Environment-facing interventions impact the distribution, use of and access of natural resources and have important implications for all dimensions (material, relational, quality of life) of human well-being (HWB). Yet conventional impact metrics routinely surpass the non-material impacts which may be particularly salient in rural contexts where small-scale farmers depend directly on the land and biodiversity. Furthermore, little is known about the comparative performance of distinct interventions along a land-sharing, versus land sparing gradient, on local definitions of HWB.

A range of interventions within the scope of ecosystems-based adaptation (EbA) are being deployed to address the continuing degradation of forest cover, within protected areas and biodiversity conservation corridors in Cambodia. Ecosystem adaptation has involved the use of ecosystem services as part of the overall adaptation strategy. Forest landscape restoration (FLR) is an important dimension in the ADB supported BCCP efforts. This involves mosaic restoration featuring climate-smart agriculture agroforestry, and related conservation work in Koh Kong and Mondulkiri provinces.

The importance of equity has been emphasized in climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and ecosystem restoration. However, equity implications are rarely considered explicitly in restoration projects. Although the role of equity has been studied in the context of biodiversity conservation and environmental governance, environmental variables are often ignored in equity studies, and spatial analyses of equity are lacking.

Drylands are a critical part of the earth system in terms of total area, socioeconomic and ecological importance. However, while drylands are known for their contribution to inter-annual atmospheric CO2 variability, they are sometimes overlooked in discussions of global carbon stocks. Here, in preparation for the November 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), we review dryland systems with emphasis on their role in current and future carbon storage, response to climate change and potential to contribute to a carbon neutral future.

In this study we investigate whether the increasing investment in smallholder oil palm plantations that contributes to deforestation is motivated by financial gains or other factors. We evaluate the financial viability of smallholder farmers selling fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) to intermediaries or agro-industrial companies with mills, or processing the FFBs in artisanal mills to produce palm oil. We use data collected in four oil palm production basins in Cameroon and carried out a life cycle assessment of oil palm cultivation and CPO production to understand financial gains.

This report presents a flexible scientific blueprint for how the climate change, biodiversity and pollution emergencies can be tackled jointly within the framework of the SDGs. The first of its kind, this report gathers expertise from across recent global assessments to gauge Earth’s environmental decline and suggest how society at large can best respond. The expert analysis synthesizes key findings from the assessments with those from additional high-impact peer-reviewed literature and grey literature.

This Environment and Social Management Pan (ESMP) has been developed by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) to clarify (i) the measures that will be taken during the implementation of project activities to eliminate or offset adverse E&S impacts, or to reduce them to acceptable levels; and (ii) actions needed to implement these measures during the implementation of the Accelerating Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project activities in Ethiopia.

Land management to increase food production while conserving the environment and associated ecosystem services (ESs) is one of the major development and research challenges of the 21st Century. Any land-use practice or change to obtain a particular ecosystem service affects the other ES positively or negatively. The dynamics of these changes is more marked in biodiversity hotspot areas like UNESCO registered Yayo coffee forest biosphere reserve in southwestern Ethiopia.

In Latin America, the cultivation of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) plays a critical role in rural livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development. Over the last 20 years, coffee farms and landscapes across the region have undergone rapid and profound biophysical changes in response to low coffee prices, changing climatic conditions, severe plant pathogen outbreaks, and other drivers.

Livestock are critical for incomes, livelihoods, nutrition and ecosystems management throughout the global South. Livestock production and the consumption of livestock-based foods such as meat, cheese, and milk is, however, under global scrutiny for its contribution to global warming, deforestation, biodiversity loss, water use, pollution, and land/soil degradation. This paper argues that, although the environmental footprint of livestock production presents a real threat to planetary sustainability, also in the global south, this is highly contextual.

There is an urgent need for countries to transition their national food and land-use systems toward food and nutritional security, climate stability, and environmental integrity. How can countries satisfy their demands while jointly delivering the required transformative change to achieve global sustainability targets? Here, we present a collaborative approach developed with the FABLE—Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land, and Energy—Consortium to reconcile both global and national elements for developing national food and land-use system pathways.

This study was conducted in Lake Hawassa catchment, Ethiopia where policy programs are aiming to restore degraded lands with participation of local stakeholders. We assessed the system in relation to natural resource management and degradation using the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) conceptual framework and conducted a stakeholder analysis to understand stakeholder interest, influence and interactions amongst the different categories of stakeholders. Data were collected using key informant interviews, field observation and a literature review.