Biodiversity

Testing the various pathways linking forest cover to dietary diversity in tropical landscapes

A diverse diet is important to address micronutrient deficiencies and other forms of malnutrition, one of the greatest challenges of today's food systems. In tropical countries, several studies have found a positive association between forest cover …

Excessive pruning and limited regeneration: Are Faidherbia albida parklands heading for extinction in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia?

Scattered Faidherbia albida trees provide multiple ecological and production benefits across the Sahel. The intensive management and use of this important tree may impede its regeneration. Regeneration bottlenecks were explored and population …

Retaining forests within agricultural landscapes as a pathway to sustainable intensification: Evidence from Southern Ethiopia

There are increasing calls in Africa for 'sustainable intensification' of agriculture with the aim of increasing productivity whilst minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts. This paper questions whether adopting a landscape approach …

Indirect contributions of forests to dietary diversity in Southern Ethiopia

We assess whether forests contribute indirectly to the dietary diversity of rural households by supporting diverse agricultural production systems. We applied our study in a landscape mosaic in Southern Ethiopia that was divided into three zones of …

Understanding people and forest interrelations along an intensification gradient in Arsi-Negele, Ethiopia

This chapter presents the results of a scoping study conducted along an agricultural intensification and forest cover gradient from Arsi-Negele town to Munessa Forest in southern Ethiopia. It summarizes preliminary research in the study area led by …

Agriculture and nature : Trouble and strife ?

Global demand for agricultural products is expected to double in the next decades, putting tremendous pressure on agriculture to produce more. The bulk of this increase will come from developing countries, which host most biodiversity-rich areas …

On the edge of state and the economy

Population and livelihoods on the edge

Agricultural intensification - Saving space for wildlife ?

Increasing agricultural production and preventing further losses in biodiversity are both legitimate objectives, but they compete strongly in the developing world.In this study, current tensions between agricultural production and environmental …

Delineating the drivers of waning wildlife habitat: The predominance of cotton farming on the fringe of protected areas in the Mid-Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's Mid-Zambezi Valley is of global importance for the emblematic mega-fauna of Africa. Over the past 30. years rapid land use change in this area has substantially reduced wildlife habitat. Tsetse control operations are often blamed for this. …