Agriculture is multi-functional, producing economic goods including food, feed, fibre, and fuel, as well as providing several intangible or non-tradable services to society free of cost. Non-tradable services, unlike economic goods, remain unpriced; as a result, farmers are not compensated monetarily for the benefits of the several non-tradable services they …
Plantation-associated drainage of Southeast Asian peatlands has accelerated in recent years. Draining exposes the upper peat layer to oxygen, leading to elevated decomposition rates and net soil carbon losses. Empirical studies indicate positive relationships between long-term water table (WT) depth and soil carbon loss rate in peatlands. These correlations potentially …
Further degradation of Indonesia's forests could impact the national economy and the lives of millions, according to a new UN study titled "Forest Ecosystem Valuation Study: Indonesia". The report finds that an additional US $600 million annually is needed to maintain Indonesian current forest cover and enable forests to deliver …
There has been extensive debate about whether the sustainable use of forests (forest management aimed at producing a sustainable yield of timber or other products) results in superior climate outcomes to conservation (maintenance or enhancement of conservation values without commercial harvesting). Most of the relevant research has relied on consequential …
This compendium is released on the target year of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). While there has been remarkable progress on the MDGs, such as halving the population in extreme poverty 5 years ahead of schedule, much is still to be done to ensure meaningful change beyond 2015. Through this …
European Union countries need to significantly increase investments in carbon capture and storage and show much greater urgency and determination to develop and deploy the technology, according to a new report by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science …
Diatoms are responsible for ~40% of marine primary productivity, fuelling the oceanic carbon cycle and contributing to natural carbon sequestration in the deep ocean. Diatoms rely on energetically expensive carbon concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) to fix carbon efficiently at modern levels of CO2. How diatoms may respond over the short and …
Studies on measuring CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes from five agroforestry systems viz., teak, jatropha, pongamia, simaruba and leucaena were conducted in semi-arid alfisols. This study gives an idea of successive potential values of GHGs in agroforestry systems to compare with carbon sequesteration abilities of these systems.
Riverine export of particulate organic carbon (POC) to the ocean affects the atmospheric carbon inventory over a broad range of timescales. On geological timescales, the balance between sequestration of POC from the terrestrial biosphere and oxidation of rock-derived (petrogenic) organic carbon sets the magnitude of the atmospheric carbon and oxygen …
LIKE in other countries, stakeholders, who met at the just concluded 7th Climate Change Summit, organised by the Lagos State government has called for a need to create a Green Fund Initiative for the state. This was part of the 24-point recommendations reached during the conference. Although, it was reiterated …
This study presents the findings of research into the global socio-economic and environmental impact of genetically modified (GM) crops in the eighteen years since they were first commercially planted on a significant area. It focuses on the farm level economic effects, the production effects, the environmental impact resulting from changes …
Despite a large increase in the area of selectively logged tropical forest worldwide, the carbon stored in deadwood across a tropical forest degradation gradient at the landscape scale remains poorly documented. Many carbon stock studies have either focused exclusively on live standing biomass or have been carried out in primary …
The VOLANTE Roadmap for Future Land Resources Management in Europe is a tool for policymakers and practitioners alike. It features three visions of future land use, created in a participatory process by a set of stakeholders from all across Europe. Pathways to these visions show how current policies fare in …
Using the case of Costa Rica, this paper examines how 'carbon' became an identifiable problem for that state. We trace how, during the 1980s, rationalities of financialisation and security arose in this country that allowed for Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) to emerge as an economic and political mechanism. Our …
Ensuring that the world's food needs are met by 2050 will take a doubling of global food production. To improve agricultural yields on that scale will require a radical rethink of global water-management strategies and policies. Sub-Saharan Africa is the epicentre of this challenge. Ninety-five per cent of sub-Saharan agriculture …
These guidelines outline the modalities of convergence between the National Mission for Green India (GIM) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) so as to achieve environmentally sound interventions to climate change and achieve a faster growth rate in the rural economy.
The mountains of Africa provide water and food, rich biodiversity, recreational areas and serve as important centres of cultural integrity and heritage. However, Africa faces growing challenges in ensuring the sustainable development of mountain areas, such as poverty and climate change and addressing the feat of transboundary co-operation. Through use …
Sustainable biomass can play a transformative role in the transition to a decarbonized economy, with potential applications in electricity, heat, chemicals and transportation fuels. Deploying bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS) results in a net reduction in atmospheric carbon. BECCS may be one of the few cost-effective carbon-negative opportunities …
Over the past century forest regrowth in Europe and North America expanded forest carbon (C) sinks and offset C emissions but future C accumulation is uncertain. Policy makers need insights into forest C dynamics as they anticipate emissions futures and goals. We used land use and forest inventory data to …
Carbon Pools and Multiple Benefits of Mangroves in Central Africa: Assessment for REDD+ provides the knowledge base for improving the management and reducing the deforestation rates of mangroves in Central Africa. It highlights the high ecological and economic values of mangroves, and the threats that exist from urban sprawl and …
