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A new atlas published today shows that 54 per cent of the world’s land surface consists of vast tracts of land covered by grass, shrubs or sparse, hardy vegetation that support millions of pastoralists, hunter gatherers, ranchers and large populations of wildlife--and store large amounts of carbon. Yet while most climate plans focus on forests, much less importance is given to…

Human reliance on fossil fuels is resulting in worse and longer droughts. It’s a familiar message across the world. LONDON, 27 May, 2021 − Researchers have been busy trying to find out more about why many parts of the world are experiencing worse and longer droughts. Californian scientists had cleared up any confusion about Californian droughts. And about droughts in the rest of the…

Odds are increasing that the annual average global temperature will rise beyond 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, in at least one of the next five years, the UN weather agency warns in a new report issued on Thursday. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said there was a 40% chance of the watershed global warming mark being met during the time frame, and these odds are increasing…

By 2050, up to 3.4 billion people could be living in water-stressed environments in Asia. A survey of 48 countries in the Asia-Pacific region assessed the state and characteristics of water governance in the region. The OECD intends to elaborate on its Water Governance Initiative by establishing a methodology to “measure the impacts and results of good governance on…

This report sheds light on the significant co-benefits of NCS to nature and humanity. Carbon market participants are increasingly recognizing these broader benefits. Not least of these is the flow of private capital they can generate to countries that offer the highest potential for NCS projects, typically forest-rich countries in the Global South. The report shows how NCS are…

In most EU Member States, agricultural land area is expected to decrease in coming years due to land abandonment (alongside other factors such as urban expansion). A better understanding of the extent and location of abandoned land is needed to estimate local effects and adapt policy to suit. This study presents a method to anticipate the occurrence of agricultural abandonment, using a…