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Globally, 1.5 billion people use or trade non-timber forest products (NTFPs) with the majority of NTFP use and trade occurring at local and regional scales, generally invisible to researchers and policy makers. NTFPs cannot be measured by monetary estimations alone, as they have significant subsistence and sociocultural importance and are commonly one part of multifaceted, […]

Forests are landscape-embedded complex systems with fates determined by multitudes of changing and interacting factors that are sectoral and extra-sectoral, biophysical and political, predictable and chaotic. The diversity of forest states (e.g. secondary, degraded, fragmented, invaded and managed) and the fact that none of these states is permanent gives reason for hope; even deforestation need […]

Agricultural expansion has transformed and fragmented forest habitats at alarming rates across the globe, but particularly so in tropical landscapes. The resulting land-use configurations encompass varying mosaics of tree cover, human settlements and agricultural land units. Meanwhile, global demand for agricultural commodities is at unprecedented levels. The need to feed nine billion people by 2050 […]

By Stephen Brooks. Originally published at Devex. Joseph Zulu never uses the term “climate-smart agriculture,” even as he proudly points out the fertilizer trees he planted between rows of crops on his field in Zambia’s eastern province. But whether he uses the term or not, Zulu is a wonderful example of how climate-smart agriculture can […]

By Gabriel Labbate. Originally published at the UN-REDD Programme Blog. Results from Panama show that increases in carbon stocks, stakeholder incomes and forest cover can be achieved simultaneously through a landscape approach to REDD+ combining avoided deforestation/degradation, the promotion of silvopastoral and agroforestry systems, and tree plantations. In the presence of an appropriate monitoring system, a […]

Originally published at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies. The role of healthy soils in climate protection and food security was a major focus of the COP21 international climate summit in Paris. More than half of the 158 submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) ascribe importance to the agricultural sector. In particular African and Asian countries […]