The international consortium of agricultural research facilities – the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) – recently launched their newest research program on Water, Land and Ecosystems. CRP5, as it is known, is devoting an initial US$75 million to research on how agricultural intensification can go hand-in-hand with the protection of natural ecosystems. Three issues form the backbone of the new program: water scarcity, land degradation, and ecosystem services. Harnessing the strengths of the 14 CGIAR centers, the research program seeks to address these elements, while also looking at how to support people’s livelihoods and boost food production. Considering all of this, there are common themes (and partners) between CRP5 and the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative, and great potential to realize the synergies in the research and outreach of the two.
Read the March press release and CRP5 information brochure online.
Tim Gieseke
April 26, 2012 at 9:10amBest of luck on these ventures. All these efforts seem more probable since yesterday when I became fully aware that the “Tragedy of the Commons” can be addressed through “Symbiotic Demand”: https://prezi.com/tpfaewgz1jie/apportioning-ecological-values-and-costs-through-symbiotic-demand/