion. Young people are increasingly likely to consider the “social and environmental ethics of brands”. While consumers demand these standards, actual implementation of […]
By Georgina Smith, originally published at CIAT Wielding a hammer, John Kabola steps back and surveys his day’s work. The quarry cut into the hills of Kenya’s Upper Tana watershed reveals deep layers of earth like a sliced cake. Quarry stones are in demand – the construction industry is thriving. That’s good news for Kabola, […]
At the Global Landscapes Forum’s Youth Session, Laura Schuijers and Raquel Rosenberg will be facilitating a discussion on “implementation of integrated landscapes approaches.” So, what is meant by an integrated landscapes approach? In our view, “integration” needs to target different groups of stakeholders, as well as different environmental, agricultural and development sectors. We’d love to […]
In today’s digital age, social networking is a term we hear constantly. Everyone or almost everyone is a part of some social network (whether they know it or not is another thing). But why are networks so important? What is it about them that makes us tick? And if it’s really all about ‘who you […]
Launched in 2005, UNEP’s Champions of the Earth award recognizes outstanding visionaries and leaders in the fields of policy, science, entrepreneurship, and civil society action whose service to the environment is saving lives, improving livelihoods and bettering environmental governance and conservation. UNEP is a coordinating partner of the Global Landscapes Forum 2014 and will be hosting a […]
Louis Putzel, Senior Scientist for CIFOR’s Forest and Environment program, speaks about the importance of Chinese domestic and international forest policy for the UNFCCC climate negotiations at COP20 in Lima, Peru. In this two-part interview, Putzel explains how China’s own forest conservation measures have led to increasing imports of tropical timber, including from Peru. As […]
This blog by Joan Baxter was originally published at Forests News To the agro-food industry and smallholder farmers in the tropics, it’s a veritable miracle plant. To many NGOs and indigenous groups, it’s a grave threat to land rights and to the environment. So which is it? How can a single plant — the oil […]
By Michelle Kovacevic, originally published at Forests Climate Change Madre de Dios, a region of Peru best known for its gold fever, is not the only place in the country where a piece of land can be classified as a mining concession and farmer’s field at the same time. Millions of hectares of land in Peru are […]
It is a question of putting life into something. Giving agriculture an honourable image, a proud image, something to be proud of, something that you can go to sleep thinking that you have done something good. Kamal Melvani It is difficult not be enchanted by Kamal Melvani’s positive energy. When she says “it is possible”, […]
By Deepak Dhyani of the Society for Conserving Planet and Life, India This blog won the blog competition, the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) organized for its World Congress in October 2014 Hundreds of millions of poor people around the world depend directly or indirectly on forests for their livelihoods and subsistence. There is huge […]
By Zhang Yan, watershed program coordinator at IUCN China, and Aaron Reuben, communications officer at IUCN Originally posted on China Dialogue The time may have come for a new approach to restoring degraded lands in China. The country has many more trees than it did 40 years ago – several million hectares of forest cover have […]
