Blog for People, Food and Nature

December 29, 2014

Key to climate adaptation in the Greater Mekong: Practical and participatory vulnerability assessments

Ornsaran Pomme Manuamorn The Greater Mekong Subregion Core Environment Program

How to make science inform policy and actions? This is probably one of the most common questions development organizations are grappling with. This question is particularly relevant for those of us working on climate change adaptation. To make a difference, global and regional climate projections must complement local knowledge to transform local actions. Promoting climate [&he ...
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December 23, 2014

Wrapping up Blog Month on Large-Scale Land Interventions

Eva Fillion EcoAgriculture Partners

The Landscapes for People Food and Nature Initiative Blog, International Center for Tropical Research (CIAT) and the Agriculture and Ecosystems Blog of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) have been investigating the topic of large-scale land initiatives over the past month. Set against the backdrop of two topical sessions at the recent Global Lands ...
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December 23, 2014

Advancing the role of natural regeneration in large-scale forest restoration

Robin Chazdon PARTNERS

The global restoration movement is rapidly galvanizing widespread support from multiple sectors of society. As discussed in a recent blog by Peter Besseau, the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration is leading the way forward with national and subnational assessments of cost-effective restoration opportunities.  Agricultural productivity, rural livelihoods, bio ...
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December 22, 2014

Global agriculture and carbon trade-offs

Krista Heiner EcoAgriculture Partners

By 2050, the United Nations estimates the global population will exceed 9 billion people and world food demand will grow by about 70% from 2000. Agricultural production can be increased through intensification, which reduces the spread of agriculture to new land through increased use of fertilizer, pesticide and water inputs, shorter fallow periods, and improved […] ...
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December 19, 2014

Getting everyone to invest in integrated landscape initiatives

Gabrielle Kissinger Lexeme Consulting

In the Lake Naivasha, Kenya region, lake water levels reached an all-time low in 2009, stirring a crisis and motivating a range of stakeholders to take action. The stress on local ecosystem services was nothing new—water scarcity, deforestation, degraded pastures, and pollution from poor agricultural practices was increasingly apparent, due in part to the population [… ...
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December 17, 2014

Bearing the fruit of action: Gender-responsive participatory research and collective management of Native Fruit Trees

Hugo A. H. Lamers Bioversity International Narasimha Hegde

“For the first time in our village, women of different ethnic and caste groups decided to form a women’s group called Matrabhoomi (Mothers’ land) and started producing kokum juice concentrate. We managed with great success, as the first batch of 350 liters was well received by shopkeepers as a natural product of high quality. Throughout […] ...
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December 16, 2014

Bottom up! Linking local plans to the big picture demands

Nadia Bergamini Bioversity International Camilla Zanzanaini

When we talk about large-scale landscape initiatives, one of the biggest risks is losing out on the detail. How do we continue to take into account the intricate dynamics between people and nature as we go bigger and bigger? Many large-scale initiatives can be quite top-down, while most people living in a landscape see things […] ...
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December 15, 2014

Building Resilience Among the Most Vulnerable Populations

Eva Fillion EcoAgriculture Partners

Whether we like it or not, communities around the world are now in the position of being forced to adapt to the inevitable effects of a changing climate. Sure, reducing emissions and taking similar measures to slow human-driven sources of climate change are still at the forefront of research, but we must also face the […] ...
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December 11, 2014

What is the Socio-Cultural and Economic Value of Mediterranean Mountain Agriculture?

Alberto Bernues Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Traditional agricultural activities have suffered a notorious recession in recent decades in many Euro-Mediterranean regions. This recession originated in changes in the type and intensity of land utilization, such as intensification of the management system, reduction of grazing and abandonment of remote rangeland areas. Consequently, a general process of vegetation encroachme ...
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December 10, 2014

We Cannot Learn from Habitat Restoration without Funding Monitoring

Sacha Jellinek Center of Excellence for Environmental Decisions

Large-scale land interventions such as habitat restoration and revegetation of previously cleared landscapes are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world. In many cases these initiatives seek to protect and where possible increase biodiversity while maintaining agricultural productivity. There are many positives to these projects, such as engaging landholders in habit ...
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