Thursday, December 19, 2013

Re-thinking investment in landscapes to aid sustainable development

Eco-Business via CIFOR: As scientists strategize about how best to introduce a holistic, “landscapes” approach to balance tradeoffs between conservation and development, policymakers and practitioners are considering how they can “invest” in landscapes, and whether they can be billed as investment opportunities.

Such questions were discussed at an event hosted by the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems, at the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF).

Around the world, investments are being made in agricultural development, hydropower, mining, and road construction projects, which will affect vast areas of land. Green growth and climate-resilient growth policy agendas are also capturing the attention of large-scale investment programs, primarily for infrastructure.

“Will these investments bring sustainable development, healthy ecosystems and equitable societies?” asked Deborah Bossio, soils research area director with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) at the event, which was held on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Warsaw, Poland.

“Perhaps our goal, rather than haggling over definitions, should be to ensure that large investments already taking place are implemented in ways that are more sustainable,” Bossio said....

A rice field in Goa, India, shot by Kunalbhamare, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

No comments: