At the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) pavilion, alongside partners like the Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS) and IUCN, I was inspired by discussions focused on empowering smallholders and rural communities to restore land and biodiversity. Convened by the Alliance Bioversity and CIAT (ABC), this session shed light on the power of incentives and digital innovation to
Marking its 10th anniversary, the Forest Ecosystem Restoration Initiative (FERI) convened stakeholders from around the world to showcase its transformative impact on forest restoration. The initiative, launched under the auspices of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), reflects a concerted international commitment to restore degraded ecosystems and foster biodiversity conservation. In a session highlighting achievements, challenges, and future goals, participants
The most advanced respirometry chambers in Latin America were inaugurated at the Alliance Bioversity-CIAT campus in Colombia. Key messages The most advanced respirometry chambers in Latin America were inaugurated at the Alliance Bioversity-CIAT campus in Colombia. These are hermetically sealed spaces designed to precisely measure and analyze the concentrations of gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide, produced by animals.
By Deborah Mongína The Alliance Bioversity & CIAT hosted an Innovation Expo at its campus in Cali, Colombia, offering a window into the transformative research and innovation activities taking place on-site. The event, held on 26 October 2024, showcased interactive booths highlighting key research areas such as rice varieties, gene editing, food systems, diverse fruit varieties, cassava, beans, and the
By Kristen Tam Natural resource extraction has been a historical point of conflict and wars, but can we use the environment to bring about peace instead? In Colombia, there are armed groups across the country that accumulate land designated for biodiversity preservation which leads to preventing environmental officials and programs from entering areas under their control, and displaces communities. Juan
“We don’t usually think of pastoralists as allies in the biodiversity sphere, but we need to build these unconventional coalitions and partnerships,” said Harko Koster, Global Lead Climate & Food Systems, SNV at a livestock roundtable at COP16. At this year’s COP16, there has been more talk than ever in the Kunming-Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) about the intersection between agriculture
Climate change and variability are intensifying the vulnerabilities of smallholder farmers, putting their agricultural livelihoods at risk. The 2023/2024 El Niño – regarded as one of the strongest on record by the WMO – brought widespread drought to Zambia, causing water scarcity, crop failures and significant agricultural losses. During this season, much of the southern region of the country received
Participatory video is a technique that puts cameras in the hands of farmers. Researchers Melissa Bonilla, Maria Delfine, Charles Mwizerwa, Rhys Manners and Anna Muller share how this approach can provide insights for more inclusive agriculture. What do Rwanda’s picturesque landscapes look like to the farmers who grow maize, beans and potatoes there? What do they focus on when deciding