Blog for People, Food and Nature

By John Blewitt, co-director of MSc Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Aston University, Birmingham  Blewitt argues that there is a growing recognition that more localized food production is crucially important for personal health, social well-being, and ultimately resilience to change. He provides insight into how small scale projects can have wide implications for sup ...

By Luis Gamez Hernandez, Public Utilities Company of Heredia, Costa Rica As World Water Week continues to showcase research and experiences related to water, today’s post brings us back to the week’s theme of cooperation and partnerships. Luis Gamez Hernandez discusses a specific initiative in Costa Rica, whereby cooperation between a local water utility, citizen o ...

By Megan Meacham, Stockholm Resilience Center and Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Stockholm Yesterday, researchers at the Ecosystem Services Partnership Conference in Bali presented on ecosystem services provision to enhance resilience in agricultural landscapes. Interestingly enough, the means by which to maintain this “bundle” of ecosystem services span the actu ...

By Duncan Macqueen, Principal Researcher, Forest Team, International Institute for Environment and Development, Edinburgh, UK Wrapping up another week looking at what resilience means in the context of a landscape, today’s guest author shares some insight on the management of public goods (e.g. ecosystem services) in multi-functional landscapes. This discussion highlights ...

By Fabrice DeClerck,  Senior Scientist, Agrobiodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Resilience (Bioversity International, Rome); Alexander Fremier, Assistant Professor Fish and Wildlife Sciences (University of Idaho, ); and  Louise Willemen, Senior Scientist (EcoAgriculture Working Group, Cornell University, New York).  This post is excerpted from the Agriculture and Ecosystem ...

As we approach several international meetings of minds in the coming months – Ecosystem Services Partnership conference, World Water Week, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – ‘resilience’ becomes an increasingly important concept for discussion. Whether in relation to water resource scarcity, l ...

By Philip Ackerman-Leist, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of the Masters in Sustainable Food Systems*, Green Mountain College, Vermont, USA As July transitioned to August, the Landscapes Blog concluded its second Roundtable, focused on urban food systems. What many of the authors alluded to, and what the rest of this month’s posts will […] ...

By Jules Pretty, Professor of Environment and Society and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Sustainability and Resources, University of Essex, UK As we saw on Wednesday with the Natural Capital Declaration, there is increasing recognition for the planet’s finite resources and the need to reform a ‘business as usual’ model. Within a landscape framework, where there are […] ...

The use of the term ‘Landscape Approaches’ has grown substantially in the past few years, making its way into the parlance of major research organizations and development institutions. Of course, there is always the question of what is actually meant when using the term. As we saw in Wednesday’s blog post, landscapes are discussed in […] ...

As discussed Wednesday on the Landscapes Blog, this week began with the observance of World Day to Combat Desertification and the announcement of the Land for Life Awards by the UNCCD. Water scarcity and drought of course have serious implications for agricultural production and the livelihoods of many of those who depend on the land […] ...