The main drivers of tropical forest biodiversity loss are land clearing for agriculture, pasture and timber plantation development, followed by logging activities that degrade forests. Deforestation and forest degradation also significantly contribute to climate change, given that they...

The relationships between forests and climate change are complex and multidimensional. Deforestation and forest degradation are now recognised to be a globally significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, and it is asserted that reduction of forest-based emissions may be among the least...

Marine ecosystems and fisheries face serious threats from over-fishing, run-off of land-based pollutants, introductions and invasions of exotic species, coastal development and habitat alteration, unintended by-catch, and climate change. Annual global fish catches fluctuate between 80 and 90...

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...

As much as seventy times more water is needed to grow food than for domestic use. Severely waterscarce countries such as Egypt do not have enough water to grow their own food and need to import food from elsewhere. Countries like the USA, Australia, China, India, Mexico and Turkey have made...

Humanity is facing its greatest challenge. To produce 70% more food by 2050 without destroying the environment means doing much more with less. Partly due to the abundant food and record-low food prices achieved by the Green Revolution, overseas development assistance for agriculture dropped...

A sustainable strategy to nourish the planet and its people must also promote biodiversity conservation. This strategy will have to include reduction in land degradation and unsustainable overuse of fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and irrigation water. A case can be made for...

Biodiversity is the basis for agriculture and for a sustainable future. More than 1.9 million living species have been described; millions more have gone extinct, including major branches of the tree of life. The distribution of this biological diversity is variable in space and time, although it...