This paper analyses the ways in which CGIAR Centers use digital sequence information (DSI) in their efforts to conserve and sustainably utilize the world’s most important crop and livestock genetic diversity. The paper then reflects on which of the benefit-sharing options currently under consideration by the Contracting Parties to the CBD (and the versions of those options that must be considered by the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty and the UN FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture) would provide effective policy support for the continued use of DSI in agricultural research and development in the future.
Tag: access to information
Payments for Forest Environmental Services in Viet Nam: Strengthening effectiveness through monitoring and evaluation
Key messages
- Through participatory research, engagement and capacity-building activities, CIFOR has supported the development of a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) mechanism for Viet Nam’s nationwide Payments for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) scheme.
- At national level, CIFOR research informed a benefit-sharing mechanism, the financial management of PFES, a new Forestry Law adopted in 2017, and other decrees and decisions related to PFES implementation. In Son La Province, CIFOR research informed a decision on its benefit-sharing mechanism. CIFOR has also supported government agencies in their applications for additional funding.
- In collaboration with the Vietnam Forest Protection and Development Fund, CIFOR helped to normalize the concept of M&E, meaning central and provincial government stakeholders are now more aware of the need to carry out rigorous PFES impact assessments, have the methods to do, and have access to information on the effectiveness of their PFES program.
- Civil society organisations are now monitoring PFES activities in Dak Lak and Thua Thien Hue provinces, based on CIFOR research and training.
- In 2016, CIFOR received a government award for its outstanding contribution to the forestry sector, notably for its work on PFES.
Effect of rural farmers’ access to information on price and profits in Cameroon
In rural land-locked areas of Africa, access to information about market prices can have a fundamental effect on the prices and profits of farmers. However, it is not clear how farmers organise to have better access to market and what role telephones can play in reducing access to information. A semi-structured questionnaire which served as a tool for data collection was administered to 225 farmers in Pinyin Clan of the North-West region. Descriptive statistics and the Analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to evaluate price and profit gap between farmers with access to information, farmers who sell through middlemen, farmers who sell through group sales and farmers who did not use any of the above options. The results revealed that there was a significant price and profit gap between farmers who have access to information through mobile phones, who organised and sell through group sales. There was equally a significant price and profit gap between vegetable farmers who sell directly to the market and those who sell through middlemen. Access to information in rural areas can significantly increase farmers’ incomes and livelihoods, thus the use of mobile phones and group sales can facilitate farmers bargaining power. © 2020 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
UNCCD SPI Publications
Data and information in a political forest: The case of REDD+
Data and information are central to policy processes, as they frame the policy problem, the design and the implementation of policy, and evaluation of policy impacts. Better data and information infrastructure is expected to lead to better policies and outcomes, for example, by enabling transparent decision making and enhancing capacity and accountability. However, the collection, selection, representation, framing and application of data are not merely technical and apolitical procedures, but are dependent on the interests represented in the policy processes they aim to inform. Social scientists have pointed to the “politics of numbers” and their effects on forests and trees and on the people relying on them, as well as on those involved in their measurements. We use the case of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) international initiative and focus on the central aspect of understanding drivers of deforestation and measures of REDD+ performance to unpack the politics of policy processes. Data and information are socially constructed, and their interpretations are shaped by the contexts in which they emerge. Dominant beliefs in the transformative power of new data and technologies cannot explain why, often, new information does not translate into policy change and action to halt deforestation. Technological advances in making new and ever larger amounts of data available for analysis are a necessary yet insufficient condition for changing the business as usual in deforestation. Through openness, reflexivity and the tackling of silences in data and information related to the global political economy of deforestation the scientific community can make a key contribution to more equitable policy change.
Science on ecosystems and people to support the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
In December 2022, members of the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) (https://www.cbd.int/gbf/targets/) to guide international biodiversity conservation efforts until 2030 in order to be able to live ‘in harmony with nature’ by 2050. This framework addresses the implementation gap left after the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, which were the previous global instrument for mainstreaming biodiversity conservation between 2010 and 2020.
Leveraging Green Finance for Sustainable Landscapes through Land Finance Hub
The Agricultural, Forestry, and other Land Use (AFOLU) sector is responsible for substantial anthropogenic emissions of GHGs. Transforming agricultural production into more sustainable requires the active engagement of a wide range of stakeholders, including financial institutions. The project Green Finance for Sustainable Landscapes (GF4SL) seeks to build international consensus and interest to increase capital flows towards restoration, deforestation-free agriculture, and sustainable forestry. GF4SL is a joint initiative under the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF). It is led by the UNEP Climate Finance Unit with CIFOR as a co-implementing partner. To address the barriers to sustainable financing and support sustainability transition, GF4SL has developed, among other outputs, the Land Finance Hub.
Correlation of publication frequency of newspaper articles with environment and public health issues in fire-prone peatland regions of Riau in Sumatra, Indonesia
Forest fires in peatlands emit pollutants to the atmosphere, affecting public health. Though air quality data and epidemiology information are helpful in the management of the environment and public health, they are not always available. We aimed to reveal the utility of newspaper articles for estimating the public health concerns posed by air pollution. Using the database of a local newspaper, Riau Pos, in Riau Province of Sumatra, Indonesia, we have studied spatiotemporal correlations between publication frequency of newspaper articles mentioning search terms relevant to health issues and Fire Radiation Power (FRP) of peatland fires. FRP from one of the NASA satellite databases has been used as an index of air pollution caused by peatland fires. Visibility data for airport operation were also used as an index of particulate matter concentrations. The study regions are primarily the fire-prone Riau Province and nearby areas in the central area of Sumatra, Indonesia, from 2009 to 2018. Newspaper articles related to public health are found to be associated with FRP and visibility, or regional air pollution.
Éducation et sensibilisation environnementale dans le paysage de Yangambi
La jeunesse congolaise constitue un vecteur important de transmission de connaissances et de bonnes pratiques au sein des familles, des communautés et des quartiers. Les investissements dans leur éducation présentent de nombreux avantages immédiats et à long terme. Par ailleurs, en tenant compte de la lourde responsabilité qui incombera à la jeunesse d’aujourd’hui face aux enjeux environnementaux et climatiques, il est primordial de les accompagner et de s’assurer qu’ils disposent d’outils et de connaissances nécessaires à la préservation de leur environnement.