A new report recently published by IFPRI highlights the point that while most African farmers perceive that there will be significant changes in rainfall and temperature due to climate change,  they have done little to adapt their farming practices to these changes. The research carried out for this report was undertaken in Ethiopia and South [...]

Starting Monday 17 November, the Agrobiodiversity and Climate Change Project, supported by Bioversity International and the Christensen Fund, is hosting an online discussion to identify gaps in current knowledge about the effects of climate change on local communities and their use of agricultural biodiversity.
To find out more about the discussion or to sign up, [...]

An article in the New Scientist magazine reports on a study showing that modern commercial chicken breeds have lost over half  the genetic diversity of their ancestral lines (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0806569105). This is due to the small number of breeds used in crosses.
A more extensive write-up in Scientific American [...]

A story on ITN demonstrates again the value of preserving rainforest, indeed all biodiversity.
The story reports on the discovery in a Patagonian rainforest of a fungus that produces a substance similar to diesel. The fungus, Gliocladium roseum, converts cellulose directly to bio-diesel.
The potential application in the biofuel industry is obviously huge. It’s a shame that [...]

“Biodiversity and Agricultures : Today’s Challenges, Tomorrow’s Research for More Sustainable Farming” is the theme for the conference that will be held this week in Montpellier, France.  It will be held over two days (4th-5th November) and the main topics up for discussion include:

Ecosystems and agriculture
Agriculture, biodiversity and society: the footprint and the drivers; North/South [...]

A new report has been recently published that outlines the possibility of farming seaweed and marine algae as a future green energy source. The report was commissioned by The Crown Estate and conducted by researchers at The Scottish Association for Marine Science.
The report details the potential of using seaweed to produce biomass for heating homes [...]

2008/10 - Knowledge Share Fair 2009 Blog

CAB International has announce the launch of their new internet resource: Environmental Impact.
The website states “This new online internet resource represents a single, comprehensive and authoritative source of information on the effects of climate change on the biosphere. It also covers other aspects of man’s damage to the environment such as pollution, deforestation, desertification and [...]

One of FAO’s flagship publications has recently been published: “The State of Food and Agriculture 2008?
This issue concentrates on biofuels and looks at answering the following questions:
Do biofuels threaten food security?
Will biofuels reduce greenhouse gases?
Do biofuels put land, water and biodiversity resources at risk?
Can biofuels help promote agricultural development?
How do we balance the risks [...]