May Muthuri
How do you stop the desert? Niger may have the answer
“I flew from Ethiopia, and you can see it when you fly over the border from Chad to Niger,” says Dr. Kelechi Eleanya, an instructor at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. “From the plane window I noticed the colors shift quite rapidly from warm reds to cool greens.” Though Niger is currently […] Continue Reading
EverGreen Agriculture: a solution to degraded landscapes
A visit to Embu County, Kenya, two years ago has birthed a very promising project to address the challenges emanating from land degradation. While visiting Purity Gachanga, an agroforestry champion, Dr. Roberto Ridolfi, Director for Sustainable Growth and Development at the Directorate General for Development and Cooperation, was impressed by the transformation that trees could […] Continue Reading
Listening to our land
“…With the knowledge we are gaining, we will become better land and natural resource managers, because we’re understanding how we need to treat our land, and the plants and animals on it.” These are the words of Rinouzeu Karizembi, one of only two women in the nine-member management committee of the Wild Dog Conservancy from […] Continue Reading
Climate Change Affects Every Step of the Food Value Chain
Researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) have published an extensive report highlighting the effects of climate change on agriculture and global nutrition. The report, Climate Change and Variability: What are the Risks for Nutrition, Diets, and Food Systems?, compiles evidence-based research to provide a detailed look at food security, agriculture, and food systems in relation to climate […] Continue Reading
Meet the Aussie who breathes life back into the dessert
How does a guy from a sleepy country town in Victoria end up pioneering a way to transform the drought-ravaged land into ribbons of greenery? Three decades ago Tony Rinaudo was hurtling across the sandy plains of Niger in a clapped-out ute with a trailer-load of trees. The Victorian man was in the west African […] Continue Reading
Combating desertification: Why we must take up this challenge
Much news reporting disregards one of the most serious environmental challenges of our time: desertification and land degradation. As Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) says: “Desertification is a silent, invisible crisis.” Desertification threatens the water and food security, livelihoods and health of hundreds of millions of people: 52% […] Continue Reading