RAINWATER HARVESTING:
HELP IN DRY REGIONS FOR FUTURE FOOD PRODUCTION
SDU 3/6, DECEMBER 2003
In the coming 50 years food production will have to quadruple in dry regions in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia in order to feed the growing population. Harvesting of rainwater is a low-tech alternative solution to increase food production in dry areas with high rainfall variability.
Dr. Johan Rockström from Unesco-IHE has focused much of his research on the possibilities of what he calls ”closing the yield gap” between the actual yields achieved by farmers and the potential yields that could be met with a better management of the limited soil and water resources. Taking advantage of the vast amount of water that falls on land during heavy rainfall events is one of the most promising areas for increased food production in the dry tropics, according to Rockström and his colleagues within the new Sida-financed research programme "Smallholder system innovations in integrated watershed management: Strategies of water for food and environmental security in drought prone tropical and subtropical agro-ecosystems (SSI)". [Keep Reading | Top ^]
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Copyright © 2003 Albaeco, Sweden
WAR & THE ENVIRONMENT
SDU 3/2, FEBRUARY 2003
The war may be won, now it’s time to win the peace. Rebuilding a country after a war is not only about reconstructing health services, roads, ports, airports and schools. It is also about cleaning up the environment and restoring damaged ecosystems to secure the future supply of natural resources and ecosystem services needed for filtering air and water, ensuring food supply, and providing erosion control and fertile soil.
War causes human suffering and grief. People are killed or wounded, made homeless, hungry and thirsty. Families are separated, education systems collapse and the mental health of civilians and soldiers is seriously harmed. It might seem ridiculous to worry about the damage war does to the environment, to ecosystems and their animal species. However, human suffering caused by war is often prolonged by environmental destruction. After a war, rebuilding is necessary—not only for buildings, roads, railways, the education system and health care, but also for ecosystems. A country recovering from war must restore drinking water supplies, damaged wetlands, agriculture, forests, lakes and the marine environment as ecological and economic recovery is often linked. [Keep Reading | Top ^]
Reproduced here by Permission of Albaeco.com
Copyright © 2003 Albaeco, Sweden
LIVING WITH DISTURBANCE: TOMORROW'S DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
SDU 3/1, FEBRUARY 2003
Farmers in Samoa grow a mix of different crops in an agricultural system that might seem inefficient. But these farmers expect the unexpected. They use several techniques to cope with recurrent and unpredictable cyclones. Their flexible approach to living with uncertainty holds lessons for resource managers working in an ever more unpredictable environment due to global environmental change.
Tropical cyclones are common in Samoa, located in western Polynesia. More than 40 cyclones have been recorded there since 1831. It is impossible to say when and where they will occur, but when they hit, they cause widespread destruction of villages and plantations. Traditional agriculture in Samoa has, however, learnt to live with these recurrent disturbances. After two severe cyclones in the early 1990's, farmers were asked what they would do to reduce the effects of another cyclone. The most common answers were: 1) pray, 2) diversify my crops, and 3) work harder. In practice, their strategies have been much more sophisticated. They have developed an array of techniques to cope with uncertainties in their environment. [Keep Reading | Top ^]
Reproduced here by Permission of Albaeco.com
Copyright © 2003 Albaeco, Sweden
CORAL REEFS: IMPORTANT ASSETS TO THE POOR
SDU 2/6, DECEMBER 2002
Two new reports on the status of the world's coral reefs contain a mix of good and bad news. The rate of damage to coral reefs is increasing, but is counteracted by an increase in conservation efforts. Such efforts must include the millions of poor to whom coral reefs are a significant source of protein. The poorest of the poor often rely on coastal resources when nothing else is available....
The bad news is that for many reefs severely damaged by bleaching in 1998, recovery is slow. This has affected food security as well as local and national economies that depend on reef related tourism and industry. In the many reefs that are also stressed by high levels of sediment, nutrient pollution and over-fishing, recovery is even slower or is actually stalled. The good news is that bleached reefs show signs of recovery at all, and that for unstressed reefs, predominately in protected areas, recovery is encouraging. [Keep Reading | Top ^]
Reproduced here by Permission of Albaeco.com
Copyright © 2002 Albaeco, Sweden
THE VALUE OF NATURE & THE NATURE OF VALUE
SDU 2/5, OCTOBER 2002
Many of Nature's services are literally priceless - we cannot live without them and they have no known substitutes. "Pricing" these services can focus attention on the importance of healthy ecosystems for sustained development and poverty alleviation. But what's behind the price tags?
Pollination, by for example butterflies, has been estimated to be worth about 400 billion US dollars annually.
The world's ecosystems provide a flow of vital services, like the generation of fertile soils, purification of air and water, the mitigation of floods and drought, pollination and pest control. The world economy would crash without this "natural capital." In this sense, the value of nature's services is infinite - we simply cannot live without them. Unfortunately, "infinite" often becomes "zero" in the economic calculations that guide land-use and policy decisions. In this respect, human societies indirectly assign values to Nature every time a land use decision is made - whether we like it or not. [Keep Reading | Top ^]
Reproduced here by Permission of Albaeco.com
Copyright © 2002 Albaeco, Sweden
JOHANNESBURG: IS THE WORLD BECOMING MORE SUSTAINABLE?
SDU 2/4, AUGUST 2002
The 1972 UN Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm is acknowledged as the landmark event that put environmental issues on the international political agenda. In the 1980's the UN World Commission on Environment and Development produced the Brundtland Report: "Our Common Future". This document framed discussions at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and includes the most commonly used definition of sustainable development: "development that meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
Though the 1972 and 1992 summits focused world attention on environmental problems, many are frustrated with the lack of progress since the 1992 adoption of Agenda 21, a global action plan for sustainable development. It is now time to evaluate what has really happened since Rio, focus future goals, and agree on how to implement Agenda 21. [Keep Reading | Top ^]
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