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Water, Land And Ecosystems
Water, Land and Ecosystems is one of several new research programmes approved by the CGIAR during 2011 after an extensive period of consultation that began in 2009. This research programme will draw on the resources of 14 CGIAR and numerous external partners to provide a more integrated approach to research into managing natural resources. The aim of the research programme is to increase agricultural productivity while protecting the environment, so food security is ensured for most of humanity and that poverty becomes history. The five main strands to the programme are: River basins; Irrigation systems; Information systems; Resource reuse and recovery; and Rainfed agriculture systems. A report released by UNEP and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI – which comes under the CGIAR umbrella and will be a major contributor to the new research programme), exemplifies the concept of conducting agriculture within healthy ecosystems. Current farming methods have resulte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consultative Group On International Agricultural Research
CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security. CGIAR research aims to reduce rural poverty, increase food security, improve human health and nutrition, and sustainable management of natural resources. It is carried out at 15 centers (CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers) that collaborate with partners from national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations, and the private sector. These research centers are around the globe, with most in the Global South and Vavilov Centers of agricultural crop genetic diversity. CGIAR is an ad-hoc organization funded by its members. Members include the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and Japan, the Ford Foundation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CGIAR
CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security. CGIAR research aims to reduce rural poverty, increase food security, improve human health and nutrition, and sustainable management of natural resources. It is carried out at 15 centers (CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers) that collaborate with partners from national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations, and the private sector. These research centers are around the globe, with most in the Global South and Vavilov Centers of agricultural crop genetic diversity. CGIAR is an ad-hoc organization funded by its members. Members include the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and Japan, the Ford Foundation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Food Security
Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World Food Security, food security is defined as meaning that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life. The availability of food irrespective of class, gender or region is another element of food security. There is evidence of food security being a concern many thousands of years ago, with central authorities in ancient China and ancient Egypt being known to release food from storage in times of famine. At the 1974 World Food Conference, the term "food security" was defined with an emphasis on supply; food security is defined as the "availability at all times of adequate, nourishing, diverse, bal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in statistics or economics there are two main measures: ''absolute poverty'' compares income against the amount needed to meet basic needs, basic personal needs, such as food, clothing, and Shelter (building), shelter; ''relative poverty'' measures when a person cannot meet a minimum level of living standards, compared to others in the same time and place. The definition of ''relative poverty'' varies from one country to another, or from one society to another. Statistically, , most of the world's population live in poverty: in Purchasing Power Parity, PPP dollars, 85% of people live on less than $30 per day, two-thirds live on less than $10 per day, and 10% live on less than $1.90 per day ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Basins
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ''drainage divide'', made up of a succession of elevated features, such as ridges and hills. A basin may consist of smaller basins that merge at river confluences, forming a hierarchical pattern. Other terms for a drainage basin are catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin, water basin, and impluvium. In North America, they are commonly called a watershed, though in other English-speaking places, "watershed" is used only in its original sense, that of a drainage divide. In a closed drainage basin, or endorheic basin, the water converges to a single point inside the basin, known as a sink, which may be a permanent lake, a dry lake, or a point where surface water is lost underground. Drainage basins are similar but no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UNEP
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972. Its mandate is to provide leadership, deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues, including climate change, the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and green economic development. The organization also develops international environmental agreements; publishes and promotes environmental science and helps national governments achieve environmental targets. As a member of the United Nations Development Group, UNEP aims to help the world meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. UNEP hosts the secretariats of several multilateral environmental agreements and research bodies, including The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), The Minamata Convention on Mer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Water Management Institute
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a non-profit international water management research organisation under the CGIAR with its headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and offices across Africa and Asia. Research at the Institute focuses on improving how water and land resources are managed, with the aim of underpinning food security and reducing poverty while safeguarding the environment. Its research focuses on: water availability and access, including adaptation to climate change; how water is used and how it can be used more productively; water quality and its relationship to health and the environment; and how societies govern their water resources. In 2012, IWMI was awarded the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize Laureate by Stockholm International Water Institute for its pioneering research, which has helped to improve agricultural water management, enhance food security, protect environmental health and alleviate poverty in developing countries. IWMI is a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in cities. The history of agriculture began thousands of years ago. After gathering wild grains beginning at least 105,000 years ago, nascent farmers began to plant them around 11,500 years ago. Sheep, goats, pigs and cattle were domesticated over 10,000 years ago. Plants were independently cultivated in at least 11 regions of the world. Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture in the twentieth century came to dominate agricultural output, though about 2 billion people still depended on subsistence agriculture. The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials (such as rubber). Food classes include cereals (grains), vegetables, fruits, cooking oils, meat, milk, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecosystems
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is incorporated into plant tissue. By feeding on plants and on one another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and microbes. Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors. External factors such as climate, parent material which forms the soil and topography, control the overall structure of an ecosystem but are not themselves influenced by the ecosystem. Interna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soil Fertility
Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality.Bodenfruchtbarkeit Retrieved on 2015-11-09. It also refers to the soil's ability to supply plant/crop nutrients in the right quantities and qualities over a sustained period of time.A fertile soil has the following properties: * The ability to supply essential plant nutrients and water in adequate amounts and proportions for plant growth and reproduction; and * The absence of toxic substances which may inhibit plant growth e.g Fe^2+ which leads to nutrient toxicity. The following properties contribute to soil fertilit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IWMI
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a non-profit international water management research organisation under the CGIAR with its headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and offices across Africa and Asia. Research at the Institute focuses on improving how water resources, water and land resources are managed, with the aim of underpinning food security and reducing poverty while safeguarding the environment. Its research focuses on: Water resources, water availability and access, including climate change adaptation, adaptation to climate change; how water is used and how it can be used more productively; water quality and its relationship to public health, health and the Natural environment, environment; and how societies govern their water resources. In 2012, IWMI was awarded the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize Laureate by Stockholm International Water Institute for its pioneering research, which has helped to improve farm water, agricultural water management, enhanc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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