Learning from one of the marginalised sectors in society – the Higaonon tribe of Bukidnon, Philippines

While we fight for the last grain to survive, the Higaonon tribe – a group of indigenous peoples in the remote mountain villages of Bukidnon, Philippines – have lived for centuries utilising the plant resources in their ancestral land. These resources play an essential role in the resilience of the Higaonon tribal community.

From coca to cacao agroforestry – a sustainable livelihood strategy in the Peruvian Amazon

‘’Plato or Plumo’’. There is no other way I could start this article than by mentioning the famous intimidating words of Pablo Escobar, the drug lord who reigned not just Colombia but entire Latin America in the 1970s. It literally translates as ‘Silver (bribes) or Lead (bullets)’ in Spanish. The phrase itself says how ruthless the drug cartels were in those times. More than two decades after his death, cocaine still lurks as a livelihood strategy for many households in the region.

Climate change: Permafrost carbon remobilization

Earth’s climate is dynamic. Past environmental conditions can be studied to give insights about current and future changes. As the planet warms quickly, scientists rush to investigate climate archives spanning thousands of years in order to unlock this information. Within the science community, there is an overwhelming consensus about human causing the current climate crisis among the science community, but it is a big challenge to raise awareness among the public.

Can a pest species earn you more than the principal crop?

In October 2020, Krishnanunni Mavinkal Ravindran defended his Master thesis at Dept. of Food and Resource Economics (IFRO), University of Copenhagen. In this article, he tells about the fieldwork experience in Ghana. Krishnanunni studied the contribution of an edible pest species – shea caterpillars – to rural livelihoods in Ghana and the accessibility constraints associated with its harvest.

No such thing as waste: resource recovery and shifting perceptions

‘Out of sight, out of mind’ is a well-known expression, but one with pernicious effects in the context of waste. We’ve always done things a certain way. Things are made, used, and thrown away. But where do all these thrown-away things go? What do they become? What could they become? Our linear way of thinking and behaving is being increasingly criticised as landfills overflow, water supplies dry up, and air becomes unbreathable.

Multidisciplinary collaboration to secure the future of water in Cape Town

In 2018, the City of Cape Town declared a city-wide water crisis, which would be punctuated by ‘Day Zero’ – the day the city would run out of water. The drought had been looming for years, and the City of Cape Town had made some management changes, but all rested on the assumption that rain would fall at the same rate as in the past.