Blog for People, Food and Nature

The Landscapes for People, Food and Nature initiative spends a lot of time trying to show the private sector that it is in their own self-interest to practice, support and finance integrated landscape management. If we focus so much on self-interest as a motivation for good behavior, it is because we have learned that …

By Dr. Guoxiong Chen, Senior Researcher, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences Sand rice (Agriophyllum squarrosum) is an annual psammophyte found mostly on mobile sand dunes in the arid and semi-arid regions of Central Asia. It has evolved a number of phy…

It’s time to ask hard questions as we lead up to the 2014 International Science and Policy Conference on the resilience of social and ecological systems. Just as this event calls on us to mobilize for transformation of development to include resiliency, our agricultural experts are exploring these ideas in the palm …

This year’s 9th annual Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS) conference (May 7th-8th) took place at a critically important time for the industry. With relatively high prices, increasing overall demand from China, and another year of drought in palm oil production areas, the emphasis on increasing production is strong…

By Madeline Blasberg, Certified Wine Consultant for Etching Expressions   Winemaking, when all things are considered, can be a very dirty business. Chemical pesticides, fertilizers, weed killers, and hours of diesel-burning machinery add up to a considerable social and environmental impact. Around the world, wineries …

Farmers are wearing a lot of hats these days, as they try to increase yields, reduce soil degradation, adapt to climate change, and mitigate it at the same time. Investors, research organizations, and NGOs are teaming up to help farmers receive additional funding for these noble efforts via the carbon market. A few ye…