Global rates of deforestation and forest degradation continue at persistently high levels, although annual net rates of forest loss have slowed to approximately 8 Mha as the extent of planted forests increases. Drivers of deforestation vary geographically. Conversion to both large- and...

Who feeds the world? Two billion small-scale farmers who in addition to feeding themselves also produce surpluses for local markets — these are the food producers for a global population. Domestic markets along with the food consumed by the producers’ families constitute more than 70% of the...

Australia is a vast, dry continent that faces huge challenges in reversing its land degradation processes to achieve a sustainable future. Many of these challenges are similar to those in much of the developing world. Australia is forthrightly tackling them with innovative solutions, and has...

This talk will explore the crucial linkages between urbanisation and food security, based on our recent and ongoing research studies. Urbanisation is often cited as one of the significant factors threatening food security. First of all, urbanisation leads to land use conversion from agricultural...

Proceedings of the 2012 Parliamentary Conference, with Sir John Beddington; Professor Jonathon Foley; Dr Derek Byerlee; Dr Frank Rijsberman and others

Recent strong commodity prices have led to rising demand for farmland and this is projected to continue for the medium term because of increasing populations and incomes and growing use of biofuels. Global analysis indicates that about 450 Mha of suitable land may be available to bring into...

Mining of energy resources and minerals is clearly the running down of a large but finite, and non-renewable, resource. It is important also to recognise the nonrenewable aspects of food production: in particular, net consumption of nutrients and soil as well as the direct and embodied...

The Sir John Crawford Memorial Address has been presented since 1985, in honour of the distinguished Australian civil servant, educator and agriculturalist in whose name the Crawford Fund was established. Sir John Crawford was a remarkable Australian who contributed at the highest levels, and...

The world-wide intensification of livestock industries poses major challenges for waste disposal. For example, the total solids wastes discharged from livestock farms in China exceeded 1.7 billion tons in 1997, with a further 20 billion tons of waste water being discharged to the environment —...

Deforestation continues at a significant rate, especially in developing tropical countries. The process is a consequence of pressures to realise the commercial value of the timber and/or the land, the latter typically for either agriculture or settlement. Forests are integral to a variety of...