Climate and resilience blog posts

Soils should be at the heart of "climate-smart agriculture". No-till agriculture is as good at capturing carbon as planting a rainforest -- and should be treated as a similar "carbon credit" in any future deal to set up a carbon trading system round the world, says Guadagni of the World Bank.

Land degradation is no longer a local problem. Increasing land scarcity means that smallholder farmers in Africa may find themselves competing for land in a global market that has seen an exponential rise in foreign investment in soil and water or ‘land grabbing’. Conversion of new lands contributes to climate change. What are we doing about it?

For this year's World Food Day, themed “Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition", we're asking you: What do you think a sustainable food system looks like?

IWMI researchers increasingly are investigating underground water storage facilities as an option to “tame” floods and soften long droughts.

The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), would like to engage partners and readers of the Agriculture and Ecosystems Blog in a debate on how we unite agricultural production, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. To start the debate, Andrew Noble, Program Director for WLE, explains why we need a farming revolution...

Threading its way from the semi-arid scrub of the Sahel, through the lush tropical farmlands of Southern Ghana, the Volta River supports the livelihoods of millions of West Africans.

Fred Pearce, a noted writer on water, describes climate change as “the joker in the pack” for promoters of hydroelectric schemes. Different scientists in WLE play the joker at different stages in their research.

Once upon a time, not so long ago, we were all mobile. Movement was what enabled our ancestors to track resources that were here today, gone tomorrow. In parts of the world where water, pasture or good hunting are not constantly available, mobility is still the key that unlocks scattered resources.

In his new book, The Human Quest, scientist Johan Rockström and photographer Mattias Klum explore ways that humans can live within the planetary boundaries.

During a recent visit to the International Water Management Institute, Johan Rockström discusses the Planetary Boundary Framework with the Water, Land and Ecosystems team.

This week, amidst the ongoing UN climate talks in Doha, farmers, scientists, businesses and NGOs will unite at Agriculture, Landscapes and Livelihoods Day (ALL-5) to share solutions for protecting our food supply and the livelihoods of farmers across the globe in the face of climate change.

Defined simply as “the benefits people obtain from ecosystems”, ecosystem services have become a hot topic in recent years. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment demonstrated the many ways that ecosystem services contribute to human well-being.