Pecologix Political Ecology Blotter

In the past, deforestation, mainly driven by the conversion of natural forests to agricultural land, contributed up to one-fifth of global human induced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Substitution of bioenergy for fossil energy is an intensely discussed option for mitigating CO2 emissions. This paper, by applying a global land-use model and a global energy–economy–climate model, [...]

Push-pull technology (www.push-pull.net) is based on a novel cropping system developed by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Rothamsted Research (UK) and national partners for integrated pest, weed and soil management in cereal-livestock farming systems. Stemborers are attracted to Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum), a trap plant (pull), and are repelled from the main [...]

Agriculture can serve as an important engine for economic growth in developing countries, yet yields in these countries have lagged far behind those in developed countries for decades. One potential mechanism for increasing yields is the use of improved agricultural technologies, such as fertilizers, seeds, and cropping techniques. Public sector programs have attempted to overcome [...]

Developing countries are required to produce robust estimates of forest carbon stocks for successful implementation of climate change mitigation policies related to reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD). Here we present a “benchmark” map of biomass carbon stocks over 2.5 billion ha of forests on three continents, encompassing all tropical forests, for the early [...]

This paper summarizes recent (2000–2008) rates of extraction, including both conversion and harvest, derived from national forest inventories for North America (the United States, Canada, and Mexico). During the 2000s, 6.1 million ha/yr were affected by harvest, another 1.0 million ha/yr were converted to other land uses through gross deforestation, and 0.4 million ha/yr were [...]

These data reveal the central role of government choice. Studies compiled by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) in Washington DC show that governments, not local people, are the primary drivers of global deforestation. Government policy and investment, generally encouraged by global demand for food, energy and wood fibre, sets off a chain reaction that [...]

The proposed launch of a Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) scheme by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change provides a new incentive to improve global forest monitoring. By evaluating the state-of-the-art in government and scientific monitoring this paper shows that enhancements and new standards are needed for three key monitoring roles – [...]