Tag Archives: 2012RioPlus20

Animal Breeding / Biotechnology / East Africa / Event / Film and video / Genetics / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / Interview / Kenya / Staff

Kenyan Bridgit Muasa on cross-breeding ‘supercows’ for Africa

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Watch ‘The Importance of Livestock Production in Kenya’, a short (3:12) filmed interview by FarmingFirst at Rio+20 of 2010 AWARD Fellow Bridgit Muasa, a Kenyan livestock breeding specialist mentored by ILRI scientist Karen Marshall. Bridgit Muasa, from Kenya, is a veterinary officer with the Kenya Ministry of Livestock Development. She has been mentored in the African … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Brazil / China / Event report / India / Opinion piece / Policy

Rio+20 ‘ducked’ political realities: Time for South to show ‘political muscle and imaginative thinking’

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Happy dragon in Fengdu, China (photo on Flickr by Major Clanger). SciDevNet’s David Dickson argues in an opinion piece last week that the outcomes of the June Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development illustrate that leadership from developing countries will be key to global sustainable development. Dickson says that the result of Rio-20 was ‘the … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Environment / Event report / Food Security / Policy

The road back to Rio: Scientists find final ‘The Future We Want’ document to be ‘science light’

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Scientists complain that the new Rio+20 accord barely mentions the scientific inputs needed for sustainable development (photo on Flickr by CGIAR Climate/CCAFS). ‘The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) ended last Friday (22 June) with an international agreement on the need for all countries to commit themselves to achieving sustainable development. ‘The agreement immediately … Continue reading →

Environment / NRM / Policy

On the road back to Rio: Is the new mantra – ‘inclusive green growth’ – really possible?

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‘The real question about green growth is whether it can fulfil its promise that poor countries can have both greenery and prosperity.’–Economist. An example of an ‘investment-hungry project’ that can bring high environmental as well as poverty-reduction returns is greater adoption of improved dual purpose ‘food-feed’ crops whose grain feeds people and whose residues after … Continue reading →

Article / Environment

Sober look at people-environment links for Rio+20: Better technologies and use of natural resources essential but not sufficient

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Figurine of a Cycladic (Keros-Syros culture) woman, dated to 2700–2400 BC and said to be from Syros (photo on Flickr by Ann Wuyts/vintagedept). Tara Garnett, in the current issue of her always-interesting Food Climate change Research Network (FCRN) newsletter, draws attention to some sobering news and advice for decision-makers attending the Rio+20 UN Conference on … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Environment / Event / Food Security

The road back to Rio: Will an opportunity for a safer, fairer, more united world be squandered?

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Rain clouds over a farming village near Iringa, Tanzania; time is running out for forging a new pact at Rio+20 this month for the world’s sustainable development and food security (photo on Flickr by United Nations/Wolff). The BBC environment correspondent Richard Black reports today that time is running out for countries now negotiating key issues … Continue reading →

Agriculture / CCAFS / CGIAR / Food Security / Interview / Knowledge and Information / Research

At Rio+20 agriculture and environment must become ‘best friends’ – Frank Rijsberman

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Farm landscape in Lalibela, northern Ethiopia (photo on Flickr by Philip Kromer). ‘In the run-up to RIO+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), CGIAR, the global agricultural research partnership, issued a call-to-action. In this seven-point plan, CGIAR outlines how agricultural research for development can contribute to a more sustainable, food-secure future. ‘Bruce Campbell, Director … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Climate Change / Geodata

Climate change: Is geoengineering the answer? The danger? Or the necessary fall back?

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This image, from an article on the Explain That Stuff website about geoengineering, is a derivative work based on NASA’s 1972 (public domain) photo Full Earth, courtesy of NASA Johnson Space Center. An article in the New Yorker this month explores our (risky) options for ‘geoengineering’ our ways out of climate change. Will such novel approaches be endorsed … Continue reading →

Event / Intensification / Pro-Poor Livestock

Getting the clever benefits of kinder livestock farming on the ‘Rio+20’ agenda

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A Gloucestershire Old Spots pig rescued from a ‘pastured pork’ operation that kills runty piglets (photo on Flickr by Marji Beach). ‘Human development and biodiversity will not be the only focus of the Rio+20 Earth Summit in June, for which representatives of hundreds of states and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will gather to discuss sustainable development. … Continue reading →