A Global Agricultural Research Partnership

Planet Under Pressure

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Held in London during March 26-29, “Planet Under Pressure” is a major international science conference focusing on solutions to the global sustainability challenge.

As “agriculture” is a critical area for both food security and environmental sustainability, CGIAR had a significant presence at the conference, linking “our knowledge” with “the actions” needed.

This page aggregates our live reports, background documents and press clips.

The CGIAR live blog:

March 30 (and beyond):

March 29:

March 28:

March 27:

March 26:

Live Twitter reporters from the conference: (Using tag:#planet2012)

Our background/reference documents and research:

Who writes about us?

A list of pickups by the press and blogs:

CGIAR participated in the following conference events and sessions:

26 March at 16:00 UK (Room 12 at the conference)
Summary: Terry Sunderland from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) will do a presentation at this session. Despite the global commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity and over a century of conservation action, the loss of biodiversity continues apace with likely impacts on ecosystem services and human well-being. A new conservation paradigm is required if biodiversity is to be retained and the needs of a rapidly increasing human population are to be met. (More)

27 March 14:00-14:45 CET (Live webcast/chat)
Bioversity International organises a live webcast and chat on ‘Agricultural Biodiversity and our Planet’. Our expert panel – Emile Frison, Bruce Cogill, Fabrice DeClerck and Stephan Weise – will respond to questions and comments about how agricultural biodiversity can contribute to the global sustainability challenge and improve nutrition and livelihoods in smallholder farming communities. Contribute questions and comments before and during the event via the Twitter tag #abdchat (More on their landing page)

27 March at 14:00 UK (Room 16 at the conference)
This session will focus on the main challenges of the integration of scientific disciplines within the context of global change. The main goal of the session is to enable open discussions with conference participants, to exchange experiences and develop ideas about best integrated research practices, and how to help contribute to providing solutions to the grand challenges of global sustainability. (More)

27 March at 16:00 UK (Room 7 at the conference)
This session will explore transformational options for feeding a growing world population and developing agriculture to fight poverty while remaining within the guardrails of two planetary boundaries: water and greenhouse gas emissions. Presentations cover the global to village scale, and include models and case studies. (More)

27 March at 17:30 UK (CGIAR exhibition booth at the conference)
The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems is a ten year commitment to bring about a radical transformation in the way land, water and natural systems are managed. It is being led by the International Water Management Institute, which has just been named this year’s Stockholm Water Prize Laureate. (More)

28 March at 10:30 UK (Room 8 at the conference)
How do we manage agricultural landscapes to achieve poverty reduction, increased food production, and also support biodiversity, natural resources and their associated ecosystem services? This session is designed to understand the tradeoffs between different ecosystem services, and to translate this knowledge into action toward more sustainable and resilient pathways through both public and private actors. (More)

Wednesday 28 March, 10:30 UK (Room 10 at the conference)
This session included a presentation on the Global Comparative Study on REDD+ by CIFOR scientist Monica Di Gregorio. In this session we seek to address three important challenges related to implementing the market mechanism, REDD+ (reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhanced forest carbon stocks): 1) Enabling Framework: What are the regulatory and political conditions that need to be fulfilled for REDD+ to be implemented; what are key national challenges for both donor countries and recipient countries? 2) Forest Management: What are some potential implications, both positive and negative, of REDD+ for forest ecosystems? What multi-purpose strategies are required to ensure successful forest management even if the REDD+ market fails? 3) Local Livelihoods: How best should REDD+ be integrated with current local access rules and management of forests? Who are likely to win and lose as a result of REDD+? What institutional mechanisms are likely to be more or less efficient and equitable? (More)

28 March at 12:30 UK (Room 11 at the conference)
The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change synthesized existing research to produce a set of specific policy recommendations for achieving food security in the context of climate change. Led by Commission Chair, Sir John Beddington, and featuring presentations by Commissioners Dr. Molly Jahn, Prof. Tekalign Mamo and Dr. Bob Scholes. This session will engage participants to identify further opportunities to integrate recommended policy actions and investments into key venues. (More)

28 March at 17:30 UK (at the conference)
Subsistence farmers are among the most vulnerable to current climate variability due to their overall lack of income, access to markets, lack of information and technology and thus their ability to cope with weather extremes. Agroforestry, or the intentional use of trees in the cropping system, has been proposed by many development practitioners as a potential strategy to help farmers reduce their vulnerability to climate change. (More)

29 March at 15:00 UK (Room 11 at the conference)
This session will look into what types of paradigm shifts that are need to translate the rhetoric of “avoiding dangerous climate change” into effective policies and actions? This session brings together physical and social perspectives on the transformations considered necessary to meet unprecedented risks. The papers question some key assumptions of current approaches. Following presentations, a discussion will focus on alternative approaches to addressing climate change. (More)

29 March at 15:00 UK (Room 10 at the conference)
This session explores the possibilities of using social protection to build resilience to climate change, addressing the following questions: How has social protection been used to reduce risk and vulnerability to climate change? What are the methodological challenges of targeting the most vulnerable? What kinds of policies need to be in place to build resilience over the next century?The World Agroforestry Centre will be represented by Henry Neufeldt who will participate in the poster-session, Reducing Subsistence Farmers’ Vulnerability to Climate Change: Evaluating the Potential Contributions of Agroforestry in Western Kenya. The poster will explore whether and, how agroforestry techniques can help subsistence farmers reduce their vulnerability to climate change. (More)

29 March at 15:00 UK (Room 8 at the conference)
If you are concerned with the coupled challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while adapting to the impacts of climate change, and you have an interest in food supply chains, then this session will offer significant food for thought. Practitioners from the private sector will join researchers to share their insights. Following four keynote presentations, there will be an opportunity to question a panel of experts on how industry and research can respond to the twinned challenges of adaptation and mitigation, with particular reference to the implications for developing countries. (More)

Contributing CGIAR centers and research programs

Many CGIAR centers and research programs worked on the preparation of the conference, and/or were present at the conference itself:

They were supported by the CGIAR Consortium Office.


Events