Land blog posts

In the Mekong River Basin, hydropower has great potential to bring economic prosperity and electrification to many rural communities while meeting the growing power demands of urban centers. Which measures can we implement to prevent any one part of society from carrying the brunt of the costs, be they monetary, social, or environmental?

Wetlands and agriculture: for many this may seem a strange juxtaposition because wetlands and agriculture are often perceived to be conflicting. Today, a widespread perception is that agriculture simply destroys wetlands, undermining biodiversity and degrading all the beneficial ecosystem services that they provide.

More wetlands have been drained in the name of extending and improving agriculture than for any other reason. Yet real farmers often object, especially smallholders dependent on wetlands for parts of their livelihoods.

If you drink a glass of water in Mexico City, you should know that its journey probably began in the watershed of the Amanalco Valle Bravo Basin. Sixty percent of the land that supports this water supply is owned by communities and cooperatives of family farmers. Sustainable land management is critical to protect this vital water supply.

In India, millions of the poorest and vulnerable people make their living on common land. But nearly one-third of land in India is degraded and common lands face many pressures including: loss of ground cover, falling water tables and declining soil fertility.

At the landscape scale, governance, ownership and ecology are inseparable. But, even with the best will in the world, making that compatible with the investment strategies of rich people in faraway places looks hard.

A couple of years ago, Oxfam claimed that an area of agricultural land in developing countries almost the size of Western Europe had in recent years been taken over the foreign investors. A new report says a majority of the biggest “land grabs” never got beyond the planning stage. Is the great land rush over?

International targets have been set for forest landscape restoration like the Bonn Challenge that aims to restore 150 hectares of lost forest and degraded land by 2020. But, how are these global targets going to be translated into tangible action on the ground?

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration has made a tremendous impact across swaths of West and East Africa where trees had been cleared for agriculture. Now through proper pruning and protection, these trees could grow back, and in turn support entire ecosystem and increase food production.

Achieving food security in the context of Africa is unimaginable without climate change adaptation and practices that support food production while enhancing the ecosystem services and biodiversity that underpin agricultural productivity.

How can development and poverty-alleviation focused investments be shaped to sustain landscapes and livelihoods to achieve the SDG’s? Find out at WLE and CIAT hosted session during the Global Landscapes Forum where researchers and investors are brought together to discuss.

In China, increased pressure from human and livestock populations has resulted in 90% of the pastoral land being classified as degraded to some degree, especially in the more arid regions where ecosystems are the most fragile.