Search results

115 results
A farmer in a buckwheat field close to harvest time in Gansu Province, China. The country's agriculture is currently facing major environmental challenges (Photo: Han Jianping)
Sustainable agriculture in China: then and now
… major exporter of both fresh produce and processed foods.  Changes in food production and consumption in China and their environmental effects … beyond. In particular, reducing greenhouse gases associated with the food system would have global environment benefits.        China's … recycled to maintain soil fertility.  Agriculture without waste In his book ' Farmers of Forty Centuries ', the American …
Insight, 26 March 2015
Cover of the paper, Successful smallholder management of agrobiodiversity in Northern Tanzania
Successful smallholder management of agrobiodiversity in Northern Tanzania
… circles, entrepreneurship, poultry rearing, and the use of livestock waste to make biogas. Seed management has also been crucial to … Food and agriculture …
Publication, 17 April 2023
Plastic debris litters the beach on Clipperton Island, a tiny uninhabited coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean (Photo: Clifton Beard, Creative Commons via Flickr)
Transitioning towards a plastic free world
… life without plastics. From plastic shopping bags and takeaway food containers, to our disposable cups and cutlery and bicycle tires – … and health implications. Microplastics have become part of the food chain of marine life. They are ingested by zooplankton which in … members of the United Nations ‘committed’ to a plan to curb plastic waste entering the ocean . In typical UN language, 'commitment' means …
Insight, 30 May 2018
Cutting down trees, especially for livestock grazing, can lead to soil erosion, as seen on this hillside outside Addis Ababa (Photo: Aaron Minnick/World Resources Institute, Creative Commons via Flickr)
Shaping the future of forest and farm landscapes in Africa
… caused by agriculture expansion.  Increasing competition for land: food vs. forests   This forest loss is likely to continue, largely out of the need to produce food for the continent's growing population. The population of … supply cannot be achieved solely through imports , by reducing food waste − or yield increases.  When forest governance is weak and market …
Insight, 21 August 2017
Rows of small dishes containing various types of vegetable seeds, including beans and grains
Madagascar needs agroforestry businesses in its response to climate change
Insight, 27 September 2019
Bloggers: Have you joined a virtuous circle yet?
… late.  The book explains that the current “staggeringly inefficient” food system is based on the assumption that the earth has a limitless … can somehow absorb the pollution, carbon dioxide emissions and solid waste created by it. The 150 separate processes across several … and encourage them to change the way they shop for and consume food.” Inspired? It’s not too late to blog. Email me with a link to your …
Insight, 07 December 2011
Cover for 10786IIED.pdf
Building a resilient city for whom? Exploring the gendered processes of adaptation to change: a case study of street vendors in Hanoi
… how street vendors’ responses, in turn, shape the current informal food systems in Hanoi. To do this, the study employs gender analysis … of these street vendors are women, and for those women, informal food systems are operated based on social, rather than economic, … daily access to micro-nutrient-rich food meanwhile minimising food waste. In that context, and without a clear appreciation of these …
Publication, 01 May 2016
Cover for 14622IIED.pdf
Tried and tested: learning from farmers on adaptation to climate change
… how measures to increase climate change resilience must view food, energy, water and waste management systems as interconnected and mutually dependent. This … Food and agriculture …
Publication, 01 April 2013
A street vendor sells produce in Surabaya, Indonesia (Photo: Schristia, Creative Commons, via Flickr)
Showcasing innovations in policy approaches to informality
… formalisation: authorities working with marginalised workers in e-waste; dialogues that relocate street-vendors to safer spaces; national … of the dairy sector in Kenya In developing countries, perishable food is mostly sold in informal markets and often does not meet national food safety standards. Government regulation in informal markets has not …
Article, 21 July 2015
50% of the planet falls outside national boundaries. Ungoverned, these seas are exposed to widespread abuses such as overfishing or the dumping of chemical waste and plastic (Image: IIED/Soapbox)
IIED animation: how a new global treaty could turn the tide to save the high seas
… to widespread abuses such as overfishing or the dumping of chemical waste and plastic. This puts the food security of millions of people at stake. And, due to the …
News, 21 February 2019