News on Land

IIASA researchers announce a new citizen science campaign on human impact on forests for improving forest management maps and value estimations on biodiversity and carbon storage, within the Nature Map project.

BOGOR, Indonesia (26 March 2019) – Amid preparations for the landmark U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)

• North America’s temperate rainforest extends some 2,500 miles from California to the Gulf of Alaska, providing important habitat for many species and playing a big role in global carbon sequestration. However, despite its uniqueness, there is no officially recognized name for the whole of the forest.

New Delhi._ The 21st century is often projected as one of Urbanity. Some go to the extent of even saying that if the hallmark of 20th century was the rise of nation states (and of welfarism), the current one will be that of cities, urbanity and ecology, and defined by struggles of millions to claim urban spaces and redefine urbanity, generating enormous challenges.

ISLA JOVAI TEJU, Paraguay (Reuters) - Rumilda Fernández’s indigenous community has long tended its ancestral lands in Paraguay, marking boundaries with an ancient system of names for trees and streams. Now, squeezed by deforestation and farming, the community is going digital to defend itself.

Nature-based solutions such as ecosystem restoration will play an indispensable role in addressing climate change, but a strong economic case will need to be made to convince policymakers, investors and business leaders to place them higher on the agenda.

The food people eat around the world is becoming “alarmingly homogenous” according to UN data, even though access to a wide variety of nutritious food has never been greater. That warning comes as the world marks the International Day for Biological Diversity on Wednesday, which this year highlights the impact of environmental neglect on food security and public health. 

A Geographical indication (GI) label is seen as a guarantee of authenticity, which is closely connected to the land itself and can be lucrative for producers

MONROVIA –  The government of Liberia and major stakeholders in the forestland sector are developing guidelines for rural communities to accept and reject concessions targeted for their lands, a move advocates are hailing would curb land grab and strengthen the relationship between concessionaires and locals. 

Despite efforts to protect them, tropical forests are dwindling at a near-record rate at a time when humanity needs them more than ever in the fight against climate change. In this interview with Eco-Business, World Resources Institute’s global forests director Rod Taylor argues that we need to rethink the balance between development and conservation.

An experiment conducted in Brazil in an area of Atlantic Rainforest suggests that intensive silviculture, including the use of herbicide and substantial amounts of fertilizer, is a more effective approach to promoting the regeneration of tropical forest and biomass gain than the traditional method based on manual weeding and less fertilizer.

• Brazil today is home to 900,000 indigenous people, speaking 274 languages and with widely differing cultural traditions. Indigenous rights were enshrined in Brazil’s 1988 constitution, including the demarcation and protection of indigenous ancestral lands.