Climate-smart agriculture, including agroforestry and other diversified farming practices, has huge potential to improve food security and address climate change at the same time. Researchers, policymakers and farmers discuss what should be done to expand such practices and bring greater benefits to more people. The global population is estimated to jump from 7 billion to […]
On my most recent visit to Rwanda, it was evident that farmers there are beginning to do well. I have visited the country on a number of occasions over the past ten years, and each time I am impressed to see significant improvements in the lives of ordinary people. With average annual agricultural growth rates […]
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 […]
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 […]
Women make up approximately half of the world’s farmers, but there is massive inequity between male and female farmers—especially in the developing world. These inequities are most pronounced in terms of women lacking equal access to and control over productive resources. To address this ‘gender gap’ in agriculture, there are numerous NGOs, multilateral agencies, and […]
Urban agriculture is widely promoted as the solution to the growing problem of urban food insecurity in South Africa and in Africa more broadly. It is said to provide livelihoods and social cohesion, and have environmental benefits. But it’s also promoted as having additional food security benefits. It is the primary, and usually the only, […]
There is a lot of buzz in the global development community about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—the pledges to cut poverty, hunger, and malnutrition while protecting the planet—signed by 193 countries. This commitment will guide global action over the next 15 years, promising to leave no one behind. But we already risk overlooking one important […]
E.F. Schumacher, an economist who founded Practical Action, wanted to help expand aid programs through technology. Fueled by the idea of developing and promoting appropriate technology to reach a greater segment of the underprivileged population of the world, he published an article in The Observer, on August 29, 1965 titled “How to help them help themselves.” […]
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, […]
Put yourself for a moment in the shoes of a small-scale farmer in rural Mozambique. Two weeks before harvest, a massive flood wipes out your entire maize crop. You had been counting on this harvest for most of your annual income and much of your food. What would you do? How would you cope? When […]
What do cucumbers, mustard, almonds and alfalfa have in common? On the surface very little. But there is one thing they share: they all owe their existence to the service of bees. For centuries, this tiny striped helper has labored the world’s fields without winning much recognition for its many contributions to food production. Wild […]
Joseph Zulu never uses the term “climate-smart agriculture,” even as he proudly points out the fertilizer trees he planted between rows of crops on his field in Zambia’s eastern province. But whether he uses the term or not, Zulu is a wonderful example of how climate-smart agriculture can be incorporated into traditional farming environments. Fertilizer […]
Food security can’t wait and neither can decisive action on climate change FAO reported in its publication “State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015” last June that the number of hungry people has dropped to 12.9%. This is certainly good news, but at the same time, the absolute numbers are still staggering; 795 million […]
Written by Gabrielle Kissinger (Consultant, UNEP) with input from Ivo Mulder (REDD+ Economics Advisor, UNEP) and Johan Kieft (Green Economy Advisor, UNORCID) UN-REDD Programme This brief corresponds to the session: ‘Changing agricultural fiscal policies to stimulate sustainable economic growth, food production, and reduced deforestation‘ happening at the Global Landscapes Forum, 11.30 – 13.00, Sunday, 6 December, […]
The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015 in New York. They replace the Millennium Development Goals which have achieved substantial changes in some, but not all areas. The 17 SDGs and 169 targets were developed in a process of consultations involving governments, civil society and many […]
