By 2050 we would need to double global food production to keep up with the projected population increase. Meanwhile the land from which our food comes from is decreasing in quality. Land degradation is a major global concern as our demands for food, fodder, and fuel continue to accelerate. Drylands…

Scenarios that limit global warming to below 2 °C by 2100 assume significant land-use change to support large-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) removal from the atmosphere by afforestation/reforestation, avoided deforestation, and Biomass Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). The more ambitious…

An EEA briefing published today proposes an analytical framework that aims at developing a strategy for monitoring and integrated assessment of the state of land and its key resources

The biannual Living Planet Report published this week shows a 60% decline in wildlife populations over the past 40 years driven largely by the pressure placed on habitats by the food system and in particular western diets high in meat and processed foods. The report, produced for WWF by the…

The European Commission calls for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. On 28 November 2018, the Commission presented its strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate-neutral economy by 2050. The strategy shows how Europe can lead the way to climate neutrality by…

Land and other natural resources in many developing countries remain a fundamental part of people’s cultural identity, social relations, livelihood strategies and economic well-being. However, great setbacks are still experienced in terms of tenure security, natural resources governance and…

Biodiversity damage mapped by global land-use study. Researchers found that the worst-affected areas had lost one in three of their species, enough to substantially impact the functioning of those environments.

Reorienting land degradation towards sustainable land management: Linking sustainable livelihoods with ecosystem services in rangeland systems

Dust and sand storms(DSS) occurrences often have an adverse impact on organisms’ life styles and their environment, not only in the source region but also in the downwind regions.

Almost four years ago, CIFOR organized a side event on the tropical dry forests of Africa at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties in Durban, South Africa. At that event, we identified the major issues affecting dry forests in Africa and…

This paper reviews the role of dry forests in providing goods and services to the rural poor.

CIFOR scientists reviewed studies looking at gender dynamics in communities living in and near dry forests – an important but under-researched ecosystem.

Research suggests better management of dry forests may reduce malnutrition and improve food security.

The International Forestry Review is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes original research and review papers on all aspects of forest policy and science, with an emphasis on issues of transnational significance.

Desertification in drylands is an important problem world-wide, but the concept is ambiguous in terms of specific processes, conditions, and solutions.

This study revealed that conversion of croplands to grasslands or integration of appropriate agroforestry trees in cropping fields in the region has large technical potential of SOC and TN sequestrations.

This paper identifies new ways of moving from land degradation towards sustainable land management through the development of economic mechanisms.

Land and soil are limited natural resources essential to all human life. One of the major environmental challenges facing Europe is an increasing demand for development, which threatens these ecosystem services, such as water recycling and purification, carbon storage, and food and fuel — as well as…

New Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas (GSBA) offers amazing photos, maps, charts, statistics, and shared information that scientists, educators, policy makers, and non-specialists alike can use as a toolkit for knowing and understanding soil biodiversity globally.

Tanzania has adopted a new national land policy which, among others, lowers the ceiling under which foreign investors can lease land from the current 99 to 33 years. The new policy comes barely months after the East African nation embarked on a campaign to seize “idle” land and deter “rogue…

VITRI together with the United Nations Convention to combat Desertification United Nations (UNCCD) have published articles on Drought and Dryland Management in a special issue of the Journal Silva Fennica. The articles address the issue of ‘Drought and Dryland Management’ from the view point of…

The importance of transforming the land sector to help meet the 2 degree C goal cannot be overstated. Today, emissions from agriculture and land use change account for nearly a quarter of all human-caused emissions. At the same time, forests soak up one-third of the fossil fuel emissions we emit…

A group of scientists announced a surprising discovery in Science magazine: There are vast forests in the world's deserts and drylands—about 1.8 million square miles of them (467 million hectares), an area larger than the size of India! Researchers at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, WRI…

Journal of Arid Environments Volume 147, Pages 1-162, December 2017 Journal of Arid Environments - ScienceDirect.com 1. Effects of tillage system on greenhouse gas fluxes and soil mineral nitrogen in wheat (Triticum aestivum, L.)-fallow during drought Original Research Article, Pages 103-113…

Better stewardship of land is needed to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement goal of holding warming to below 2 °C; however, confusion persists about the specific set of land stewardship options available and their mitigation potential. To address this, we identify and quantify “natural climate…