January 18, 2016
Trendy and sustainable, quinoa and chia research in Egypt
Christine Arlt
SEKEM Initiative
Chia and quinoa seem to be predestined for Egypt. Chia and quinoa are dry and salt-tolerant crops. Both of them have a great potential to improve food security in regions that do not have enough water resources. “In march 2015 I visited the SEKEM Initiative Farm for the first time and gained awareness of the huge challenges […] ...
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January 7, 2016
The Cameroon Pilot: Model Forests as a Vehicle of Sustainable Development in Africa
Mariteuw Chimère Diaw
African Model Forest Network
Having multiple goals for a Sustainable World means our management plans must generate multiple outcomes. Looking across the multiple Sustainable Development Goals and their targets, it is clear that many of the objectives outlined by the Post-Development Agenda are connected to each other. For example, you cannot effectively eradicate extreme poverty without improving access t ...
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November 27, 2015
Balancing multiple SDG-related outcomes of riparian buffers in the Volta Basin
Sylvia Wood
Bioversity International
Sarah Jones
In the Volta Basin of West Africa, rivers represent the life-blood of cultivation in the semi-arid north and are the key to hydropower generation in the south. Today, agricultural runoff, land use change and construction of major hydroelectric dams in the Volta Basin are degrading these life-supporting rivers. Mapping opportunities for conservation and Sustainable Develop ...
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September 29, 2015
Solar Energy in Egypt for Agriculture, Business and Social Development
Christine Arlt
SEKEM Initiative
The ancient Egyptians developed the first means for using solar thermal energy by designing their buildings in architecturally appropriate ways. Today, thousands of years later, the conscious use of renewable energy is more important than ever. That’s why the Egyptian SEKEM Initiative has installed a number of solar panels on roofs, in fields, and even in […] ...
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July 2, 2015
Protecting Endangered Plants, One Taboo at a time: traditional practices and conservation
Diana Quiroz
Naturalis Biodiversity Center
The iroko (Milicia excelsa) is one of West Africa’s most iconic trees. It is a sacred tree in many of the areas where it occurs. In Benin, people call Him “the king of the forest” and hence address Him with respect. For the past five years, our team has studied plant use in West Africa […] ...
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June 25, 2015
Rwandan Stakeholders Enact Plan to Facilitate Integrated Landscape Practices
David Kuria
KENVO
In an effort to combat ‘silo thinking’, stakeholders in Rwanda create a multifaceted approach targeting governance, research, investment and ground-level activities. The concept of Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) is gaining popularity across East Africa. Policy makers, development partners and field practitioners have begun to appreciate the fact that worki ...
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April 1, 2015
The Need for Biodiversity – Traditional Plant Use in Burkina Faso
Marco Schmidt
Goethe University Frankfurt
Alexander Zizka
The people living in the savanna belt of West Africa are currently facing profound social and landscape changes. Traditional lifestyles and agricultural practices, such as agroforestry with multipurpose trees or the semi-nomadic pastoralism of the Sahel, are challenged by the needs of a growing population, intensified agriculture and climate change. Despite positive aspects of ...
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March 26, 2015
Indigenous Landscapes Provide Foods and Funds in Obalanga Subcounty, Uganda
Esezah Kakudidi
Makerere University
Samuel Ojelel
The subsistence farming communities in Obalanga are reliant on their indigenous landscapes for a wide array of services. The communities benefit from provisionary services (e.g. food), regulative services (e.g. local climate moderation), supportive services (e.g. soil fertility) and cultural services (e.g. recreation) from these landscapes. These interactions are pertinent in t ...
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March 10, 2015
Learning from experience: Connecting Landscape Leaders in Ethiopia
At first impression, the Amhara region of Ethiopia may seem drab and barren. Knowing of the degradation that happened to these landscapes, I didn’t expect to see much more than scrubland. A recent visit to the Aba Gerima watershed, however, showed me a much greener picture, where a team from the Water and Land Resource Centre (WLRC) […] ...
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February 9, 2015
The Challenge of Agroforestry Systems in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Jacques Famili Sumbu
The Ituri Forest landscape, located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of Central Africa’s most biologically diverse regions and is particularly rich in bird species and mammals. The forest supports the largest remaining population of the Congo’s endemic rainforest giraffe and okapi, as well as large populations of elephants, owl-faced monkeys, […] ...
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