Blog for People, Food and Nature

Editor's Note: A new study on a program called Bolsa Floresta (which translates to "forest allowance") pays families and small farmers to participate in conservation programming, and its positive results point to opportunities to expand similar financing programs. This post was originally published on ForestsNews, the…

When you hear “low emissions agriculture,” what comes to mind? Before attending a discussion at the World Bank on Meeting Global Food Needs with Lower Emissions, I envisioned an emphasis on food miles and chemical fertilizer use. But, the recent IPCC assessment report suggests that it’s really all about soil ma…

By Irene Hoffmann, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations When we were invited to contribute to the book “Diversifying Food and Diets: Using Agricultural Biodiversity to Improve Nutrition and Health”, my colleague Roswitha Baumung and I were faced with an interesting challenge. Agricultural biod…

This post was written by John Buchanan and originally published on Conservation International's blog, Human Nature. It is in response to the premiere episode of Showtime's new documentary series, Years of Living Dangerously, which addressed the problems of palm oil agriculture in Indonesia and the impacts the indust…

Sago palm groves are cultivated in swamps and alongside streams. When a mature sago palm is felled for starch extraction - which can provide sustenance for a family for several months - new suckers grow from the stump or root. Unlike crops grown in shifting cultivation, sago can be continually harvested at the same pla…

This week, the World Urban Forum offers an opportunity to look at the ways in which challenges and opportunities in cities are linked to those in rural areas. National policy can address (or exacerbate) challenges across the rural-urban continuum. Today, I want to take a look at a piece of policy in America that has a…