Exploring and Optimizing Agricultural Landscapes

Exploring and Optimizing Agricultural Landscapes PDF

Author: Lothar Mueller

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-06-14

Total Pages: 735

ISBN-13: 3030674487

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The book informs about agricultural landscapes, their features, functions and regulatory mechanisms. It characterizes agricultural production systems, trends of their development, and their impacts on the landscape. Agricultural landscapes are multifunctional systems, coupled with all nexus problems of the 21th century. This has led to serious discrepancies between agriculture and environment, and between urban and rural population. The mission, key topics and methods of research in order to understanding, monitoring and controlling processes in rural landscapes is being explained. Studies of international expert teams, many of them from Russia, demonstrate approaches towards both improving agricultural productivity and sustainability, and enhancing ecosystem services of agricultural landscapes. Scientists of different disciplines, decision makers, farmers and further informed people dealing with the evolvement of thriving rural landscapes are the primary audience of this book.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 PDF

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2021-07-12

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 925134325X

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In recent years, several major drivers have put the world off track to ending world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. The challenges have grown with the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures. This report presents the first global assessment of food insecurity and malnutrition for 2020 and offers some indication of what hunger might look like by 2030 in a scenario further complicated by the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also includes new estimates of the cost and affordability of healthy diets, which provide an important link between the food security and nutrition indicators and the analysis of their trends. Altogether, the report highlights the need for a deeper reflection on how to better address the global food security and nutrition situation. To understand how hunger and malnutrition have reached these critical levels, this report draws on the analyses of the past four editions, which have produced a vast, evidence-based body of knowledge of the major drivers behind the recent changes in food security and nutrition. These drivers, which are increasing in frequency and intensity, include conflicts, climate variability and extremes, and economic slowdowns and downturns – all exacerbated by the underlying causes of poverty and very high and persistent levels of inequality. In addition, millions of people around the world suffer from food insecurity and different forms of malnutrition because they cannot afford the cost of healthy diets. From a synthesized understanding of this knowledge, updates and additional analyses are generated to create a holistic view of the combined effects of these drivers, both on each other and on food systems, and how they negatively affect food security and nutrition around the world. In turn, the evidence informs an in-depth look at how to move from silo solutions to integrated food systems solutions. In this regard, the report proposes transformative pathways that specifically address the challenges posed by the major drivers, also highlighting the types of policy and investment portfolios required to transform food systems for food security, improved nutrition, and affordable healthy diets for all. The report observes that, while the pandemic has caused major setbacks, there is much to be learned from the vulnerabilities and inequalities it has laid bare. If taken to heart, these new insights and wisdom can help get the world back on track towards the goal of ending hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in all its forms.

Indigenous Peoples’ food systems

Indigenous Peoples’ food systems PDF

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2021-06-25

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 9251345619

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This publication provides an overview of the common and unique sustainability elements of Indigenous Peoples' food systems, in terms of natural resource management, access to the market, diet diversity, indigenous peoples’ governance systems, and links to traditional knowledge and indigenous languages. While enhancing the learning on Indigenous Peoples food systems, it will raise awareness on the need to enhance the protection of Indigenous Peoples' food systems as a source of livelihood for the 476 million indigenous inhabitants in the world, while contributing to the Zero Hunger Goal. In addition, the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025) and the UN Food Systems Summit call on the enhancement of sustainable food systems and on the importance of diversifying diets with nutritious foods, while broadening the existing food base and preserving biodiversity. This is a feature characteristic of Indigenous Peoples' food systems since hundreds of years, which can provide answers to the current debate on sustainable food systems and resilience.

FAO Policy on Gender Equality

FAO Policy on Gender Equality PDF

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13:

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"The FAO Policy on Gender Equality provides a framework that guides the Organization's efforts to achieve gender equality in all its technical work and assesses results. The policy outlines FAO's goal and objectives related to gender equality and delineates an accountability structure for ensuring policy oversight and achievement of results."--Publisher's description.

G20 Inclusive Business Framework

G20 Inclusive Business Framework PDF

Author: G20 Development Working Group

Publisher: United Nations Development Programme Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (UNDP IICPSD)

Published: 2015-11-19

Total Pages: 13

ISBN-13:

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In keeping with the Turkish Presidency’s focus on inclusiveness, the G20 has strengthened its work on shared prosperity within and beyond G20 Members, as well as its engagement with low income developing countries, partners in civil society and the private sector. The G20 is a very important forum in bringing traditional donor countries and emerging and South-South development partners together, enabling its members to explore new ways to co-operate. At the G20 Antalya Summit in November 2015, the Leaders of the G20 formally endorsed the G20 Leaders’ Call on Inclusive Business, the G20 Inclusive Business Framework and called for the establishment of the G20 Global Platform on Inclusive Business. The new G20 Inclusive Business Framework, designed with the support of UNDP and the World Bank, opens up new opportunities for low-income people and communities to participate in markets. The framework will also serve as tool for the G20 engagement in the effective implementation of the SDGs. Objective The Framework defines inclusive business, sets out recommendations to enable inclusive business and presents policy options for G20 and non-G20 governments, companies, and international financial institutions to promote and support inclusive business as a means to end poverty.

Natural Resources and Conflict

Natural Resources and Conflict PDF

Author: United Nations Publications

Publisher: UN

Published: 2017-03-29

Total Pages: 101

ISBN-13: 9789280734331

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This guide collects and summarizes good practices on the successful mediation of resource conflicts. It draws on the field experiences of mediators and mediation experts, specifically those with natural resource expertise. It also features lessons learned from UNEP's work on environmental diplomacy in different conflict-affected countries, with a particular focus on how to use impartial technical knowledge to equalize stakeholder information in a mediation process.

Fighting Identity

Fighting Identity PDF

Author: Michael Vlahos

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2008-12-30

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 0313348464

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This work highlights a national ethos infused by a sacred narrative of divine mission. This deep association leads to a narrow approach to conflict relationships, built around an Us vs. Them distance from the enemy, in which their submission is achieved through kinetic effects and their subsequent redemption through our good works (reconstruction). Vlahos contends that America's difficult engagement in the Muslim world demonstrates urgently that different operational approaches and tactics (like counterinsurgency) are not enough. Alternative paradigms of strategic engagement are needed, but their very consideration requires deeper cultural rethinking about how we assess world change and other cultures, and how our national ethos makes war. Why are terrorists and insurgents we fight so formidable? Their strength - and our vulnerability - is in identity. Clausewitz knew that geist (spirit) was always stronger than the material: identity is power in war. But how can non-state actors face up to nation states? The answer is in globalization. This is the West's 3rd globalization. Two centuries of intense mixing has torn down old ways of life and created a growing demand for new belonging. There is also a decline in US universalism. America's vision as history's anointed prophet and manager is now competing head-to-head with renewed universal visions. Like Late Antiquity and the High Middle Ages our globalization begins to subside. We may be in the later days of American modernity. We can see this worldwide, as emerging local communities within states and meta-movements find their voice - through conflict and war. Identities struggling for realization are always the most powerful. Add the diffusion of new technology and new practice, and even the poorest and seemingly most primitive group can now make war against those on high. They are successful because of a symbiotic fit between old states and new identities. Increasingly, old societies no longer find identity-celebration in war - while non-state identities embrace the struggle for realization. Hence non-state wars with America become a mythic narrative for them. Our engagement actually helps them realize identity - and we become the midwife. This book offers another path to deal with non-state challenges, one that does not further weaken us.