Agriculture
The complete guide to restoring your soil: Q&A with soil expert Dale Strickler
Son of a sharecropper and lifetime farmer, Dale Strickler has lived his life by the soil. Strickler grew up in an impoverished area near the Ozarks in the U.S. Midwest, where he says he watched as the crops on his family farm died from drought and as the topsoil washed away from tilled fields. “If […]
Read MoreLack of resolution mechanisms allow palm oil conflicts to fester in Indonesia
JAKARTA — Indonesia has no effective mechanism for resolving its epidemic of land conflicts between rural communities and palm oil companies, according to a new study. Indonesia is the world’s top producer of palm oil, but the industry’s rapid expansion has fueled deforestation and allegations of land grabbing throughout the archipelago nation. The study, produced […]
Read MoreEU proposes ambitious ban on products tied to legal and illegal deforestation
The European Union is considering an ambitious new proposal that would regulate imports of products linked to global forest loss. The law would require suppliers to prove their products haven’t contributed to deforestation, whether legal or illegal. If passed, it would force producers to raise their environmental standards or risk losing out on a market […]
Read MoreNew study helps cattle ranchers monitor ecological impact on U.S. rangelands
Cattle ranchers in the U.S. will soon have a systematic way of measuring the ecological impact that their industry has on rangeland ecosystems across the country. A new study published in Rangeland Ecology & Management lays out a list of the most important factors for ensuring the sustainability of livestock grazing — something that, until […]
Read MoreMore than 100 countries agree: It’s time to end deforestation
Together they represent more than 85 percent of the world’s forests
Read MoreInga tree points to way out of slash-and-burn for Central American farmers
Like many rural families in Central America, Martín García and his sons devoted part of every growing season to slashing and burning a new strip of their land, knowing that it was the only way to make it fertile enough to yield food for everyone. They couldn’t grow on the land they had used in […]
Read MoreCan farm waste help clean up the world’s dirty cargo ships?
The shipping giant Maersk is betting on bio-methanol.
Read MoreIn Detroit, a push to help Black farmers purchase land
Black farmers in Detroit have turned blighted properties into vital food sources. Now, a new land fund is opening the door to official ownership.
Read MoreDeforestation from cattle ranching also hurts rivers in Nicaragua, study says
Cattle ranching has been destroying the Rama-Kriol territory in southeast Nicaragua for decades. And while many researchers have called attention to the devastating forest loss taking place there, few have focused on another, often-overlooked victim: the rivers. A recent study published in the journal Hydrobiologia shows that deforestation from cattle ranching is taking its toll […]
Read MoreGuatemala tightens cattle ranching rules, but can they stop deforestation?
Guatemala is getting ready to implement new regulatory programs for the cattle industry in hopes of slowing the rate of deforestation in some of the country’s most at-risk tropical forests. The government has invested in quarantine pens for cattle raised in Petén, a department that has struggled to prevent cattle ranching from encroaching on the […]
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