Sustainable Food Futures [1]

Global human population is projected to increase from 7 billion today to more than 9 billion by 2050. To sufficiently feed these people, FAO projects that food availability will need to increase by at least 70 percent.

Meanwhile, close to one billion of the world’s poorest people remain under-nourished today. Despite its importance, much of the planet’s natural capital has been degraded through the extensification and intensification of food production. This environmental degradation, in turn, can undercut agricultural production; climate change will have profound effects on agriculture, freshwater availability may become a limiting factor for growing food in some areas, and diminishing ecosystem services will lead to reduced productivity.

These trends lie at the intersection of environment and development. Agriculture historically has been an underpinning of national economic development. Many of the world’s poorest people are themselves farmers. And women play a central role in farming, comprising 41 percent of the agricultural workforce worldwide and making up the majority of agricultural workers in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The convergence of these trends poses one of the paramount challenges―a sort of “great balancing act”―for the next 40 years: How can the world adequately feed more than 9 billion people by 2050 in a manner that reduces pressure on the climate, ecosystems, and freshwater while helping to build livelihoods and benefit women?

The World Resources Institute (WRI) will dedicate its next flagship World Resources Report (WRR) to tackling this question by breaking it into a portfolio of practical and scalable solutions. Each strategy that will be presented by the WRR can contribute to feeding the world in a manner that also helps steward natural ecosystems, protect the climate, sustainably use freshwater resources, advance development and livelihoods, and ensure gender benefits. No single solution will solve the challenge of the great balancing act, and which wedges are relevant will likely vary between countries, regions, and food chains.

Coming out in early 2013, the first WRR installment will pose the overarching challenge, and frame the structure for the rest of the series. Coming out thereafter on a rolling basis, each subsequent installment will delve into a separate piece of the food puzzle and provide concrete advice on how the planet can shift toward a sustainable food system that sufficiently feeds all people.

Photo Credits: WRR 2012-2014 slideshow picture from flickr.com/treesftf. Groundnut farmer picture from flickr.com/ILRI.

Brazil: Fire and Flood Responses in the Amazon [2]

Case Study [3]

Acre State, in Brazil’s Amazon, is the country’s most Western state, bordering Peru and Bolivia. In the past 6 years, the State has suffered two severe droughts; the 2005 drought was considered a 100 year event. It was followed five years later by another one of equal severity but more widespread in its impacts.

... Read Full Case Study >> [2]

Add new comment [4]
Read more [2]

China's Agricultural Development: Adaptation in Action [5]

Case Study [3]

The 3H Plain is a critical part of China’s agricultural economy. It contains 26% of the country’s arable land and represents almost one third (32.8%) of all the land under cultivation.

... Read Full Case Study >> [5]

Add new comment [6]
Read more [5]

South Africa: Ecosystem-Based Planning for Climate Change [7]

Case Study [3]

South Africa is one of 17 mega-diverse countries on the planet, home to three biodiversity hotspots and almost 15% of known coastal and marine species.

... Read Full Case Study >> [7]

1 comment [8]
Read more [7]

Rwanda: Ecosystem Restoration and Sustainable Hydropower Production [9]

Case Study [3]

In 2003-04, Rwanda experienced a major electricity—and as a result, economic—crisis. This crisis was triggered by a steep decline in power generation at the Ntaruka hydropower station, attributed to a significant drop in the depth of Lake Bulera, the station’s reservoir.

... Read Full Case Study >> [9]

Add new comment [10]
Read more [9]

Bangladesh's Comprehensive Approach to Disaster Management [11]

Case Study [3]

Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world. Every year, about 10 million Bangladeshi citizens are impacted by one or more natural hazards. In the past, the government of Bangladesh had a traditional reactive approach to addressing natural disasters that focused on relief and rehabilitation activities.

... Read Full Case Study >> [11]

2 comments [12]
Read more [11]

Mangrove Restoration and Rehabilitation for Climate Change Adaptation in Vietnam [13]

Case Study [3]

Located within the tropical monsoon belt, Vietnam is extremely vulnerable to climate change, particularly to increases in storm intensity and sea level rise. This case study examines Vietnam’s efforts to use mangroves as an adaptation approach, and illustrates how governance plays a crucial role in the success of such actions.

... Read Full Case Study >> [13]

Add new comment [14]
Read more [13]

Indonesia: Managing Peatland Fire Risk in Central Kalimantan Province [15]

Case Study [3]

Uncontrolled spread of fires in peatlands poses a serious risk to public health, livelihoods, and conservation efforts in Indonesia, and contributes significantly to climate change.

... Read Full Case Study >> [15]

1 comment [16]
Read more [15]

Increasing Food Security: Mali's National Meteorological Service Helps Farmers Manage Climate Risk [17]

Case Study [3]

In 1982, Mali’s national meteorological service initiated a project designed to provide farmers with seasonal climate information. The project responded to the critical link between climate and agricultural production, dramatically illustrated by a series of severe drought events that plagued the Sahelian region throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

... Read Full Case Study >> [17]

Add new comment [18]
Read more [17]

Nepal: Responding Proactively to Glacial Hazards [19]

Case Study [3]

Glaciers in Nepal are shrinking due to warmer temperatures, forming glacial lakes which can burst and cause destructive glacial lake outburst floods (known as GLOFs) in downstream valleys. The Tsho Rolpa glacial lake is the largest of its kind in the Nepali Himalayas, and the threat of it flooding led the Government of Nepal to take proactive measures in the late 1990s.

... Read Full Case Study >> [19]

Add new comment [20]
Read more [19]