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NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
Showing posts from category agriculture.
  • Addressing the Global Food Crisis: CIMMYT Experts Weigh In

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    New Security Broadcast  //  July 29, 2022  //  By Claire Doyle

    Untitled (235 × 176 px)The confluence of climate change, COVID-19, and the war in Ukraine have placed enormous stress on food systems across the globe. Food insecurity spiked in 2020 and has stayed high, and the number of undernourished people is on the rise.

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  • Confronting Seismic Shocks: New WQ Article Looks at “Russia’s War on Natural Resources”

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    July 29, 2022  //  By Claire Doyle

    Odessa,,Ukraine,-,August,9,,2021:,Loading,Grain,Into,HoldsWhen Russia struck a deal with Ukraine on July 15, there was hope that millions of tons of food would once again be able to flow from the embattled country. Under the agreement, brokered by Turkey and the UN, Russia would lift naval blockades and allow large-scale shipments of grain to leave Ukraine’s ports.                                                  

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  • Biodegradable Plastic in Chinese and U.S. Agriculture: Hero or Villain?

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    China Environment Forum  //  July 28, 2022  //  By Karen Mancl

    Agriculture,,Field,,Mulch,Film,Biodegradable,Plastic

    Biodegradable plastic mulch seems like a dream come true for organic farming. Its use eliminates the need for herbicides and pesticides, conserves water, extends the growing season, and allows for the harvesting of clean fruits and vegetables. This mulch also lightens the load of farmers. Rather than assuming the expense and labor to gather up and haul plastic mulch to a landfill, farmers can till biodegradable mulch safely back into the soil. Yet these benefits will only be realized if biodegradable mulch films are 100 percent degradable by microbes in nature, and if they break down to carbon dioxide, water, and minerals without damaging the soil. 

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  • Top 5 Posts for June 2022

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    What You Are Reading  //  July 18, 2022  //  By Abegail Anderson
    shutterstock_512818693-645x430

    From climate change to COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, the world is a landscape of increasing instability. Book-ending the Top 5 posts of June are two articles that explore different aspects of these converging risks. In the top post for June, Steven Gale and Mat Burrows write that globally, younger generations are becoming increasingly disengaged and discontent with their democratic governments, civil society, and institutions. Youth disillusionment is not a result of ignorance to current affairs, but rather a lack of faith in democratic institutions to address today’s most pressing global issues. Tackling youth disillusionment, suggest Gale and Burrows, begins with examining youth engagement trends and placing it at the top of the agenda.

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  • What’s in a Name? Making the Case for the Sahel Conflict as “Eco-violence”

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    Guest Contributor  //  July 15, 2022  //  By Olumba Ezenwa

    The Sahel region of Africa is a semi-arid, arc-shaped landmass that stretches 3,860 kilometres from Senegal across portions of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and even Sudan. It is also the most neglected and conflict-ridden part of the planet, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

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  • Greenhouse Plastic Boom Blights Vietnam’s Vegetable Basket

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    China Environment Forum  //  Guest Contributor  //  June 30, 2022  //  By Govi Snell & Thinh Doan
    1 Large flower-filled greenhouse in Dalat. Each flower is wrapped in plastic nets to maintain the flowers' shape.

    Cam Ly landfill was, until it was shut down in 2020, the primary dumping ground for the city of Dalat. A hilltop locale 5 kilometers from central Dalat, the landfill was the final destination for the majority of plastic used in agriculture in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region. But in August 2019, heavy rain prompted an outpouring of trash, sending plastic sheeting from greenhouses and untreated agrichemical bags and bottles rushing downhill. The incident covered lowland farms in thousands of metric tons of waste.

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  • In a Time of Competing Crises, Environmental Action Matters More than Ever

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    Guest Contributor  //  June 3, 2022  //  By Richard Black, Cedric de Coning, Geoffrey D. Dabelko, Hafsa Maalim, Melvis Ndiloseh, Dan Smith & Caspar Trimmer
    Harvesting,Of,Wheat,In,Summer.,Harvesters,Working,In,The,Field.
    This article was originally published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

    Last week saw the launch of SIPRI’s major policy report Environment of Peace: Security in a New Era of Risk, looking at how to manage the growing risks emerging at the nexus of environmental degradation, peace and security.

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  • Can Conflict-Sensitive Gender Analysis Close the Door on Backdraft?

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    Guest Contributor  //  May 12, 2022  //  By Edward Carr
    17037902208_12e58d0840_c

    A new contribution in a continuing series examining “backdraft“—the unintended consequences of climate change responses—and how its effects might be anticipated and minimized to avoid conflict and promote peace.

    Effective climate action demands urgent transformational change. It is also increasingly clear that responses to climate change—whether focused on curbing emissions or adapting to climate impacts—can profoundly influence and change how people live. It touches upon many aspects of their everyday life, including their livelihoods, where they live, and their roles in the community. These changes also can have substantial effects on the socio-ecological systems in which people live— bringing unintended tensions and drivers of conflict that are referred to broadly as backdraft. 

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