forester News
-
Forests and the global economy: 10 million new jobs - FAO
Ten million new “green jobs” can be created by investing in sustainable forest management, according to FAO. “As more jobs are lost due to the current economic downturn, sustainable forest management could become a means of creating millions of green jobs, thus helping to reduce poverty and improve the environment,” said Jan Heino, Assistant Director-General of FAO’s Forestry Department. Since ...
-
Action needed to safeguard genetic diversity of the world`s forests
FAO today urged countries to improve data gathering and research to promote the conservation and sustainable management of the world's forest genetic resources, which are coming under increasing pressure. According to the first-ever edition of The State of the World's Forest Genetic Resources report, half of the forest species reported as regularly utilized by countries are threatened by the ...
-
Building the foundation for REDD+: Recommendations for Durban on Forest Monitoring
Though forests play an essential role in international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the development of systems to monitor deforestation and forest degradation has been slow. This is due to the demanding technical requirements and the large capacity gaps in many countries. Measuring and monitoring change on the ground and via satellite in a consistent way is no easy task. Countries ...
-
Promoting small-scale planting of trees in dryland areas
This policy brief, published by the research network NCCR North-South, argues for policies that promote planting trees in drylands on a small scale, because large-scale projects can negatively affect local ecosystems. International aid agencies and governments have been promoting large-scale planting for more than a century. But the practice is becoming increasingly controversial. Advocates say ...
By SciDev.Net
-
Valtra N113 HiTech aids game management in Finland
The Korhonen farm in Tervo, Finland, uses a Valtra N113 HiTech to maintain its forests and fields for game management. Nature is everything to this family’s active hunters, who manage their farm with respect for the environment. In this they rely on their Valtra. Antti Korhonen and his son Mikko are active nature lovers and hunters. Their family farm focuses on game management and ...
-
Big Data Climate Challenge winners show how big data can drive climate action
The winners of the Big Data Climate Challenge have been announced as part of the buildup to the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit on 23 September at UN Headquarters in New York. The winners include a monitoring system that provides real-time information on forests, and a tool for farmers in Colombia that promotes climate-smart agriculture. The winners will be invited to attend the ...
-
Leaders at Senate Ag Hearing Urge Passage of the Bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act
Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hosted a hearing on the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act, where prominent agricultural leaders urged passage of the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act. U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Committee, and Mike Braun (R-IN), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry, and ...
-
Abandoned farmland widespread in central and eastern Europe
A new study suggests that abandoned farmland is widespread in Europe and that not all land that has been abandoned is unsuitable for farming. Understanding how abandoned farmland is distributed may be important for making land management decisions – for instance, recultivation versus reversion to forest. To meet the future demands of a growing population, it may be necessary to increase ...
-
Avirtech precision seed shooter drones accelerate reforestation
Reforestation has long been recognized as an essential strategy for creating a sustainable future and reducing carbon emissions. It is critical to maintaining biodiversity habitats and necessary for climate change mitigation and adaptation plans in the long term. One of the most popular and essential uses of reforestation is carbon credits, which are becoming increasingly crucial for businesses ...
-
USDA Awards Nearly $1.8 Million in Conservation Innovation Grants to PA Projects
HARRISBURG, Pa.- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced the winning proposals for the 2010 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG). "Among the 61 projects selected, six of them will directly benefit Pennsylvanians," announced Noel Soto, CIG program Coordinator for USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). CIG invests in innovative, on-the-ground conservation technologies ...
-
Background: Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Brussels, 23 September 2013
The Council meeting will address agricultural matters; it will start at 10.00 on Monday 23 September 2013. The Council will be chaired by Mr Vigilijus JUK$A, Minister for Agriculture. As regards agriculture, there will be a public debate on the state of play on the common agricultural policy (CAP) reform package after a political agreement was reached with the other EU institutions on the ...
-
Global alliance to strengthen research–farmer links
An international alliance of research institutions will try to implement the results of agricultural research and to communicate findings to smallholder farmers in developing nations. The Association of International Research and Development Centres for Agriculture (AIRCA) was launched last month (30 October) at the Second Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development in Uruguay. ...
By SciDev.Net
-
Rural development programmes 2007-2014 approved by the EC
Country profile GERMANY Size: 357,000 km² Population: 82.31 millions inhabitants (density: 231 inhabitants/ km²) GDP per capita: € 23,702 (year 2003; source: national strategy plan for rural development) Rural areas cover 80% of the German territory and about 40% of the population live in these areas. The German situation is characterized by important regional discrepancies such ...
-
Fertiliser trees prove a hit in southern Africa
Hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in southern Africa are adopting fast-growing trees and shrubs to fertilise their fields naturally, for improved yields and incomes, according to a study. Scientists at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), a non-profit research organisation in Kenya, analysed two decades-worth of efforts to bring 'fertiliser trees' to African farms and announced ...
By SciDev.Net
-
Third world climate conference
With climate change increasing the incidence and severity of weather events, agriculture, one of the most climate dependent of all human activities, depends heavily on effective meteorological services which are vital to climate change mitigation and adaptation, said an FAO expert today. “The economic costs associated with natural disasters, including extreme weather events, have increased ...
-
Creating A Greener Future: Conservation Leadership Corps Gives Hands-On Work Experience To 70 Detroit High School Students
Summer just got a little greener for 70 Detroit public high school students participating in the Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC), a summer jobs program created and sponsored by Johnson Controls, Inc. in partnership with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and The Greening of Detroit. In its fourth year in Detroit, the CLC promotes environmental conservation and development of ...
-
Nutrient levels on the decline in many Estonian rivers
A new study has analysed the impact of industrial and agricultural changes on nutrients in Estonian rivers. The results indicated that there were significant reductions in nitrogen in one third of the sites, significant reductions in phosphorus in a quarter of sites and significant reductions in both nutrients in nearly a tenth of sites. High levels of nutrients, such as nitrogen and ...
-
Race is on to feed warming world
It can take up to 30 years to improve a crop variety, test it and persuade farmers to adopt it. That means the speed of climate change in Africa could make a new variety of maize useless even before the first harvest, according to new research. But two separate studies that address the challenge of food security in a rapidly warming world suggest that the answers may lie not just in future ...
-
New PED Talks Video Series Digs into Soil Health
A series of 10-to-15-minute, science-centered “PED Talks” on soil health has been posted on YouTube. Soil peds are aggregated particles of sand, silt, clay, and organic matter. Like their namesake, PED Talks combine soil-related topics including explanations of soil health, how we can improve it, and the progress that’s being made to ensure we have the healthy soils necessary to ...
-
Healthy soils are paramount in the fight against climate change
The paramount importance of healthy soils as a means to fight climate change is a key message in the UN landmark report published by Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in 2019. The report was a leading force in highlighting nature’s dangerous decline and acceleration rates of extinction. However, despite its clear message that echoes ...
Need help finding the right suppliers? Try XPRT Sourcing. Let the XPRTs do the work for you