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 ...
Read the Whole Story
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 ...
Read the Whole Story
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 ...
Read the Whole Story
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 […] ...
Read the Whole Story
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 [… ...
Read the Whole Story
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 […] ...
Read the Whole Story
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 […] ...
Read the Whole Story
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 […] ...
Read the Whole Story
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 ...
Read the Whole Story
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 ...
Read the Whole Story
