Blog for People, Food and Nature

Editor’s note: After a month of exploring climate change and all its facets in relation to agriculture and land use, it’s clear that the challenges are great but so is the possibility for solutions. At the Global Landscapes Forum mid-month, leaders and experts in the field called for re-visioning agriculture, its mode of development, and […] ...

Landscapes are largely social constructs, their bounds defined not only by natural features but also by human interactions with the landscape. Nor do landscapes respect political or administrative boundaries. These observations contextualized the ensuing discussion at a technical session on governance for integrated landscape management during the Global Landscapes Forum in War ...

By Jessica Thorn, Biodiversity Institute in the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford As the two-week UNFCCC 19th Conference of the Parties (COP19) concluded last week, it’s appropriate to turn our attention to future challenges that climate change will present agriculture and land use. Today’s guest author relays the utility of considering the future for […] ...

Post and graphics by Farming First At the Global Landscapes Forum last weekend, in addition to much clamour over UNFCCC negotiations, there was also discussion of the Sustainable Development Goals under design. While these goals tackle major challenges facing people and the planet, there is concern that more coordination between the goals, and perhaps even […] ...

While the Global Landscape Forum may have passed, only the tip of the iceberg has been scratched in pursuing integrated approaches to sustainable development. One panel discussion at this meeting of landscapes leaders, practioners, and thinkers specifically targeted Landscapes in a Green Economy, drawing out some key insights on how to follow an alternate path to […] ...

Whitney Houston once sang ‘I believe the children are our future.” But when so many places are experiencing the effects of climate change right now, do we really have time to focus on the future? During the first session of the Global Landscapes Forum on youth as the future of sustainable landscapes, Tan Copsey of BBC […] ...

Landscapes are real things in the real world, not theoretical concepts. Integrated landscape management is already happening in thousands of landscapes around the world, and it is having big impacts. We have a lot to learn and do to scale up the approach, and we are here at the Global Landscapes Forum to start working […] ...

As the Global Landscapes Forum kicks off today in Warsaw, there has still been frustratingly little official action on agriculture at the UNFCCC COP19 negotiation just across town. Despite this lack of movement, at COP19 side events held over the past week, the need for something resembling a landscape approach has emerged as a theme […] ...

As negotiators representing many of the world’s nations bargain, cajole, and inveigh in order to keep global temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius, a variety of tools are being leveraged to mitigate climate change and improve the capacity for people globally to adapt to changing conditions. Recent work by EcoAgriculture Partners, CATIE, Conservation [… ...

Heading into COP 19, agriculture was agenda item number 10 for the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA).  Plans were in place for the first-ever SBSTA workshop on agriculture, and it looked as though the Polish National Stadium might be where agriculture finally came in off of the sidelines of the climate change negotiations. […] ...