Development Roast Giving international development a proper roasting
By: Lykke E. Andersen* “Nature is like love: one of the most beautiful things on earth, but if you put a price on it, it becomes prostitution.” Nele Marien Every time somebody converts a hectare of forest into a hectare of agricultural land, they have – implicitly or explicitly – …
Read More »Could REDD+ Revolutionize Policy to Conserve Forest?
By: Charles Palmer* Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+), if implemented and financed on a broad scale in numerous countries across the world, promises to revolutionise forest and conservation policy. Yet, there remains much uncertainty regarding long-term finance and the mechanisms by which it might be delivered. Uncertainty also …
Read More »The forest, protected areas and deforestation around Rurrenabaque
By: Juan Carlos Ledezma* In the year of 1971, the Regional Corporation for Development in La Paz Region (CORDEPAZ) was created. It’s main development proposal, with the name “March towards the North”, put forward three different production strategies: i) the creation of a regional development hotspot centered in the San …
Read More »The Complex Causes of Deforestation
By: Ben Groom* The causes of deforestation are numerous and vary considerably with the particular context at hand. Despite this some general statements can be made. The actors involved are invariably loggers, farmers or cattle ranchers, and the way in which their activities determine land use and deforestation is governed …
Read More »“You Can’t Fire Your Land”: How the Humble Farmer Dethrones Free Market Economics
One of the primary lessons in Economics 101 is that of the rules of supply and demand in a market economy and their relationship to price. The basics being that the price of a product will adjust depending on the level of demand and level of supply in any given …
Read More »INESAD News: Linking School Food Policy and Children’s Health in America
Over the summer of 2012, INESAD‘s Ioulia Fenton is researching food and agriculture issues at Worldwatch Institute‘s Nourishing the Planet project. In her latest article, she discusses a new study suggesting that school food policy matters when it comes to the health of school kids in America. New Evidence Shows …
Read More »INESAD News: “Helping Poor Children Avoid Poor Diets”
Today, The Statesman in Austin, Texas, United States published a op-ed co-written by Danielle Nierenberg, Director at Worldwatch Institute‘s Nourishing the Planet (NtP) project and INESAD‘s Ioulia Fenton, who is spending the summer researching food and agriculture issues with NtP. Helping Poor Children Avoid Poor Diets, The Statesman, Monday, August 13, …
Read More »Guest Roast: A Native Perspective on Gold Mining in Guatemala
By Cathy Gerrior My name is Cathy Gerrior. My spirit name is white turtle woman and I am a Mi’kmaq Elder and Ceremony Keeper from TurtleIsland. I was given an opportunity to visit Guatemala by a group called Breaking the Silence, an organization who works towards justice and fair treatment of the Mayan People …
Read More »Can We Use Trade to Make Us Healthier? A Case Study From Mexico
U.S. exports obesity epidemic to Mexico was the conclusion of a recent Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) report. The study looks at the health consequences of the North American Free Trade agreement (NAFTA), a tri-lateral trade liberalization agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. that came into effect in 1994. …
Read More »No We Didn’t Have This Green Thing In Our Day
“There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you”. J.K. Rowling 2008 Harvard Commencement Speech (available as transcript and video) Anyone interested in conservation or other environmental issues will undoubtedly put at …
Read More »