Strengthening crops with insect exoskeletons? Study says yes, by way of the soil
The latest recipe is here: you’ll need a cup of minerals, two tablespoons of air and water, a few billion microorganisms, a teaspoon of organic matter and … a pinch…
Mongabay series: Agroecology
Based on traditional knowledge, agroecology is a sustainable and productive agriculture method that can solve multiple challenges at once, from food insecurity to biodiversity loss and climate change, as the 2022 IPCC report reiterated. Agroecology encompasses a wide range of techniques ranging from agroforestry to seed saving, fish ponds and natural fertilizer production.
Africa’s land and forest restoration initiative gathers pace in Malawi
In front of his rural home in the district of Thyolo in southern Malawi, Douglas Tana grows maize on a tenth of a hectare, or a quarter acre. Before 2010,…
Cycling oil palm biomass waste back into the soil can boost soil health, study says
A new study recommends returning oil palm biomass to planting areas to maintain soil health — specifically, by replenishing the soil with silicon. The research was published in April by…
Organic farming, and community spirit, buoy a typhoon-battered Philippine town
KIDAY, Philippines — Gloomy skies don’t dampen the spirit of Virginia Nazareno as she happily waters organic vegetables on an April morning in Kiday, a sitio or hamlet on the…
Forests & Finance: Agroforestry in Cameroon and reforestation in South Africa
Cameroon cocoa growers plant fruit trees to slow forest conversion Cocoa farmers in part of Cameroon’s Centre region have begun planting fruit trees alongside their cocoa trees. Agroforestry promoters hope…
Study: Women, youths can be more effective at driving sustainable farming changes
JAKARTA — A new study has shown that farmers who aren’t traditionally perceived as having the most social and cultural power in their community can be more effective at convincing…
Senegal herders demand return of grazing grounds controlled by U.S. firm
SAINT-LOUIS, Senegal — Every afternoon, Bouba Sow, 67, crosses the Ndiaël in Senegal’s Saint-Louis region with his goats so that they can graze. The territory is immense and partly desert.…
Duck, duck, rice: Vermont farm models diverse method of raising sustainable grains
FERRISBURGH, Vermont — The home that farmer Erik Andrus built with his wife, Erica, sits on a slight rise above a stretch of fields that have been subjected to a…
Can we fix our failing food systems? Agroecology has answers
Overproduction of cash crops, vast monocultures of chemical-dependent grains and massive animal agriculture operations are putting major stress not just on U.S. farmland — where they’re contributing to soil erosion,…
For Dutch farming crisis, agroforestry offers solutions: Q&A with Lennart Fuchs & Marc Buiter
Last year, farmer protests erupted throughout the Netherlands, riding a wave of rural anger at government plans to drastically halve nitrogen emissions by downsizing and closing farms. This quickly swept…
Agroecology is a poverty solution in Haiti (commentary)
Haiti is facing a profound political and economic crisis. Functional governance that serves the interests of Haiti’s people is largely nonexistent. One of the necessities to overcome this crisis is…
‘During droughts, pivot to agroecology’: Q&A with soil expert at the World Agroforestry Centre
This interview was produced with the funding support of the Pulitzer Center. WESTERN TURKANA, Kenya—Driving across Northern Kenya’s Turkana County, the seemingly boundless terrain of sand dunes, dusty brushes and…
Trees with edible leaves can boost human nutrition: New book, free download
Trees are good for many things, and their widespread planting is promoted as a solution to challenges ranging from climate change to biodiversity loss, desertification of cropland and rangeland, to…
Amid global mezcal craze, scientists and communities try out sustainable plantations
TEHUACÁN-CUICATLÁN BIOSPHERE RESERVE, Mexico — The palenques, or local mezcal production sites, in the village of Santa María Ixcatlán stand unusually empty before the local Day of the Dead celebrations.…
Sustainable fish farming & agroecology buoy Kenyan communities
GATUNGA, Kenya — The dry spell that troubled Kenya for the past few years has shaken the country’s rural food systems. But Japheth Nthiga, a farmer from Karethani village in…
‘One of our greatest climate solutions’: Q&A with the U.S. National Agroforestry Center’s new director
The new director of the U.S. National Agroforestry Center (NAC) received her doctorate in plant physiological ecology/ecosystem ecology and a Master's in forest science from Yale University, and joined the…
How agroforestry can restore degraded lands and provide income in the Amazon
NOVA CALIFÓRNIA, Brazil — Hamilton Condack smiles and points to a towering ipê tree rooted in the plot of land where he lives and produces food. “When I first got…
Photos: Newcomer farmers in Brazil embrace bees, agroforestry and find success
PARAÍBA VALLEY, Brazil — Under the frigid morning air of the Mantiqueira Mountains in southeastern Brazil, honeybees begin leaving the hive. “When day breaks they are calmer,” says Mara Galvão,…
Can a luxury chocolate company help a Congolese forest?
African cocoa plantations have seen massive growth in recent years on its path to help feed the world’s veracious appetite for a popular delicacy – chocolate. The Ivory Coast, the…
Breaking free from photosynthesis: Will high-tech foods save nature?
Environmentalist George Monbiot argues for the production of food from bacteria fed on hydrogen — bypassing photosynthesis. Some warn this techno fix will be taken over by corporations and exclude the world’s traditional peoples.
Lebanese research preserves heat-adapted seeds to feed a warming world
TERBOL, Lebanon — Sitting cross-legged in the summer sun, Fatima collects seedpods from fava beans in Terbol, a quiet village surrounded by cypress trees and vineyards in the Beqaa Valley…
Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
GORONTALO, Indonesia — In a Chanel-print dress and wielding a machete, Ermi Mauke means business as she hikes past cashew and coffee seedlings she planted on the approach to Indonesia’s…
‘Viable, just & necessary’: Agroecology is a movement in Brazil
The Landless Workers Movement in Brazil (or MST, its acronym in Portuguese) is one of the largest social movements in the world. Born in the early 1980s at the end…
Seaweed an increasingly fragile lifeline for Philippine farmers
Balintang, PHILIPPINES — “Seaweeds are important to me because they give me joy when we plant them,” says Melinda Gimotea, as she crouches down among the pile of seaweed seedlings…
In Bali, snakefruit farmers hope agroforestry bears fruit as island reopens
DENPASAR, Indonesia — People in Sibetan village got used to wearing face masks before the coronavirus pandemic shut down Bali’s tourism industry for two years and killed more than 4,000…
Lack of finance prevents Bangladesh farmers from diversifying their rice crops
Bangladesh is home to more than 130 different rice varieties, but a lack of economic incentives means farmers here grow only a handful of the higher-yielding types. This has given…
In Indonesian Papua, a one-time gun trafficker now preaches permaculture
SORONG, Indonesia — Thriving across half a hectare in the hills of West Papua’s Mariat district are mustard greens, long beans, spinach, chilies and tomatoes. There’s also fruit such as…
Urban farming in Indonesia addresses food needs and climate crisis
MEDAN, Indonesia — Food plants intermingle on the second-floor rooftop of a house in Medan, the biggest city on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They were planted by Sakiah Nasution,…
Regenerative agriculture in Mexico boosts yields while restoring nature
NUEVO MEXICO, Mexico — Standing in her cornfield in Chiapas state, surrounded by mountains and dry tropical forests, Maria Luisa Gordillo Mendoza looks concerned. “They said we were pigs for…
Let it grow: Q&A with reforestation and land restoration visionary Tony Rinaudo
Tony Rinaudo is an Australian agronomist who was given the Right Livelihood Award in 2018 for demonstrating how drylands can be re-greened on a large scale at minimal cost, making…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Bolivia’s El Curichi Las Garzas protected area taken over by land-grabbers
- Authorities struggle to protect Bolivian national park from drug-fueled deforestation
- Poverty and plantations: Nigerian reserve struggles against the odds
- Logging, road construction continue to fuel forest loss in Papua New Guinea
Oceans
- Global coral beaching now underway looks set to be largest on record
- In Java Sea, vigilantism and poverty rise as purse seine fishing continues
- As a megaport rises in Cameroon, a delicate coastal ecosystem ebbs
- Deep-sea mining’s future still murky as negotiations end on mixed note
Amazon Conservation
- A short walk through Amazon time: Interview with archaeologist Anna Roosevelt
- Alis Ramírez: A defender of the Colombian Amazon now living as a refugee in New Zealand
- Agribusiness bill moves to block grassland protections in Brazilian biomes
- Amazon prosecutors get sharper impact tool to charge illegal gold dealers
Land rights and extractives
- Maluku bone collector unearths troubling consequence of coastal abrasion
- New FPIC guide designed to help protect Indigenous rights as mineral mining booms
- World Bank’s IFC under fire over alleged abuses at Liberian plantation it funded
- Locals slam Zimbabwe for turning a blind eye to Chinese miner’s violations
Endangered Environmentalists
- Indonesian activists face jail over FB posts flagging damage to marine park
- Vietnamese environmentalist sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax evasion
- Son of slain Quilombola leader will still strive for community’s rights
- Video: Five Tembé Indigenous activists shot in Amazonian ‘palm oil war’
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
- After 20 years and thousands of trees planted, Kalimantan’s veteran forester persists
Conservation Effectiveness
- The conservation sector must communicate better (commentary)
- Thailand tries nature-based water management to adapt to climate change
- Forest restoration to boost biomass doesn’t have to sacrifice tree diversity
- How scientists and a community are bringing a Bornean river corridor back to life
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
- To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest
