A shift towards monoculture plantations and higher chemical use is of great concern to many in the Mekong region, particularly due to the impact this is having on food security and health. Farmers who have resisted monoculture cropping, and opted to maintain or create mixed-species agroforestry systems, are benefiting from income and food security and […]
There is a sense of haunting to the roar of a lion veiled in darkness. The emphatic “ooooaa!” demands attention as it starts in the abdomen and reverberates through the night air. Its direction and distance are secondary to one’s primordial reaction – a sudden dilation of the pupils and a flare of prickles on […]
Coffee is the drink of choice for millions of us. But the world’s second-most traded commodity originates in Ethiopia – and its home is under threat. Ethiopia isn’t all dusty deserts – far from it. The country also contains rugged highlands and lush, tropical forests. Coffea arabica grows here in its original, wild form. The […]
Before it was on the shelves of Whole Foods, quinoa was being abandoned in most parts of the Andes as an unwanted “food of the poor.” However, the Lake Titicaca region of Peru endured as a hotspot of quinoa cultivation and diversity. Why? According to the Food and Argiculture Organization of the United Nations, quinoa […]
Increasing intensity of human land-use makes ecological communities progressively more similar to one another, leading to an overall loss of diversity. Ecological metrics used to quantify diversity loss could provide helpful conservation benchmarks. How does one estimate biological diversity? Answering this seemingly simple question has occupied many an ecologist’s time. With the rapid rate of […]
Can small protected areas still deliver large benefits for both people and nature? New research from Papua New Guinea demonstrates that locally managed marine areas effectively protect grouper spawning aggregations. And with modest expansions, these protected areas can greatly improve their conservation benefits. Local Protection for Local Benefits Known to the local community as manang, […]
Although continents apart, hunters in the forests of Africa and Latin America can learn from each other’s experiences in wildlife management and the use of bushmeat, according to experts from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). “In both the Congo and the Amazon, millions of people depend on wild species for food, and hunting […]
The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted last month by the UN General Assembly, include goals on ending hunger, promoting good nutrition and health, and making agriculture sustainable. The important contribution of forests in achieving these goals is becoming increasingly evident—and increasingly discussed, as food, land-use and nutrition experts work together to find integrated solutions. On World […]
Three short stories of landscape restoration in the western United States show that restoration can mean a lot more than just planting trees. Sometimes it means cutting trees, setting fires, and unleashing destructive rodents. Perhaps we’d better explain. A chainsaw breaks the peace of a quiet forest in central Oregon. Soon, the crash of a […]
Having our cake and eating it, too: Can we grow more food on the world’s range lands while at the same time conserving the wealth of biodiversity those range land support? Rangelands cover one-quarter of earth’s land mass and they are storehouses of biodiversity. The scrublands of the Southern African Karoo, for example, are estimated […]
