Blog for People, Food and Nature

June 5, 2014

Climate Change: What's at stake for Smallholder Farmers?

From June 4-15, the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change meetings are taking place in Bonn, Germany to address the ongoing climate change crisis. While these negotiations will focus on governments and international treaties, Dr. Celia Harvey of Conservation International reminds us that smallholder farmers are …
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June 5, 2014

Life Isn't Always Easy in the Islands: A Closer Look at World Environment Day

By Eva Fillion, EcoAgriculture Partners You can tell that World Environment Day is taken seriously when it is celebrated for an entire week. This year’s theme, Raise Your Voice, Not The Sea Level, is focused on the adaptations and resilience of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to the effects of climate change…
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June 4, 2014

Beyond Pipes and Pumps: Learning about Landscapes

Heenbanda was overwhelmed. Today was different from his usual toil in the paddy field. This morning he chose to travel to Peradeniya, Central Sri Lanka, approximately 75 kilometers away from his remote village to attend what the gentlemen called a ‘stakeholder dialogue’. ‘Big words’ he thought. Wide eyed and ex…
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June 2, 2014

Promoting Synergies Between Biodiversity and Livelihoods in Coffee Landscapes

[caption id="attachment_5607" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Farmers in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia collect lianas (woody climbers) in semi-wild coffee forests to build their traditional houses[/caption] By Getachew Tadesse, Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz   Agriculture was …
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May 30, 2014

Even A Little Bit Goes a Long Way: The Role of Green Spaces in Resilient Cities

By Eva Fillion, EcoAgriculture Partners  I decided to leave the air-conditioned office this afternoon to eat my lunch outside in a nearby park.  Even though the air was heavy with humidity and hazy heat, I found the park packed with people on their own lunch breaks.  The scene reinforced the fact that many of us …
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May 28, 2014

Dancing Our Way to Effective Integrated Landscape Management

A collaborative endeavor by nature, integrated landscape management depends upon striking a balance between multiple stakeholders and their various strengths and weaknesses in order to achieve the goal of effectively managing a multipurpose landscape.  Abby Hart and Camilla Zanzanaini investigate the efficacy of ins…
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