Markets
Livestock production and the global environment: Consume less or produce better?BackgroundGlobal demand for livestock products rises rapidly, especially in developing countries. Although livestock production contributes significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, land use change, and nitrogen cycle disruptions, producers can reduce its environmental impact by improving production efficiency. This study evaluates whether shifting to more efficient livestock systems offers a viable path to mitigate these impacts, rather than relying solely on consumption reduction. Open access copy available |
Wild Meat Consumption in Tropical Forests Spares a Significant Carbon Footprint from the Livestock Production SectorBackgroundTropical forest communities widely consume wild meat, which provides essential protein and micronutrients. While most discussions around hunting emphasize its ecological impacts—such as defaunation and biodiversity loss—this study shifts focus to its potential climate benefits. It investigates the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoided when people consume wild meat instead of livestock products, especially bovine beef, a major driver of deforestation and emissions. By quantifying the carbon footprint of substitution, the study explores how sustainable hunting could contribute to climate change mitigation. Open access copy available |
What is the contribution of forest-related income to rural livelihood strategies in the Philippines’ remaining forested landscapes?BackgroundOpen access copy available |
A Comparison of Governance Challenges in Forest Restoration in Paraguay’s Privately-Owned Forests and Madagascar’s Co-managed State ForestsBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Complementary ecosystem services from multiple land uses highlight the importance of tropical mosaic landscapesBackgroundTropical agricultural landscapes feature a mosaic of diverse land uses, yet the ecosystem service bundles and materials they provide to rural households remain poorly understood. In northeastern Madagascar, shifting cultivation for hillside rice production and agroforests for cash and subsistence crops have largely replaced old-growth forests. The landscape consists of forest fragments, small-scale vanilla agroforests, rice paddies, and subsistence farming plots at various stages of the shifting cultivation cycle. Open access copy available |
The tree planting and protecting culture of cattle ranchers and small-scale agriculturalists in rural Panama: Opportunities for reforestation and land restorationBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Peasants, agroforesters, and anthropologists: A 20-year venture in income-generating trees and hedgerows in HaitiBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Leveraging the blue economy to transform marine forest restorationBackgroundOpen access copy available |
The Little Book of Investing in Nature: A simple guide to financing life on earthBackgroundThe authors of this book point out that the international community has missed almost all collective biodiversity targets till date. Insufficient finance or the large gap between the funds that are required for biodiversity conservation and the funds that are allotted and the inappropriate implementation of existing finance mechanisms are part of the reason for the continued decline in global biodiversity. Open access copy available |
Financing Nature: Closing the Global Biodiversity Financing GapBackgroundThe authors of this report point out that current economic systems promote unsustainable levels of land conversion for infrastructural and agricultural growth and natural resource extraction. They outline some economic and social reasons for protecting nature, and argue that economic systems need to be transformed to incentivize financing biodiversity conservation instead of enabling unsustainable land conversion and natural resource extraction. Open access copy available |
