May 21, 2015
Local Knowledge, and Pig Pits, Help Thai Communities Adapt to Climate Change
Angela Jöhl Cadena
International Union for the Conservation of Nature
Over the last 18 months, I have been observing (and documenting) the adaptation process taking place in four communities in Chiang Rai and Sakon Nakhon Provinces, Thailand, under the USAID Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change (Mekong ARCC) project, implemented by IUCN Thailand. Based on the scientific climate projections, we had some ideas of […] ...
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May 8, 2015
Back to the future: quilombos and their potential to protect Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
Waverli Maia Matarazzo Neuberger
Universidade Metodista de São Paulo
Traveling to Barra do Turvo is like going back in time. Located between the two huge southern Brazilian metropolises of São Paulo and Curitiba, the road that leads to Barra do Turvo crosses the Ribeira River valley, and winds its way through the Atlantic Rainforest. According to UNESCO, this forest is one of the world’s five […] ...
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April 30, 2015
The Connection between Biodiversity and Coffee Agriculture
Amanda Caudill
Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
When I tell people about my research with biodiversity and coffee farms, most people look at me confused and ask, “Wait, what does coffee have to do with biodiversity?” I understand that this question is not unfounded. Although about 1 billion cups are coffee are consumed worldwide daily–most people do not link the dark, velvety […] ...
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April 27, 2015
Felines in trouble: a Brazilian scenario
Rodrigo Cambará Printes
Brazilian Institute for Biodiversity Conservation
Larissa Rosa de Oliveira
Francine Schulz
Carnivores, such as large cats, are extremely important to maintain the ecological equilibrium in areas because they guarantee the diversity and resiliency of ecosystems. As predators, large cats can help control herbivore populations. Also, large cats usually leave behind a great part of their prey for several reasons, including providing food for scavenger and decomposer [&he ...
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April 10, 2015
How and where to restore tropical forest: a bird’s eye view
Leighton Reid
Missouri Botanical Garden
Great Tinamous are surprisingly light-footed for being rather awkwardly shaped. They wander delicately on the rainforest floor and call to one another in haunting tones at dawn and dusk. When approached by people, they disappear nervously into the underbrush. This shy, sun-dappled lifestyle works well in endless forest, but it complicates the task of restoring […] ...
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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 19, 2015
Potential for Nutrition Gains in Nepal through its Agriculture Sector
Jess Fanzo
Columbia University
Agricultural and food systems around the world have evolved to become more complex and globalized. The nutritional quality of food production, processing, and consumption – as determined by the food system – is intrinsically related to the World Summit goal for all people to have the opportunity to lead a healthy and active life. Nutrition-sensitive […] ...
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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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March 4, 2015
Forests a Food Security Blanket for Communities in India
Salome Yesudas
Rukmini Rao
Gramya Resource Centre for Women
Debal Deb
Kavitha Kuruganti
Countries like India, which claim to have reduced poverty yet have had no reductions in hunger and malnutrition, present quite a paradox that must be addressed. The food sovereignty framework, introduced by the Sustainable Development Goals debate, is promising because it addresses the fact that hunger and malnutrition are not just a supply problem, but […] ...
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February 25, 2015
Changing the face of agriculture
Kevi Mace
University of California, Berkeley
Lauren Ponisio
Agricultural landscapes in the United States, from the Central Valley of California to the Corn Belt of the Midwest, are largely similar in that the lands encompass expanses of single crops. Whether it is almonds or grapes or tomatoes or a fallow field, the one thing they have in common is their imposing homogeneity. This […] ...
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