The state of the world: is it too late for sustainability?

The Guardian - In November 2012, the “big four” professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers released a report that concluded it was too late to hold the future increase in global average temperatures to just two degrees Celsius. “It’s time,” the report announced, “to prepare for a warmer world”.

The same month, the World Bank released Turn Down the Heat, which soberly set forth why a four-degree warmer world must be avoided. Meanwhile, accounts of myriad emerging calamities were easy to find in the press: the failure of the Rio+20 talks to result in positive action, “zombie” coral reefs, calls for higher birth rates, declining Arctic sea ice, an approaching “state shift” in the earth’s biosphere, and other evidence of strain in natural systems and of human blindness, ignorance or denial ……..>> Access the complete article<<

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Why action on forests now is essential to all our futures

By Bharrat Jagdeo
The Guardian - While forests once provided subsistence for local people, for generations clearing forested land has also been good for global business, providing immediate food security for the world. Put simply, forests have been worth more dead than alive.

As populations grow, emerging and industrialised countries are looking to the three great world forest regions – the Three Basins of the Congo, the Amazon and south-east Asia – for their growing resource needs. The economic imperative to acquire and clear more land increases daily as demand for food and commodities grows. More than half of the global forest loss has occurred in the Three Basins. But world food production needs standing forests not felled trees.

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Building bridges between agribusiness and development

Labex Korea - Aligning agribusiness and development means taking a holistic approach – The Guardian panel suggest 14 crucial factors to making it work. The mainly factors presented by 7 professionals are: Engage smallholders fairly, Regulations aren’t always as effective as voluntary adherence, Bring agriculture into the media, Embed sustainable management systems, We need a holistic approach to value chain development, Monitoring is key, Mainstream conservatism, Certification schemes, Can entrench inequality, Model farms can help encourage chemical compliance, Value chains work best within well-functioning systems, Release Africa’s farmlands from cash crops, Adopt a gendered approach, Governments have a crucial role to play, You can’t ‘scale up’ unsustainable programmes.

Click here to access the complete article at The Guardian with the comments for each theme described above.

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How agroforestry schemes can improve food security in developing countries

By Caspar van Vark
The Guardian - Agroforesty - the integration of trees and shrubs with crops and livestock systems – has strong potential in addressing problems of food insecurity in developing countries. Done well, it allows producers to make the best use of their land, can boost field crop yields, diversify income, and increase resilience to climate change.

To date, the uptake of agroforestry has been constrained partly because it has lacked a natural ‘home’ in policy space, but that may be changing thanks to a growing body of evidence of what it can achieve, and how to make it work. The FAO last month published a guide to advancing agroforestry on the policy agenda with case studies of best practice, and is due to hold a conference on forests and food security and nutrition in May.

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Science is key to sustainable development

By Karina Toledo

Agência FAPESP – To make global development possible, science and scientists must achieve a higher level of influence worldwide. Michael Clegg, president of the Inter-American Network of Academies of Science (IANAS), stated this opinion during the opening ceremony of the First Planning Meeting for the 2013 World Science Forum held at FAPESP headquarters between August 29 and 31.
Clegg affirmed that humanity will encounter many substantial challenges during the 21st century, including climate change, emerging infectious diseases, population growth and difficulties associated with meeting food, water and energy demands.

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Photo ans Source: FAPESP, September 19th, 2012

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Leading Agriculture Experts Contribute to new Report Food and Agriculture: The Future of Sustainability

In a new report by the UN Division for Sustainable Development, Food and Agriculture: The Future of Sustainability, authors solicited a group of experts from all dimensions of agriculture for their twenty-year vision of the future of food and agriculture.

The aim of the report is to add strategic input to a new report, “Sustainable Development in the 21st Century” that will be launched by the Division for Sustainable Development (UNDESA) at a side event during the Rio+20 Summit.

Food and Agriculture : The Future of Sustainability intends to cut across worldviews and foster meaningful discussions on the trends and challenges in agriculture. It outlines nine key paths of action for agriculture, with contributions from over seventy global agriculture food leaders from four areas: Policy and Trade; Business Specialists; Rural Livelihoods and Poverty; and Environmental Sustainability. The report also highlights “high impact” areas where smart actions will be proportionally more effective, and argues that “better” production rather than “more” production will be key to a more sustainable future for agriculture.

Download the full report  Agriculture_and_food_the_future_of_sustainability_web

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Global platform for research in sustainability is launched at RIO+20

By Elton Alisson

Agência FAPESP – A global research platform in sustainability was launched during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO+20) by an alliance made up of the leading international science institutions, research foundations and organizations linked to the United Nations.

The new economy: inclusive and sustainable

By Charles Arthur
TheEnergyCollective – “A low-carbon economy necessitates a multifaceted paradigm shift across a broad spectrum, from individual behaviour to national policies. But let me assure you that the shift will not be a clean straight line. We are barely putting in the foundations of the new economy. We are constructing it, and all construction sites are messy.” … Read More.

Source and Photo: TheEnergyCollective, March 15th, 2012.
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China dream: a lifestyle movement with sustainability at its heart

By Peggy Liu
The Guardian – It is hard to imagine that China could one day lead the world in going green when you look at the smog-filled skies that are everyday reality there. The government knows that energy fuels the growth of nations, and that China’s dependence on foreign energy imports creates a national security risk. People, both rich and poor, are worried about pollution-induced cancers in villages and babies dying from consuming toxic milk…>>Read More<<

Source and Photo: The Guardian, June 13th, 2012
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Bitter sweet: How sustainable is bio-ethanol production in Brazil?

ScienceDirect – While biofuels have currently been regarded as a good alternative for fossil fuels, there remain many debates on their impacts on human and environment. This paper tried to shed light on bio-ethanol in Brazil as one of the main producers and exporters in the world. The main question was to understand “how sustainable is bio-ethanol production in Brazil?” To answer, the political motives of producing bio-ethanol followed by its ecological and socio-economic impacts were discussed. The paper concluded that although bio-ethanol production in Brazil seems environmentally friendly, it might socio-economically be hazardous.

Click here to read the complete article at ScienceDirect
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