Blog for People, Food and Nature

Natural ecosystems provide the many essential services people depend on, such as clean drinking water, protection from floods and droughts, and habitat for fisheries. Wednesday's blog post focused on the importance of ecosystem services in Africa, while a recent post from Landscape Initiative Co-organizer World Resou…

A recent article in the journal Ecosystem Services examines the range of ecosystem services in Africa, the threats to them, and policies to preserve them. It touches on an issue related to Monday’s Landscapes Blog post on sparing land for nature. While the authors recognize the importance of protected areas for biodi…

We've heard of the imminent peak oil, peak water, and in some circles even peak soil. Now researchers at the Rockefeller University in New York say that we may have reached peak farmland. This is not to say that the planet no longer has arable land to spare, but rather that agricultural production has reached a point a…

A new initiative that launched yesterday aims to spur change in the complex global food system by fostering the growing community of voices on food issues. What's more, it is attempting to tackle the system as whole, bridging the current 'silos', and bringing together the breadth of stakeholders from researchers and th…

Understanding and Managing Change in Human-Shaped Environments [caption id="attachment_2289" align="aligncenter" width="1065" caption="Agricultural landscapes are shaped by closely intertwined natural and human processes: a migrant shepherd crossing croplands in Rada de Haro, Central Spain."][/caption] This year's fi…

'Green Growth', considered one of the paradigms for a new, more sustainable pattern of development, seeks to achieve a triple win of environmental, economic, and social benefits. In contrast to past modes of economic development, green growth strategies intend to ensure that policies and investments reflect priorities …