August 4, 2014
Where Are the Monkeys? The Fallacy of Evaluating Conservation from Above the Canopy
By Torsten Krause, Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies Tropical deforestation and forest degradation has made its way into international news headlines and political agendas. The urgency and need to reduce forest loss is clearer than ever before, and many new initiatives are being proposed. Engaging with and tackling the economic drivers of deforestation and [&hel ...
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July 30, 2014
Landscapes as Sources of Traditional, Culturally-Acceptable and Nutritious Food
By Teresa Borelli and Danny Hunter, Bioversity International Good things often come in small packages. Reaching just 10-15 centimeters in length, mola (Amblypharyngodon mola), a small freshwater fish native to South Asia, is packed with vitamin A and plays a star role in the efforts of Bangladesh and World Fish to cut back malnutrition. Aquatic ecosystems abound in Banglade ...
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July 28, 2014
What Influences Farmers’ Land Management Practices to Combat Land Degradation?
By Taryn M. Kong, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona Livestock farmers’ land management practices affect the health and integrity of the landscape, and poor management—such as overgrazing—is often attributed as a cause of land degradation. However, to combat land degradation, policy-makers and scientists need to dig deeper to understand ...
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July 25, 2014
Eco-labels by Locale: Testing ‘Landscape Labels’ to Support Integrated Approaches to Development
Can markets help to support integrated landscape management? How can producers and entrepreneurs benefit from stewarding their landscape and its natural resources? These questions motivated EcoAgriculture Partners and local partner organizations to test a new approach to marketing called “landscape labeling” in two landscapes: Lari, Kenya and Mbeya, Tanzania. Their s ...
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July 21, 2014
Bringing “Nutrition” Back to Agriculture and Food Security
By Margaret McEwan/International Potato Center, Danny Hunter/Bioversity International and Gordon Prain/International Potato Center The African Union declared 2014 to be The Year of Agriculture and Food Security. As researcher-practitioners passionate about agriculture-nutrition linkages and the contribution of agricultural biodiversity to nutrition outcomes, we find it interes ...
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July 18, 2014
Soil Restoration in Mexico’s Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve/Restauración de Suelos en la Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra Gorda, México
By/Por Esther Díaz Pérez English Español After centuries of farming practices in the rugged mountains of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the scars of deforestation are indelibly marked on the area known as Sierra Gorda. In the past, the steep slopes lost their protective forest cover and the soil was deeply eroded. Coupled with this, the soil’s […] ...
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July 16, 2014
Policy Dialogues for Integrated Landscape Management: The Kenya Experience
Krista Heiner
EcoAgriculture Partners
Seth Shames
Challenges with food security, poverty, climate change, ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss are highly interlinked. These interconnections are increasingly apparent in Kenya’s growing economy, where ecosystem degradation enhances food insecurity and poverty, and poverty and food insecurity exacerbate the pressure on scarce natural resources. Furthermore, many of these ...
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July 14, 2014
Climate Change Adaptation and Prawn-Fish-Rice Agroecosystems
By Stuart Bunting, University of Essex and Nesar Ahmed, Bangladesh Agricultural University Prawn-fish-rice agroecosystems consist of farming freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) and selected fish species in rice fields. Wider spacing of rice plants in such integrated systems promotes primary production throughout the water column. Ecological functions performed by ric ...
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July 11, 2014
From a Central to Devolved Governing System in Kenya: Which Way for Natural Resources?
David Kuria
KENVO
When Kenya enacted a new constitution in August 2010, the country ushered in a new and progressive order aimed at expressing the commitment of the Kenyan people to nurture and protect the well-being of all and recognizing the aspirations of better governance through enhanced equality, social justice, democracy, good governance and the protection of human rights […] ...
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July 9, 2014
What’s Happening with Integrated Landscapes in Latin America and the Caribbean?
Elise Ursin
EcoAgriculture Partners
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are vital contributors to global agricultural production and biodiversity. The region is predicted to contain 43 percent of the world’s farmland by 2050 and currently includes eight of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots. However, its natural resources are poorly regulated (deforestation in the Amazon is an infamous example) and extre ...
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